LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

"Today, you  are just going to look at the 

positive, beautiful, miraculous things ..."

Rosie Molinary

When asked what I liked about myself, several things came to mind; but, I slowly realized that many of those things were not as prevalent as they once were.  I am no longer a shoeless and long haired hippie, I am more similar to an eccentric spirit.  I am not a protester, but an observer.  My gypsy blood still runs rampant, but social isolation currently curbs my wandering.  

Popcorn and ice cream are still my deepest cravings, and books or writing continues to be in my veins.  I am no longer gregarious and perfectly content to remain in a candle lit domain.  I continue to have a passion for understanding people and untangling their dreams.  Wisdom comes from whispers and images from clouds while insights mysteriously unveil within.

I do not wish to begin to live my life over nor do I want to be a child in our society today.  I am gravely disappointed that our collective consciousness is not higher than I envisioned for my lasting days. My greatest hurdle has been patriarchal theory, previously giving all of my power away.  I have been gifted with children, blessed by kindred spirits, and grateful for the healing of scars once cast upon my bleeding heart. I have unpacked my dark side, and watch for the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Applications

"They can simply be teaching moments, 

experiences that put us on a journey of

further understanding and awareness."

Rosie Molinary

Extraordinaire delight and excruciating pain have a beginning and an end.  Neither are meant to last a lifetime.  The tighter we hold on or the mightier we resist, we miss the opportunity to shift our direction. By clasping too tightly to a positive or negative experience, we become stuck.

We can day dream, visualize and pray for certain events, and in doing so, we may lose the lesson at hand.  The repetitive cycles of life return the same lessons, disguised differently, until we finally pay attention and understand.  This of course, may take years ... or life times.

Our life is a scrapbook of collected incidents and how we reacted.  It reflects how much we understood and to what end did we made application.  Our scrapbook can reflect numerous individuals entering and exiting our lives, leaving wisdom.  The final pages will reflect how we applied this wisdom to ourselves and to the world.

 

Positive Reconstruction

"Do you find that your mind is still centered on finding fault 

or are you able to keep it neutral?"

Rosie Molinary

Half of the battle is realizing the negative chatter streaming through our thoughts infringe upon our celebration of self.  Like water wearing down edges of a rock, criticism diminishes our authentic sense of self.  

When we worry about being too big or too small or too loud or too quiet ... it is all wasted energy.  If we take our hand and place it over our heart, we can kindly remind our brain to STOP!  Rather than worrying about what other people see, apply energy to what parts of the self one can generously give to others.  Perhaps it is our smile, humor, listening ability, or uplifting comments.

When we can feel more focused upon what we have to offer, we will begin to feel better about our lovely selves.  We will become more comfortable with life itself.  Perfect, not hardly, but definitely a work in progress ... positive reconstruction!
 

Individual Worth and Integrity

"I am a woman who is proud of her history,

aspires to use her creativity positively,

and looks forward to her future."

Rosie Molinary

The Dove company conducted a study entitled, "The Real Truth about Beauty" revealing 2 percent of women around the world thought of themselves as beautiful.  The company then began a campaign to encourage women to better define beauty.  (www.dove.us; Features and Videos; "Onslaught", "Evolution")

My photograph resource responded to a request for "Women" with snapshots of women shopping, models with high end apparel, and an overwhelming amount of bare bottoms and exposed breasts of young women.  There were a few respectful cement statues, but obviously they were not alive nor current. 

So where in our culture are women highlighted as scientists, inventors, doctors, CEO's, government or community leaders?  Where are the photos of professional women with appearances reflecting the true  diversity of women?  Women must discover and honor all aspects of themselves to present a whole impression of individual worth and personal integrity. Now that's beauty!

 

Projecting an Image

 

"Food really is medicine, and your body

responds with energy and vitality

when you treat it well.

Rosie Molinary

With Halloween quickly approaching, there is an abundance of candy streaming into the possession of both young and adult.  Sugar can be highly addictive so in spite of our personal goals, chances are good that we will over extend what we intended to consume.  There are those who will respond with hyper activity, bouncing off the walls in response to the sugar while others blood sugar drops bringing sadness, sleep, and digestive problems.  

We monitor our body, mind and soul, but we must in addition secure time for physical exercise, rest and nurturing.  The body is a well run machine if we deliberately respond to maintenance.  We are responsible for the process of feeding, digesting, and processing, both physically and emotionally.

There is a direct correlation between what we eat, physical up keep, and the state of our mind.  Each impacts the other, so we must hold our lovely selves accountable for the overall quality of life.  Our energy is best used in fine tuning our bodies, rather than desperately attempting to project a certain image.

Stemming from the Soul

"Knowing and owning our personal

definitions of beauty is an essential step

in celebrating one's own brilliance."

Rosie Molinary

While attending a private college prep academy, I was exposed to wealthier life styles unfamiliar to my family.  There were beautiful homes, beautiful people, beautiful clothes, beautiful vacation homes, beautiful jewelry, etc...  After a while, my sense of beautiful began to be created in very different ways.

My appreciation for nature drew my attention to the beauty of swaying trees, blooming flowers and moving water.  The animation found especially in the faces of little children became beautiful as well. The depth of the written word broadened my concept of a deeper love as did the opening of the hearts of people I chose to love.

As the pace of my life slows down, my attention lingers longer on certain things of beauty ... the dark sky with brilliant stars and the passing of the moon.  Most importantly, however, I find beauty in the radiance of light brimming from the depths of human eyes.  Nothing brings me more joy than witnessing this inner beauty stemming from the soul.

 

Engaging in Pleasure

"Too many women feel like they are unworthy of enjoying themselves.

Instead, they wait, giving themselves goals to achieve before they can

engage in something pleasurable."

Rosie Molinary

Perhaps it was the parenting style when we were children that taught us the concept of 'business before pleasure'.  In our youth, if we requested something, we were given a list of tasks to complete before an answer would be considered.  Nothing was for free, everything must be earned with hard work.

Now as adults, many women struggle with rewarding themselves.  The mind set tends to be meet the needs of the family prior to personal luxury.  This may be true if we are considering a new home or a new car, but in the normal sense, women generally are wishing for minutes alone in the tub or an earlier bed time to allow time for quiet reading.

When we come to recognize our worthiness, we see the importance of restoring our body, mind, and spirit so that we can serve from a source of wholeness.  Instead of resentment or bitterness, we experience giving with a sense of joy.  When the source is nurtured, there are deeper exchanges within the family unit.