Force Nothing...

Everyone has heard the term "go with the flow" but how many people have taken it literally? If we go with the flow aren't we conforming to what others want us to do? Hmmm? I would first think that maybe it meant to be a sheep and be asleep but really "going with the flow" is really the best advice to avoid much unneeded pain and suffering. I'm not saying be passive and live in ignorance. Not at all. What I am saying is, is that when the universe deals you a hand you always have a decision on how you deal with it. For example, let's say you are sitting in traffic and are almost to your exit. You are ready for the relief of all the congestion when suddenly someone cuts you off and makes you wait that much longer. What do you do? How do you react? You have a decision. Do you go off the curb and cut back in front of the person? Opp's I hear sirens. Do you scream, yell, and beep your horn? Ugh the person is getting out of their car...this could get ugly. Or do you take a deep breath and understand the universe is working under one big plan and for what ever reason, which you may never know, you weren't supposed to exit the freeway just yet. Maybe if you had a car would smash into and cause a tragic accident. The point being is that we choose to force things when they upset up. No one likes being upset or taken off track of what they were thinking was supposed to be happening. On a more personal scale we often have issues in our relationships where we need to take the same advice. If our we have an attraction to someone and we pour our heart out to them it is human nature to think the other person will be swooned and feel the same thing we do. Some of the time that may be true but for what ever reason it is not always the case. So....you have a choice. Do you keep pouring your heart out to that person in hopes they eventually respond? Why would you do that? Yes it feels good to express yourself, but that person is not going to change their heart because your being persistent. They may be flattered and want you to keep the love coming but you know things will not go anywhere and because you are forcing the issue you are holding yourself back from other possibilities and opportunities! What if all this time you were charming this one love you missed the opportunity of meeting your soul mate. You were so busy thinking you found the one even though they weren't receptive that you literally forced one situation and missed another.
We have to trust that life is happening just as it should. Even though the outcome is not what we want it we truly have to suck it up, bite down and bear it, and go with the flow. As soon as we force things that are not necessarily meant to be we have created friction and mad things that much harder for ourselves. It's kind of like when the judge says you need to go to jail for a month for a petty crime and you're so angry because you felt the sentence was unfair that while your in jail you fight everyone who crosses your path. Looks like you just made your pain that much worse and your sentence that much  longer.
In the end we always have a choice and if we want to choose "the easiest" route we need to just go with what the universe deals us with as little resistance as possible. Do not get me wrong. There will be challenges that the universe sends us that does call for our attention, but you truly need to decide when the universe is showing you a different path and when you need to grab the shovel to get through that path. Getting in tune with your higher self and looking within to what is true and real is very important for our connection to what the universe has in store for us. We do not need to walk upon this earth blindly accepting whatever is in front of us....the universe is constantly talking to us and explaining what is happening in the moment...it is up to you if you choose to tune in and listen or tune out and be a pawn. Once again you have a choice. In the mean time try not to force things....and go with the flow...and when your ready....take that step to learn how to go within and suddenly learn the language of the gods....silence.

Ancient Wine

It seems that it has been eternity since I have sipped your wine,

The night was dark and the stars were perfectly aligned,

The heavens were singing their songs of mystic celebration as your hair shone in the moonlight...

I know you do not remember it as I, but it is the silence and magic of the moment that brings me back... I can still smell the evening dusk as we mingled on the old porch...

clouds swarmed through my head and suddenly ecstasy tease my lips...never had I been so alive as the few moments I spent swimming in the essence of your soul...memories of a time long past flashed through my minds eye and in that instant I realized...here we were again...

As quickly as the moment came the gods chased it away...as if it never happened and the memory was all that remained...What did I do so wrong that I was not allowed the pleasure of your wine in this life...why was the breeze so sweet, oh how the aroma so strong...

I see it as being blessed...a time that felt so right sang to me like a lullaby...tomorrow is a new day and forever will still remain...I have faith that the glass will come to my lips again...as I hold on the memory will never fade...until we meet again no wine will taste the same

It's All About The Process....No Skipping Steps

What does it mean to skip steps? Everything in life has a process. When we grow from children to adults we have stages and steps to go through, when we plan something there are stages and steps to go through, and when we experience a moment of any nature we go through stages and steps to process it. If we try to go from point A to point C without first stopping off at point B we are skipping steps. When we skip steps we are forced to repeat them later or else we create experiences and challenges that force us to experience them holding us back from moving forward. There is technically NO skipping steps. I learned through being a foster parent that many children skip steps in their early development. Because their parent's didn't hug and hold them enough they skipped vital steps, or because they never had a crib or bed they never felt secure or closed in and skipped that step in their development. In turn these children need to have those early experiences recreated. If they continue on without recreating these experiences they will have many challenges to go through in life until they do so. This is the same for adults who go through traumatic experiences. When their is a sudden break up or event that happens in a relationship like death you must go through all the stages and steps in order to process what has happened. You can not skip steps. If you choose to live in denial and not deal with what has happened to you, you will not grow and create much unneeded havoc in your life. This came to my consciousness recently due to some unexpected traumatic experiences that changed my life in an instant. I immediately wanted to detach from the experience and move on with life but the more I tried to do so the harder time I had emotionally. I was being forced to go through the process. I was consciously realizing I was not able to process what was happening because I was trying so hard to skip steps. The stages of grief one must go through are shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, depression and reflection, the up turn and reconstruction,  and working through acceptance and hope. I wanted to skip all of them and get right to reflection and reconstruction! It just does not work that way. Instead I found myself in the middle of denial and swimming through guilt. The basis of this post is to help bring awareness to the fact that skipping steps is the same as sweeping things under the carpet, it will still be there until you deal with it. In life we can wake ourselves up to being more self aware and recognizing stages and patterns in life, when we actually go through them the process will be much easier and smoother. It is when we choose to shut ourselves off and not want to deal and feel things that we make things so very much harder and drawn out.
All in all.....deal with life straight on as it presents itself and do not fear the pain you will feel....allow yourself to feel it, process it, and then finally let it go!