Amy G. Casey

(Another dispatch from vacation last week…)

“Go placidly amid the noise and hast and remember what peace there may be in silence.”
- From “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann

Today I was blessed with the amazing opportunity to kayak in the ocean. Having only recently overcome my extreme fear of water, this alone was a big deal for me. But the real grace was leaving the noise of the bay to float around a mangrove thicket full of birds. I could hear the surf behind me, and only the noise of the animals in the mangroves and the slap of the water on my kayak. A silent, floating meditation.

(Written on paper last week as I was “unwired” at the beach…)

In a sea kayak for the first time, and the dolphins were all around us! Joan was whooping with joy, and even David, who is usually reserved, was grinning from ear to ear and talking to the dolphins. I didn’t really get it until a dolphin swam right next to boat – so close I could touch it! Then I was whooping, too – I have no idea what was coming out of my mouth, but I was so excited I got a little short of breath, I feltso overwhelmed. Never did I expect myself to react that way – I’m usually quiet and calm around animals, but the dolphins’ energy was unlike anything I have ever encountered. They emanate a high vibration of joy. What can you do but join in?

As we paddled around, my friends insisted they were playing with us, but I wasn’t convinced at first.  But after a while, I realized that they were weaving between our three kayaks, sometimes surfing on our bows when we were moving fast. They were having fun with us having fun.

Thanksgiving gives us a whole day to focus just on gratitude. For me, gratitude is where it all starts – balance, peace, freedom, joy, and most of all, love.

I invite you to start this Thanksgiving to thank the people in your life for their love and companionship. To give thanks for the food you eat and the place you live. For beauty in all its forms. For the pets that love you. For the good times and the tough times and the lessons you’ve learned. With gratitude, hug those you love, starting with yourself.

Then… see if you can make a habit of it.

I learned to do this on a twice-daily basis when I most needed it in my life – and when it was most difficult. I felt that I had no control, that things were spiraling downward. I was constantly worried about health issues, finances, work, relationships. So what did I have to celebrate?

That was the challenge, and it might be for you, too.

So start small. I started by focusing on gratitude when I woke up in the morning and when I went to bed at night. When I gave thanks for a roof over my head and love in my life, I realized I had much more to be grateful for than I thought.

Remember, this is fun, a celebration – approach it with a sense of humor. It’s okay to be grateful for a great pair of shoes or that attractive person you met today.

Once you open the door to gratitude, let its beautiful energy surround you and lift you up.

In this short podcast, I talk about finding your way the way the animals do – by finding the path of least resistance…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Staple Singers had some wise advice in their songs that’s still very relevant today. Back in 1973, their song “Be What You Are” cautions against living beyond your means – just be what you are.

I’m not trying to tell you how to do it ·
I’m only saying put some thought into it ·
Be what you are, my friend ·
And live the life

The Staple Singers

As long as I’m singin’
Then the world’s all right
And everything’s swingin!
Long as I’m singin’ my song.

Lyrics by Bobby Darin

May you see a way to sing your song every day.

Shelley Riutta in her excellent article, “The Power of Unconditional Love,” introduces you to a client who is frustrated in her marriage, thinking that if her husband would just change his crazy-making behavior, their marriage could survive.

Riutta invites her client to make a radical shift: to love those things about her husband. When I read that, it was like a kick in the head – it was so simple. But I fought it. Was I just supposed to give up my disapproval of anything that anyone I love does? The simple answer is – Yes.

I had to go take a walk and find a place to meditate on this. When I did, I realized that it was easy to do… But only if I could also do it for myself. It felt a little disorienting, because it is a radical change from how I usually think. It totally removes me from being any kind of victim in the relationship.

I had been obsessing about my weight and my husband’s lateness. How could I let these things go? I thought that the only way is to try it.

I said to myself, “I love that I can be flexible about my body, and love myself at any weight. And I love that my husband loves people so much that he finds it hard to break away for the next thing on his schedule.”

With the things that were most bothering me were now things that I could love, the things that I was overlooking came flooding over me. I had an overwhelming sense of lightness that has really taken hold of me since then. Gratitude has risen back up as number one in my life rather than resentment.

I invite you to try it.

I recently read one of those lists of wise words. This one was from a woman who was nearing one hundred years old, and it was her advice about how to live a satisfying life. One line that has really stayed with me is, “What other people think about you is none of your business.”

I read that line when I needed to see it, but at first it was a little jarring. Then I thought about it again and it made sense. Of course – I have no control over what other people think! I was struggling with being accepted. That wise advice helped me to let that go. It feels like freedom.

road through the woods

I often drive at dawn or dusk on mountain roads. Those times are the best parts of the day to see wildlife, which I love. But it also means that animals are more likely to be on the road – just when it’s hard to see them.

The idea came to me one night while driving that I could energetically “clear” the road ahead of me. To simply ask the animals to stay on their side of the road because I am driving toward them. While I have to go through their home territory to get to my home, I want them to remain safe.

I like this habit, and I do it most of the time. One benefit is that it keeps me more alert to anything that is moving around in the woods. Just the other morning I saw three deer coming out from behind some trees. One was just about to cross the road. I slowed down to a stop to see what they would do. The lead deer looked back at me and backed up, then they all ran back the way they came.

Another benefit is that I can clear not just the physical road ahead of me, but any other blocks on my “road,” whether they’re in my relationships, family, work or spiritual life. Even something simple, like feeling resistant to a person or a time when I lose my sense of humor. I use the same method to clear my path to see that person from a different angle or make a mental joke to get myself snickering at the situation. That “stuckness” instantly leaves – and the road is safe to travel again.

I invite you to try it. May your path be safe and clear.