“Sometimes it feels surreal.”
Ciao and Sacred Sunday to you:
| Happy Passover and Easter. May these holy days fill you with blessings of grace. Tomorrow is also an important day for me. 🥂My husband and I celebrate our Ruby wedding anniversary, 40 years! How is that even possible? When I look at the photo above, I see a young man and woman dreamy and drunk with love, hearts filled with innocence, and forgive me sweet self, a bit clueless. Symbolically the ruby gemstone and color red represents the inner flame of love, desire, passion, and strength that continues to burn brightly through the decades and marking this significant milestone. 😩Truth be told, being married to the same person for many years hasn’t always felt like “happily ever after”. Sometimes it’s damn hard and feels surreal. One reason is that while our pure essential nature remains the same, we are NOT the same people who looked into one another’s eyes and promised to love, honor, and cherish each other. 👍And what I say to that, is thank goodness. Why? Because it means we’ve allowed each other room to grow and to grow-up. Without a doubt I’m immensely grateful for my husband, my very own person, yet life is life after all. Like a river that ebbs and flows, the journey of marriage carries you along consciously and often unconsciously. 🌊Rapids suddenly appear when you least expect, and you grab on to anything in sight that keeps you from drowning under the weight of adulting. The Karma, Dharma, and Lila equation – the play of consciousness. Then just as suddenly the waters calm and you find yourselves once again floating along with ease. ✅Of course, we all know how important it is to observe a deep commitment to your relationship, and the person you’ve chosen to be with, no matter what’s going on in your inner and outer worlds. The thing is, that’s not always so simple or easy to do. 💪🏼Marriage, my friend, is a hell of a lot of work. No matter how committed you are to the relationship, commitment alone is not the sole ingredient. A successful marriage, or partnership, is much like a flavorful soup; it consists of many different spices and herbs that make it delicious, nourishing and worth your while. 💯Both parties need to be respectful of each other’s dreams, desires, and visions. While also providing the space and support necessary for personal transformation, self-actualization, and spiritual growth. 💯That’s a tall order. 💯Yet, these are also the building blocks that support a strong foundation, and that helps to empower both the individual and the unit or team. While not everyone is blessed with a long-term loving partnership, relationships are relationships after all. Whether you’re in alliance with your child, best friend, business colleague or beloved, I believe there are several important ingredients needed to achieve a fruitful union and/or meaningful connections. Look them over. Contemplate them. Add to – or perhaps refine your personal list. 💓Communication and Forthrightness 💓Honesty and Trust 💓Patience, Understanding and Flexibility 💓Respect and Appreciation 💓Emotional Support 💓Ability to Receive Productive Feedback 💓Humor, Friendship and Celebration of Wins These qualities are also vital for the most important life-long relationship of all – the one you have with yourself. And as my teacher used to say, “there’s always more.” So, I speak to you of Self-Love. For at our core Love is who we are and what we’re most craving. When you develop these virtues… 💓Self-acceptance 💓Self-respect 💓Self-worth 💓Self-love …your ability to enter meaningful, purposeful, and loving relationships with others is magnetized. |
💖With love and appreciation, xoxo Paulette
