147. Light Up The Sky

Even

After

All this time

The sun never says to the earth,

“You owe

Me.”

Look

What happens

With a love like that,

It lights the

Whole

Sky.

~Hafiz

The past few days I’ve been wrestling with some questions…

What is the point of the Acceptance Project if I never ever get accepted to grad school? Is it just that I have to accept the fact that I’ll never be accepted?

Why did I do all of this blogging…this record keeping, anyway? What’s the point of it all?

And why am I struggling so much with the idea of failing AGAIN to get accepted to grad school? Even though I know that my past two failures have been a catalyst for such amazing personal growth...and have brought sooooo many unexpected blessings into my life!

Haven’t I learned yet to trust that everything happens for my good?

I’ve been struggling with this uncomfortable feeling that the Universe must OWE me something…

I’m like… “Look, Universe…Don’t you see all the work and love and time that I’ve put into this grad school thing…Don’t you OWE me some success at this at some point, here? I mean…HONESTLY, what gives?”

Then I read that poem by Hafiz this morning (above)…and it was as if I was struck by lightning while staring at the page!

“OMG! Virginia!!! Nobody owes you ANYTHING…and certainly not the Universe.”

When my heart is I the right place and I’m able to step out of my own ego…I know that I am REALLY doing this Acceptance Project to “light up the sky” in my own small way...because I can.

Wayne Dyer gives a great explanation of this poem in his book Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life. I’ve quoted him below…

“Imagine if the sun needed attention and demanded accolades for its efforts – it would shine only where it felt most appreciated or when it received payment for that life-giving energy! Soon the world would be partially shut off from the sun’s magnificence, and ultimately the entire planet would be covered in darkness as wars erupted over ways of appeasing the “sun god”…Seeing yourself as important and special because of your artistic talent, for instance, is walking the path of ego. Walking the path of the Tao means that you express appreciation for the hands that allow you to create a sculpture...Change your life by consciously choosing to be in a state of gratitude.”

Sigh.

It’s sooooo good to be reminded of these things.

GIVING!!!…THAT’S THE POINT…and being grateful that I have something to give...I am super grateful for that every day.

So go…Go “light up the sky” in your own unique way. 

No one else may notice…but you’ll know you're adding your light to the earth…and that’s what matters.

Loves,

V

113. Tappin' Into That Peace

"How to be at peace now? By making peace with the present moment. The present moment is the field on which the game of life happens. It cannot happen anywhere else. Once you have made peace with the present moment, see what happens, what you can do or choose to do, or rather what life does through you. There are three words that convey the secret of the art of living, the secret of all success and happiness: One With Life. Being one with life is being one with Now. You then realize that you don't life your life, but life lives you. Life is the dancer, and you are the dance." - Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

Sooooo if I am a dance...This would be ME...

Shuffle-hop-step,
Virginia

P.S. Had an awesome time with M doing a couple of monologues while walking to the Ditmars subway stop in the freeeeezing cold. Very fun. Very conversational... Nothing like a couple of beers to take the pressure off. ;-p

35. Post-It Note Wisdom

“You should never sacrifice yourself in an attempt to save someone else. You cannot save anyone but yourself. When you make a strong commitment for something important that represents the next step in your evolution, you need to put boundaries around it and protect it from all the energies that are not compatible. This may require some hard choices of cutting off certain relationships, practices, habits and influences. If it does not feel good, say no and don’t do it. If it feels good, say yes and go for it. You don’t need to know how or why.” – Lena Stevens, The Power Path

Ya know when you’re happily moving along in your life, thinking everthing is normal and then you get a phone call… and the universe throws you a curve ball that starts you spinning into total chaos? 

Yeah. Well, welcome to my Saturday. 

I know we’ve all been there. Sooo in the interest of being self-loving and giving myself some much-needed encouragement at this moment… I decided to pull out the above quote for sustenance.

In fact, I think I’m going to write it on a Post-it note and carry it around in my pocket today. It’ll be a good moment-to-moment reminder and hopefully help me maintain my sanity.

Me brain is struggling right now to juggle a lot of deep-emotion-triggering new information. Gotta pull out some major inspiration to counter-act the crazy.

This one’s a goodie too…

“Remember that you cannot please everyone and you certainly cannot fix or heal anyone else but yourself. In the area of boundaries, be responsible for what is yours and not for what isn’t. It is very simple even though we try and make it complicated.” – Lena Stevens, The Power Path

Complicated? Yeah. How about PAINFUL?! Bleh. Emotions are so annoying sometimes. I mean, I’m glad to have empathy… otherwise I’d be some kind of sociopath, but at a certain point... some boundaries need to be set. Truly.

Breathe. It’s all going to work out fine, Wilcox. No need to freak out. Take comfort in your Post-it note. Go do one or two of your 5 daily practices that lead to happiness. 

Let it be.

Wishing you all a sane Saturday, devoid of curve-balls… or if not… maybe you can join me in some Post-it-note-carrying-wisdom!

Loves,

V

“We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them.” – William Arthur Ward

31. Approved!!!

“Favor and disgrace seem alarming.  High status greatly afflicts your person.  Why are favor and disgrace alarming?  Seeking favor is degrading:  alarming when it is gotten, alarming when it is lost.  Why does high status greatly afflict your person?  The reason we have a lot of trouble is that we have selves.  If we had no selves, what trouble would we have?  Man’s true self is eternal, yet he thinks, I am this body and will soon die.  If we have no body, what calamities can we have?  One who sees himself as everything is fit to be guardian of the world.  One who loves himself as everyone is fit to be teacher of the world.” 

(Wayne Dyer’s interpretation of the 13th Verse of the Tao TeChing. Taken from "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living The Wisdom of the Tao")

Seeking the approval of others leads to suffering:

If you gain the approval of others, you suffer… for you will become dependent on it for your feelings of self-worth and the continual seeking of that approval becomes an addiction that can never be satiated.

If you don’t gain the approval of others, you suffer… because you will keep pushing harder and harder to change their minds and your life will constantly be directed by external forces rather than your own inner guidance system.

Therefore, it is crucial to remain independent of both the positive and negative opinions of other people.  Regardless of whether they love us or detest us, if we make their opinions and assessments more important than our own, it will ultimately lead to dissatisfaction with ourselves and cause us pain.

(Or as they say in the theatre... "If you believe the good reviews, you have to believe the bad ones.")

Your earthly body isn’t your true identity. To find your place of peace you must begin to trust your true eternal self and allow that identity to communicate with you. 

In "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life," Wayne Dyer challenges his readers to do the following:

For one day, give up all need to be praised by others or to seek their favor.  Try for one day to listen to what this beautiful eternal self has to say to you.  And what you will find is a place of peace, which will remain with you always.

Give yourself the approval you seek.

Peace,

Virginia

“Keep eliminating the attachment to old ways.” – Lena Stevens, The Power Path