"There is no deadline, there is no schedule"

So I'm trying to let myself be okay with just being, and allowing, and taking the time to give my soul some time to breathe. I got so caught up working so much over the last year that I think I kind of forgot how to let go and just be. Funny how we feel guilty when we're not working or doing something "productive." But who's to say that spending the day taking yoga, going for walks, reading good books and writing isn't productive? Who's to say that contemplating the ocean's immensity (like here at Kailua Beach), getting lost in the delicious hues of a sunset, or planting an intention and sending it out into the universe is not beneficial to the human spirit?

I think it's a strength of character thing, you know?

I already feel like this more grounded person. Like I've become reacquainted with myself, which is in fact a very lovely thing. I suppose you just have to accept that within this reacquainting comes a negotiation with loneliness, with fear, with depression, and perhaps a little sadness. Yet with this reacquainting comes new found strength, and interest, and heart.

I keep coming back to Elizabeth Gilbert. Eat, Pray, Love has been a Bible of sorts as I personally don't cling to any organized religious practices. But this book, her journey, and an incredible mastery of words are like shining beacons in the dark... as if Gilbert herself is guiding me, affirming my thoughts, validating my emotions. I feel a little less alone with her around.

And so today I think as Gilbert thinks:

"But is it such a bad thing to live like this for just a little while? Just for a few months of one's life, is it so awful to...nap in a garden, in a patch of sunlight, in the middle of the day, right next to your favorite fountain? And then to do it again the next day?"

(Eat, Pray, Love)



.....
On another note I must share some new music that is truly rockin' my spirit (and thanks to a few contributors for some of these new discoveries...you know who you are):

anything by The Mountain Goats, but "Tallahassee" in particular
"Streetlight" by Joshua Radin
"Uncle's Sweetheart, Pt. 2" by Madeline
"Fables" by the Dodos
"Tighten Up" by the Black Keys, though their entire new album Brothers is enough to get even the most sullen truly amped.
"You and Your Heart" by Jack Johnson
"Danger! High Voltage" by The Electric Six (again, only for those looking to get pumped)
"Dance So Good" by Wakey! Wakey! (but really, anything on this album as well)
"Passion Play" by William Fitzsimmons
"Corner" by Allie Moss
"Timsehl" by Mumford and Sons (this is the tune I play while taking in the sunset and waves at the end of the day)

For now, check out the ear snacks and let me know your thoughts.
And for later, just know that somewhere, at some time, there are positive energies being tossed into the universe for you. Yes, you.

Most of the time we don't even know it.
But it's really happening.