GUIDELINES TO LIVE BY

gratitude. it is a privilege to be alive in this moment. i don't mean this to sound airy-fairy, but it's true. although there are problems and trials and pains and all sorts of injustices in this world, it is paramount to face life with a base of gratitude. to be able to participate in our lives--to be present in our truest nature, is a gift. and it is from this place of gratitude that all things can start.

don't be afraid of the pain
the world is filled with beauty. it is also filled with suffering. therefore it is natural and normal to feel anxious, uncertain, out-of-sorts, afraid and filled with uncertainty. do not be afraid of the anger you feel. it is the flip side of your compassion. do not be afraid of the pain. there is nothing pathological about your discomfort, in fact, it is a healthy, normal response to the world you see.

vision
whenever there have been periods of darkness and i use the term darkness to mean upheaval and a challenging of the status quo, it is often followed by a paradigm shift. new ideas are able to emerge out of the crisis. and it is in these precious moments, before the mind catches up and begins down it's well-worn path, that a new vision about ourselves and the world can take shape. have a vision that comes from your truest self.
 

do the work
it's overwhelming to make a decision about where to start! and in the bigger picture, it doesn't matter. when we are following our dharma, our heart, our inner-self's direction, we heal ourselves and in turn we heal others. so find your tribe, find your partners and get your hands dirty. we are all in this together. 

act your age
this is directly from one of my dearest mentors, the indomitable spirit called joanna macy. "since every particle in your body goes back to the first flaring forth of space and time, you're really as old as the universe. so when you are lobbying at your congressperson's office, or visiting your local utility, or testifying at a hearing on nuclear waste, or standing up to protect an old grove of redwoods, you are doing that not out of some personal whim, but in the full authority of your 15 billions years."

these are my personal guidelines and i share them with you because joanna macy shared them with me.   take them, share them, live by them, change them, make them your own. oxo, annette  photos: pinterest