This path of spiritual/personal growth is rife with paradox. Things that appear on the surface to be contradictory but upon deeper exploration reveal themselves as deep Truth (capital T).

"I love the thing that I most wish had not happened." Talk about fierce acceptance.

And that's what we're doing with all this awareness cultivation. We're learning to create more space to help us accept whatever "is" in our lives. The pleasant, the unpleasant, and everything in between.

The pathway to joy flows through self-responsibility.

While yes, we don’t get to control how we feel in every moment, the more we choose to take control of our capacity for conscious choice, the more joy and abundance tend to start to open up for us.

What might shift for you if you were to act as if everything your heart most desires is already on its way? If you could relax and trust that you're right on track, how would you use this down time to weed your garden and prep the soil for the sweet new things about to blossom? What happens when you stop waiting and start preparing?

Keeping an open heart in this world isn't for the faint of heart.

Staying as open as possible while simultaneously protecting our energy and soft spots when appropriate. Riding out the open and closed phases of the heart.

And the reality is, the heart does open and close. Rhythmically. Naturally.

Our work is to let ourselves feel life in its insanely wide spectrum as best we're able.

Momentum picks up or inertia settles in based on our first thoughts and actions of the day.

So setting an enlivening tone first thing in the morning is a simple but powerful way to shift gears upward for your entire day.

We don't have trouble feeling happy about someone else's happiness because we're terrible people. We have trouble feeling it when we want something like what they have for ourselves...

And we secretly fear we may never be able to have it.

Making major life changes can feel scary and complicated. But I see (and know from personal experience) how the simplest practices, repeated with intention and attention, can make the most profound positive shifts in life.