get high

When your self-esteem is low, everything is about you. It’s extreme navel-gazing time. It’s your personal black hole sucking all of your light in, letting none out. It’s you wondering if you’re good enough, if they want you, if you’ve got what it takes, if you made the right decision, if they’re staring at you, if they’re ignoring you, if you’re right or wrong or lost or found. It’s all about you. And what you’re not getting. And what you’re not able to give. And what you wish you had. And what you wish you didn’t have. And what you’re thinking, praying, hoping for, crying over, stressed about, etc. etc. et cetera.

When your self-esteem is high, you have access to a much larger perspective and sensation of personal wealth. There’s more of you to go around and you enjoy being both a resource and resourceful. Compassion is your asset, leading you through good times and challenges with a strong central core and loving, receptive vision of the people in your world. It’s no longer just about you; it’s about what it means to be You as a functioning contributor to the whole story.

Self-esteem is stamina. It’s your ability to trust your gut. Your willingness to tune in, admit the truth and access clarity. To say no when no feels right; to say yes when yes feels right. To say “I don’t have a clue” when that’s the absolute best you’ve got. It’s an open curiosity about what’s really going on, and it’s the ability to be at ease with the mystery.

When it’s low, how do you raise it? Can it ever get “too high?” What would the world be like and feel like if you had more? What if everyone had more! And more. And thensome.

Would war and stupidity dissolve into joy and wisdom? Would families remove dys from their function? Would lovers enjoy each other, friends support each other, co-workers and cohorts inspire each other? Would you create more boldly and love more expressively and be healthy, luminous and free? Would you complain less . . . and celebrate more? You bet.




What does it mean to want the best for
everyone?
To be a beating heart
sending kisses
like wild antics
into the ether that connects us?

I want the best for you.

Every day.

Thank you for being in my story.

what is compassion

Let’s start with what it’s not:

it’s not sympathy or pity
it’s not blind acceptance or inappropriate leniency
it’s not the mantra of a spineless amoeba
it’s not a desire or mandate to fix another human being
it’s not a finite resource

:

It is a state of grounded empathy
a fearless sense of open connection
an intelligent “emotional telepathy”
an ability to see through the surface to discern
what’s really running this story
… or, at least an awareness that there’s
more to the story
than you may ever fully know
it’s an ability to sit with another’s pain without
becoming consumed by it
and an ability to sit with your own pain without
giving it full reign to define who you are
it is power
the power to feel larger than the story – to activate an
expansive and abiding love that invites
accurate perception
it is the conscious wish for someone else to experience
happiness (to let their heart come out and play again)
it is a state of active-connected-detachment
(I’m here to help–I feel your pain–I’m not you)
it is rooted in self-esteem: the keen ability to
trust your intuition and to be yourself in any scenario
it is inexhaustible
you cannot run out of compassion
it does not drain you; it refreshes and nourishes infinitely

Compassion for another person requires a willingness to step INside their story and see how it feels; the stamina to do so without becoming lost in it or attached to the outcome; the heart-felt wish for them to experience health and happiness.

Compassion for oneself requires a willingness to step OUTside your own story and see it with loving eyes; the courage to recognize truth and follow new leads; the wish for your own heart to heal and the intention to add a vibrant rhythm to enhance the greater dance around you as you begin to join in.