Dear One,

Perspective is everything.

I had my 44th birthday last week, on November 2nd, to be exact. I woke up to happy birthday hugs and cuddles with my girls and went into a deep meditation. During the meditation, I felt a sense of gratitude and appreciation wash over me. Tears flooded my cheeks and a smile seemed to become permanent on my face.

I found myself remembering how The Rolling Stones said “What a drag it is getting old”. I couldn’t agree LESS.

What a privilege it is to get old. (Sure beats the alternative!)

Now don’t get me wrong; yes my knees are creaking a little more than I’d like (and don’t even get me started about my boobs post breastfeeding). But I have never felt so deeply grateful to be alive and to be healthy and to have the beautiful life that I have.

At a time when so much devastation and injustice surrounds us, I’ve often been overwhelmed and stuck in the despair.

(Need help with a new perspective of how to embrace the paradox that surrounds us so that you can walk with both pain and beauty side by side? Watch this video.)

But on my birthday here’s the short list of the blessings I counted: To be in such a loving marriage…to have two healthy, vibrant, vivacious, interesting, smart, courageous, kind little girls…to have a tribe of friends I am crazy about…to have my mom and dad and sisters and nieces and nephews in my daily life…to be in a career that is my calling…it goes on and on.

And then just as soon as the day ended, the birthday blues kicked in…

I awoke a few days later with my Inner Mean Girl screaming at me, collecting evidence for all that is WRONG in my life and the world.

She began to make her list, comparing me to where I OUGHT to be, compiling the data to prove that I’m failing at 44 years old.

She went on and on; Why did I bring children into the world at such a chaotic time? What about the property tax bill and the household repairs undone? Your body is rapidly aging and you’re totally screwed…just wait til menopause (GULP!). Oh and isn’t your business supposed to be further along?

(Oh how our Inner Mean Girls can be so brutal!)

And then the event in Sutherland Springs and all those precious lives lost. Despair and heartbreak.

Blues times a million.

So there it is. Same life. New Day. New Perspective. One magnifying the bliss, the other magnifying the blues.

The light and dark of the beginning of my 44th trip around the sun.

Perspective is everything. At any moment you can collect evidence of the bliss or collect evidence of the blues.

May we each find the strength to look for the bliss in our troubled world and continue to take inspired action towards creating change.

How are you faring in your sweet world, dear One? Are you falling into the bliss or blues? (I’d truly love to know….email me on back or leave a comment below or on my Facebook page. I love hearing from you.)

I’m sending you so much love.

With gratitude,

P.S. Stay tuned for an invitation for a new Self-Bullying masterclass that I trust you will love! May each of us continue to turn down the volume on our Inner Mean Girls. We all deserve more self-compassion and self-love. More days of BLISS!

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