I was talking to a friend about relationships and it occurred to me, Am I focused on what bothers me or am I focused on what I value in my relationships?
There is really no way around it - relationships take work and that includes the relationship we have with ourselves. Part of that work requires that we become vulnerable as we open up to others and as we do the inner work to heal old wounds we may be carrying around.
Vulnerable.
That word alone has some serious power behind it for me. If I open up to make a true connection with someone, will that be honored? Can I trust that I won't be hurt if I allow others to see who I really am?
I get so much from my relationships but I want to be safe. I want to share my thoughts and feelings but I fear opening up too much.
At the other end of the spectrum, I probably open up too much with my husband. It's easy to criticize and nit-pick at him when I'm having one of those days. Why do we always seem to lash out as those we love the most?
Fortunately, as I do the work, I'm learning to recognize the signs and to self-correct so that I can appreciate the good in my relationships.
And - that's really the first step - appreciation. Cultivating being in gratitude for friends, for family, for acquaintances and all of their best qualities has surprisingly resulted in having those same qualities mirrored back to me. As I am grateful for the easy-going attitude of a girlfriend or for the silliness of my daughter that always puts a smile on my face, I find that I can give those good feelings back.
I am also finding that self-love is an important part of the equation. The more I am accepting of loving others right where they are in their journey, the more I am kind to myself and open to embracing every aspect of my personality. I can release the fear and allow my relationships to thrive.
We are all doing the best we can with what we have, in this moment. So, what do you value in your relationships?
Today, I set the intention to seek what I value in each and every relationship, grateful for the heartfelt connection I have with others as we open up and trust one another.
"For to be free is not to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that
respects and enhances the freedom of others."
"One of the first things to do, is to love everybody. If you have not done
this, begin to do so at once. There is always more good than bad
in people, and seeing the good tends to bring it forth."
~Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind
Affirmative Prayer:
With each breath that is taken, there is a knowing that there is only Source, only Substance, only Supply. It is everywhere present and always available, as Spirit, as God, as the Universe.
This Source and Substance is also present and available, as me and through me. And I embrace this truth - that Life expresses all around me with joy and with compassion, with freedom and with love. Just as my breath flows in and out, so I flow with this presence of Spirit within.
Claiming that Life is for me, I speak my word from this place of good. Every experience and every connection that I make is from a knowing of pure Spirit, revealing the beauty that comes from being in relationship. The sharing of thoughts and hopes and dreams is part of the journey and I am blessed with a life that unfolds in prosperous and abundant ways. I am free to be exactly who I am, sharing my gifts and talents and seeing the value in all who happen upon my path in this life. And as I step out in faith, taking action as I am guided by intuition, I accept the miracles, big and small, that manifest in perfect, Divine timing.
I am profoundly grateful for this journey, filled with rich experiences of live well-lived. And I am thankful for the unlimited possibilities of every-increasing good that are revealed to me each day. I am filled with gratitude for the magnificence of the abundance that surrounds me and the prosperity that moves through me.
And from this place of gratitude, I release my Word to the Divine Action of the Law, knowing it is already done. It is here now. And I let it be so. And so it is.
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