"If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life."
~ Rachel Carson

What would it mean to your life if you were able to stay in wonder of it all, to experience each moment as fresh and new? We can get so caught up in the minutia of things, the sameness, being rote in action and thinking, that we miss the subtleties that are the essence of this gifted life. It's not the grand moments that make us happy, it's the simple little things that come to touch us with a gentle hello.

Enjoy the day today. Notice more of what is already there, has always been there. It will surely make you smile.

Peace,
Shanti

Shanti Douglas
Mindfulness & Stress Management Coach
Eden Energy Medicine Certified Practitioner
8 limbs Holistic Health, LLC

     Another new year is upon us, bringing plenty of opportunity to grow, transform, and bring your heart's desires forward. As I've heard so many wishes for "Happy New Year!", I often wonder why we celebrate the change of calendar year and not really any other time, except perhaps birthdays. I guess it serves as a good marker of time, like how old your kids were when certain events happened in your life. I know I use Connor as a time gauge for many of my life's events. Wouldn't it benefit us greatly if we also saw each day, or each moment, as a time to celebrate, as an opportunity to set the stage for a purposeful life ahead? Well, guess what! We can!! Right now is the perfect moment to let go of the old and to open to the many fresh possibilities of what's next. As we focus on our goals, what we do in this moment will determine our level of success.
     Speaking of goals, we seem to have many; improved fitness, weight loss, new / better job, more time with family, completing a course or degree, etc. Goals are great and an important piece of the puzzle for fulfilled life. Without goals to help drive our energy and attention, we easily become aimless. Making sure our goals are written down and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) are also important in determining their success.
     Another key aspect of success is embodiment. In order to drive efficient change, we must connect to the feeling sense of our desired outcome. For instance, what will we look and feel like when we release those extra 15 pounds? How will our body move differently? What emotions will dominate our state of being? What clothes will we wear and how will they feel against our skin? How high will our energy be and what will be our outlook on life? All of these questions bring us to an embodied state of being where we resonate fully now with a future state. We activate all the senses to bring us to a state of completion even before we've begun. In our mind and feeling sense we are already 15 pounds lighter. When we live from this place, of embodying our success in this present moment, success show up with greater ease, joy, and love.
     As you seek to create lasting change this year, keep stopping along the way to ask yourself if your change actions are self-proclaimed to-do's or reflect an authentic and desired way of being. Do you feel obligated and restricted by your program / action steps or excited and energized? If it's the former, return back to the feeling sense and essence of why you desire this change. Reconnect with the energies of your heart's calling and why you are on this journey to begin with. Get back to the root of desired change so that you live your change with heart-felt purpose.
     Sometimes we get so driven to task our life, to have it show up in a certain way in a certain amount of time, that we forget our humanity and what that means. Living a human life is not a linear process. We are complicated, multi-dimensional beings with many different streams of consciousness. Be patient, kind, loving, and diligent in your change process. It is a process and success comes when we can celebrate ourselves and our new beginning in every moment. So Happy New Moment!! Enjoy them all.

Peace,
Shanti

Shanti Douglas
Mindfulness & Stress Management Coach
Eden Energy Medicine Certified Practitioner
8 limbs Holistic Health, LLC