Peace, Be Still...

Last week truly reflected God's grace in my life and through my circumstances. The challenges are real, and when I truly let go and with faith and trust... Let God... I experienced his awesomeness. I have been quieter and that has allowed me to see more. God's whisper reminded me to listen at least twice as much as I speak. Some things I was more aware of last week:

Being more present in my day
Each morning I decided to focus on at least one aspect of my day where I would be as fully present as I could. For example, on Wednesday afternoon I decided that I would fully engage in the enrichment activity I was participating in with students. It was hard to get out of my head at first, but when I did I was fully engaged in the game and for that moment my focus was on the children I work FOR... not the stresses of my day or the tension I just experienced from colleagues just moments earlier. That really grounded me! Presence truly equaled Peace in that moment!

Being more aware of my feelings and acknowledging their presence
I am the "great avoider" of feelings that don't make me happy or that make me anxious. I was more conscious this week of my feelings and particularly the ones I didn't feel comfortable with. I took the time to name the feeling and recognize its presence and move on so that it doesn't dominate what I am doing. It's like the child that keeps calling, "mommy mommy mommy mommy" until you answer and then the child just says "you didn't answer me" and moves on. Eckhart Tolle says awareness is the foundation of higher consciousness.

Being more prayful and more aware of God's whisper throughout the day
Some things going on with me right now professionally are really trying, and I realized that I have been so passionately frustrated in these days because for the first time I can clearly see how the professional work I am doing is connected to my purpose. It is so much more than a J-O-B. In the past, I have prayed for a J-O-B, I have prayed for a way to quit a J-O-B... but I realized that I don't pray often enough for guidance in the work I am doing in my J-O-B. Last week in some work situations, I would stay silent and just pray for God's presence... and in those moments his whisper told me what I needed to do. Similarly in my personal life things have been really trying, and I am getting better about suspending my judgment and just asking for God's presence in the particular situations.

per·se·vere
intr.v. per·se·vered, per·se·ver·ing, per·se·veres
To persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement.

A superhero friend asked me last week... Who are your allies at the J-O-B? Last week was truly telling of who are my allies vs. who I thought were my allies. I am not in this alone. A motto that one of my allies shared with me... "this too shall pass- I just have to live through it!"

-WonderWoman... a work in progress