2018 Archives - Cindy Goes Beyond

December 29, 2018

Thank You for the Lessons 2018 – I Am Ready 2019

I am very mindful today that a little more than 48 hours remain in 2018. The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is one of reflection on the year past…and anticipation and planning for the year ahead. I’ve done both.

I’ll do a year end review on Monday, and welcome 2019 the next day.

Tonight I’m filled with gratitude for all that I’ve learned, for the lessons 2018 offered that helped me to grow and go beyond.

Challenges are Opportunities

I used to be such a worrier. Anxiety burdened me, creating health issues and robbing me of joy. Gradually I learned to let go of my tendency to fret about a past that was unchangeable and a future I had no control over.

What freedom and lightness of spirit came into my life with letting go. And how my perspectives shifted. Now I am not willing to expend energy rehashing the past nor will I rob myself of present joys by wasting time creating untrue stories about possible outcomes. I learn from the past and let the future unfold, moment by moment.

From that frame of reference, I see challenges as opportunities to grow, to learn, to open up or to let go. It’s not that I don’t have challenges. I do, just like everyone else. What I have learned to do is respond differently. When I feel frustration or the pull back toward worrying, I bring myself back to the present with a word…Adsum…open up my chest and heart chakra…and let go.

I recall this quote…

“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” Pema Chodron

…and welcome the challenge as the opportunity that it is. I don’t want to keep repeating a lesson until I get it. I’d rather “get it”, and move on, go beyond.

Lessons from 2018

This year presented wonderful joys and unique challenges to grow me into the person who will step confidently into 2019.

In random order, I’ve learned…

• To trust deeply, in ways I could not even imagine a couple of years ago. So much is beyond my control. All I can do is respond from a place of trust and faith.

• My intuitive abilities truly are gifts. I don’t have to “do” anything with them or resist using them or hide them away. They are simply part of who I am…nothing more, nothing less.

• People can be disappointing. Not everyone thinks or believes or behaves as I do. My place isn’t to judge them or condone them. I can only offer from who I am, stay open and live as my highest self. Some will walk with me and some will walk away. Either choice is okay.

• At age 60 I can dwell in health and vitality.

• At age 60 I can learn new things. Technology, which is constantly evolving, can be a very challenging arena for me. I’ve pushed myself this year to keep evolving with it. Even when it feels as if my head will explode, I’ve discovered I can adapt, learn new ways of doing things, and grow.

• It’s not necessarily a bad thing, when events don’t go the way I want them to. In fact, when I let go and stay open, better things show up.

• Ongoing conversations with the Divine are my most important form of guidance.

• The desires of my heart provide important clues about who I am made to be.

• Placing expectations on others creates burdens too heavy to be borne. Living in freedom allows me to extend the same grace to others.

• No detail of my life is insignificant to the Divine.

• Life’s mysteries are intended to inspire and delight me, not confound and confuse me.

I Am Ready 2019

This year has shaped me into the person who now stands on the threshold of a big new adventure in a fresh year. I love knowing that I am not weighed down with unresolved issues nor am I toting baggage into 2019.

There are no regrets. I am grateful for the gifts 2018 offered to me, including the challenges. One of the greatest blessings is knowing that all that happened this year had purpose. All had a part in preparing me for what comes next. I’m being called to step up into being who I am intended to be, at a very high level. There is a trickle of fear…and great anticipation.

2019…I am ready.

February 12, 2018

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2018

Yesterday kicked off Random Acts of Kindness Week, for 2018. I have celebrated this awareness raising week for several years now. Each year has a different theme. For 2018 the week is structured around a question. Who’s your one?

Observed every February, Random Acts of Kindness Week, shortened to RAK Week, focuses on uniting people through generating kindness. Led by the RAK Foundation, officially recognized in 2000, this seven day celebration seeks to demonstrate how kindness starts with one…one person, one kind act.

For 2018, in addition to practicing random acts of kindness, the invitation is to share about the one person who has most impacted your life. Who has inspired you to be a better person? It could be a friend or family member who encouraged you, a teacher who saw your potential, a singer whose song changed the course of your life.

During this week, think about who those people are and tell their stories, share a photo, let the world know that that person, those people, have helped to shape your journey. On social media, tag any posts or photos with #RAKWeek2018 and #CaptureKindness.

I will be sharing stories this week, about people who have impacted my life, beginning with tomorrow’s post. Because I post about my family so often…my immediate family members and my larger extended family…I am going to exclude them. In truth, my family, all of my family…Greg, my children, their spouses, my grandchildren, and beyond that circle, grandparents, parents, stepparents, siblings and their families, aunts, uncles, cousins…ALL have had a tremendous impact on my journey, all have contributed in some profound way. I am deeply grateful for each of them.

I will be sharing this week about some others who have made a lasting impression on me, shifted my thinking or walked with me through a difficult time. I’m allowing my heart to open wide, and I am taking note of who appears and what memories stir.

And I am intentional about offering kindness, in myriad small ways. I have ideas popping into my head…tucking encouraging notes into favorite books at the library, taking pet food to the local animal shelter, handing out Valentines to strangers, donating my time to an organization.

I’m excited to see what unfolds this week, and who enters my awareness to write stories about. And I am happy to change my corner of the world, and send ripples of compassion outward into the universe, one act of kindness at a time.

January 1, 2018

Year of Stories

It’s a fresh new day, at the very beginning of a fresh new year. And that means I am embarking on a fresh new journey. Last night I turned the final page on the book that was last year. It is finished. To paraphrase Brad Paisley, “Today is the first blank page in a 365 page book. Write a good one.”

If you have been walking alongside me for a while, you know what a new year brings with it: a new word, to represent my journey ahead, a new symbol that corresponds with the theme, and typically a new song, or quote, to remind me who I am as I explore the path ahead.

The word, symbol and song/quote are part of a Divine roadmap that I am given, to guide me. I realized years ago that I was not selecting these tools, they were being given to me. They arrive when they arrive, one by one, through synchronicities, signs and sheer repetition. I am usually seeing the next journey come together by September or October, well before the next year begins. There is typically some overlap of experiences, which actually serves as confirmation that I am headed in the right direction.

My word for 2018 is “story”. I am very excited about the intention of writing a daily story. We tend to think of stories as fictional tales, but a story can describe a historical event or person, or present day ones, or they can enlighten and teach, entertain or encourage. Every person, every object, every event has a story connected to it.

In fact, it is our stories that connect us to each other…highlighting the ways we are alike or the intriguing ways we are different. They draw our compassion or our scorn, that make us laugh or cry, they give us courage or make us afraid. Stories are so powerful. William H. Gass wrote, “The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.”

I love that quote! I intend to be an alchemist this year, capturing my world by way of my words. I want to be mindful of the kinds of stories I am telling, and make sure they entertain, inspire, uplift, encourage or challenge, in positive ways.

My symbol for 2018 is a feather quill. The feather was the initial image I was given, and today I spent time studying the rich symbolism connected to it.

Feathers, by their connection to birds, represent freedom and flight, suggesting a heightened perspective of the world, and the ability to see the bigger picture. Think a bird’s eye view as it soars above the earth. They also represent travel, and not just physical travel, but traveling with the mind and spirit.

The feather signifies communion with the Divine, and finding a feather is considered a message from Spirit. I frequently find feathers. I expect to encounter many this year.

And, feathers are connected to abundance and growth, levity and lightness of being. Finally, they represent communication. A feather quill is a universally recognized symbol for writing and storytelling, making it an ideal representation for me. I don’t own a quill pen…yet…but I believe I soon shall!

I just received my song for this year within the last few days. I have been captivated by This is Me, from the Greatest Showman movie and soundtrack. It resonates deeply with me. What a powerful song to stride confidently into this new year with, singing out, literally and figuratively, I am brave, I am proof, I am who I’m meant to be…this is me! This song’s message provides an important foundation for using my voice in telling the stories I will tell.

The first day of a new year, while it ushers in keen anticipation, is always a bit disorienting for me. I just completed 365 days around a different theme, and I became attuned to receiving inspiration. Today I stepped into unknown territory with a map that is added to daily, as I journey, and a set of divine clues, to be opened one at a time. I don’t plan out what will happen, because I don’t know! Instead I set off down a new path and I will see where it takes me. I can trust that guidance will be given, at the right time. I can trust as well that the journey will be playful and enriching and it will provide me with many opportunities to learn and grow…and write stories.

I mentioned yesterday that I felt a bit reluctant to leave my Year of Inspiration. I used Alan Rickman’s quote as the foundation for my daily experiences, making life a little more tender and art a little more robust. It felt odd today, knowing I would not be typing one of those bylines into the blog post categories, or into the blog meme.

As I was gathering info this afternoon, looking at quotes about story, I was delighted when my guide from last year popped up unexpectedly. It felt like a fond send off from an old friend, as I am swept off on the next adventure to I know not where.

“I like it when stories are left open.” Alan Rickman

Good advice. I teared up, and then laughed. Me too, Alan. Me too.