Who we spend our time with and where we spend it matters. However, what may matter just as much, and maybe even more, is the inner vision we spend time with.

What you picture, rehearse, imagine, and create in your mind for your future, reaches back and transforms your experience in your body right now and what you see as possible.

Just like you are always spending time somewhere, you are always spending time with a vision or anti-vision for the future. Your imagination is one of your most potent human gifts, and you have the freedom to create it.

They way you wish others could show up for you can serve as both an inspiration of how you want to be for them, and an opportunity for you to show compassion to others and yourself.

Nobody is our mind-made version of perfect, including ourselves, and because of this, our ideals for our relationships will almost never be realized. However, we can all expand in our ability to show up for one another and extend grace to one another.

Let’s use ideals to create possibilities to move towards, not expectations to judge against.

One significant barrier to feeling the empowerment that personal responsibility brings is an unexplored relationship with our body sensations.

We may mistakenly think that because we feel intense sensations like elevated heart rate, body temperature, or butterflies in our stomach, we shouldn’t move forward because we are scared, as fear is something to avoid. However, if we can learn to remember that those same body sensations are also the feelings of courage brewing, we can start to thank the body sensations for preparing us to be brave and play a new, bigger game.

One of our responsibilities is to learn the difference between an intuitive NO in our bodies and the invigorating feelings of our bodies preparing to step further down the path of transformation.

Where could you let the sensations of courage help move you forward rather than hold you back?

Unconditional love is the breath that gives everything else life. Our unattached action practices are only fulfilling if we do them from love. Love is, in fact, the thing that provides us with the ability to let go. Fear needs us to grip or push. A commitment to love is what gives us the clarity to hear what the next right thing to do is. A commitment to love helps us draw the courage to make new choices. A commitment to love keeps us connected to gratitude for the guidance and wisdom of something bigger than our lower personality. Love keeps us in control of our fulfillment, no matter the internal or external weather.

One of the ways I take myself out emotionally is by believing I need people to be happy, kind, generous, intuitive, wise, and thoughtful all the time. But, of course, everyone in my life can’t always be this way, so this expectation sets me up for disappointment and frustration.

My way back to my center is by focusing on who I want to be for them rather than who I need them to be for me. Instead of needing someone to be a mind reader, I can focus on lovingly asking for what I want. Instead of being frustrated with someone for being frustrated, I can offer them compassion, as I know what it feels like to feel that way.

One of the byproducts of giving others grace and focusing on being of service is that it helps me be kinder to myself when I am having a tough time too.

Since we know they will happen, what if we could see one another’s inevitable imperfections as opportunities to become more open-hearted rather than judgmental?

Our words can help us or hinder us, and our bodies will not lie to us about what they are doing.

This is a loving reminder that if the words you speak are making you feel depleted, depressed, or lowering your energy, they are likely hindering you. Stay curious until you find something that lifts you up.

When it feels like you need space but you can’t take a day or a week to yourself, remember that little amounts, taken throughout the day or week, can add up and make a huge difference.

Five minutes, one hour, or one breath, when taken intentionally, can remind our hearts that we are more than the stressors we experience as human beings. Tiny bits, when taken often, could even be more powerful than that week that might never happen.

Don’t underestimate the power of the pause.

The most important ingredient needed to activate your dreams is courage.

Courage is a regenerating resource, and it is found within you. So you must remember to use it and then commit to using it even when it brings about all sorts of intense body sensations and resistance because that is the courage preparing to be used.

What if the only thing missing was courage, and what if it was already within you?

What you have to offer might feel insignificant because you view it as ordinary, but this is only because it comes easily to you.

And what you have to offer might not feel like you have to actively work hard to “give” because it is your passion.

The nature of a gift is that it brings joy, not a burden. Don’t doubt your talents because they feel easy to you. Have faith in the ease and let it lead you.

River water does not need to worry about whether or not there are rocks downstream. It will go over, under, around, through, or anything else it needs to do to keep flowing.

Trust is not the state of knowing everything will go as planned. Trust is the practice of staying in the present moment, which is where your power is, and knowing you will be able to go over, under, around, or through any obstacle that comes your way. You are designed to flow.

Having an optimistic perspective does not by any means guarantee a positive outcome, and it does impact the actions we consider worth taking, which has the potential to change everything.

It might no be what you expected, and there is still possibility if you choose to see it.

Clarity makes things simple, and sometimes we prefer things to be complicated so we can be lazy.

Being clear puts you on the hook, but it gives you the keys to your kingdom. When you activate your vision and wisdom, you will realize that rest can serve you, and laziness won’t. It is your diligence in doing the simple and powerful correct thing, repeatedly that delivers you to a place where you enjoy the freedom that can only come from discipline.

Either find a supportive community or person to help you practice the tools to get clear, or admit that you already are and haven’t wanted to commit.

If you put yourself out there in a real way, you will get the actual support you need.

Pretending things are perfect or complaining that they aren’t perfect are not forms of communication that create. Instead, sharing with authenticity and responsibility about what you are experiencing, learning, or hoping to discover is an invitation for collaboration.

Sharing without pretense and griping is a practice that can open up possibilities and opportunities for support that would not have otherwise shown up. How can you be real while leading with love and compassion for yourself and others? What might open up, in addition to your heart?

We tend to get so attached to what we think will make us happy that any other outcome can feel like a disappointment or failure. What if the thing you thought you wanted wouldn’t have made the difference you hoped it would? What if what you ended up with actually was better for you?

Our disappointment can make life feel disappointing even when beauty surrounds us. Disappointment over missed expectations is natural and healthy, yet if we dwell on it too long, we become unavailable to receive the gifts we are being given.

Maybe you have had just the right experiences to have the exact wisdom you need to set you up for what you’re going.

It’s being grounded, calm, and steady as things change.

Change often seems like a good idea to your mind until you are in it. The moment the uncertainty kicks in is likely the moment your doubt will also kick in. This is to be expected, so stay focused.

The way to practice steadiness is to notice unsteadiness and use it as an opportunity to get stronger through recommitting. The more times, you do it, the stronger you get.

What might become possible if you commit to calm?

Having wisdom does not necessarily mean that you understand everything right now.

Wisdom is a peaceful knowing that you will be able to understand the big picture at some point, and if you don’t, you don’t need to.

At any moment, there are many things to balance that are important to you. At any moment, one will be more essential to tend to than another.

Living a balanced life does not mean you figure out how to balance your time and energy equally amongst things ahead of time. Instead, it means you pay close and curious attention to the present moment and sense what is most vital now.

Balance is the practice of meeting life precisely as it is and exactly as you are, not being rigid about the way things should be or you should be.

If you think about the times you have the most inspired, they were not likely times of stagnation, maintenance, and sameness. Instead, you were likely experiencing a new idea, a new thought, a new possibility, a new energy, a breakthrough to a new paradigm, or a new opportunity.

Possibility is only present when we step into the unknown. Maybe life becomes more inspiring when we seek out subtle and significant changes that want to happen and help facilitate them. Perhaps, if we could see change and opportunity as synonyms, we could live with more curiosity, courage, and fulfillment.

Quite simply, your body is always letting you know whether it likes what’s going on or if it doesn’t.

This is why forgiveness, play, compassion, and presence feel so good in our bodies; we are designed to experience them. We are also designed to experience things like courage and excitement, and these sensations might feel good in our bodies in a different way.

As you start to pay more and more attention, you will probably notice that your body doesn’t like thoughts of doubt, lack, worry, or resentment. It also probably doesn’t like stagnation or resistance.

What might life be like if you let the simple wisdom of your body support you in creating the context for your life?

Happiness, joy, fulfillment, health, wealth, generosity, kindness, and any of the other good things are directions we can continually move in, not destinations at which to arrive.

Our circumstances will always be dynamic and often out of our control or beyond our understanding. Our simple, and not always easy, job is to respond to each leap forward or each setback by taking a deep breath and sensing what the next step is in the direction of what’s most important.

We can’t always prevent the fall, yet we have a say in what we reach for to help us get back up. Again, again, and again.