Just a Moment

We are never guaranteed any moment but the one that we are in. We are never promised tomorrow, or even later on today. When it comes to promises of "some other time" or "later on" or "when I get the chance", there is not much certitude that can be relied upon. All of the "should haves" and "could haves" and "would haves" dont mean a whole lot at the end of the day and definitely dont carry much weight at the the true end of your days....So here's a thought: why not live each day with the intention and passion and gusto as if it were your last? Because one day, my friends, regardless of how you feel about the subject, one day it will be your last. Go out with a bang, not a whimper. Love is the stomping ground of the warriors. Compassion brings peace. Hope is the blanket that everyone is desperate to have wrapped around them. And Faith, though often discarded, is the shield that protects and defends. We all know that each moment carries with it an inherent choice. And today, my friends, today I pray that I am wise enough to  choose Love in each moment. And in that choice, no matter what else happens, I know that today will be a good day.

Someone shared a clip with you on Vimeo

You can watch it here:
http://vimeo.com/29965982

The Beat of Our Dream- Burning Man 2011 Rites of Passage http://vimeo.com/29965982 Dear friends, it is my great pleasure to invite you to view this beautiful vision of what the experience of Burning Man meant to me and so many others this last year. Written, shot, and edited by my angelic friend, Jaime Jhilmil Gianopoulos. This video is a gift of laughter and love and reflection. Enjoy. ~Christine Ivy, creator of Balance&Grace. About this video: "Written, Shot, Edited- Yours Truly Music- Bon Iver- Hinnom TX, Bon Iver- Holocene This is a video I created from the experience of my first burning man. It was such a life changing week that I will always keep in my heart. I wrote this poem the week before burning man. Channeled love. Burning man for me is a new vibration that I will always keep in my heart and when I need to...i can tap back in for love and healing at any time. Thank you to everyone who was a part of this dream. Love Letter to The Burn Swallowed by the crevasses of the dusty whiteness, a purity of particles to digest into the belly of her portal of creative forces, that gather together to create societies weaved through the energy of all who choose to open their hearts, to greet with smiles, to create a dream we commonly share. To be expressed as we are. To create worlds that represent our souls burning fires. The passions and seeds of the fruits that feed and nourish our souls. The ground, the wind, the dust glues our sweaty bodies together to create a melding of a world where landscapes appear to be a distant planet we have imagined while gazing at the stars. Where everything makes sense, where intentions are rules that rule a kingdom of the heart. Hats are our shade and luminescent colors are the pallets of our paintings. The strokes and brushes create us and when the dust storms arrive you are welcome. Always you are welcome. Time has no place and the space is your creation. Breath in the scorching air, exhale your dreams. Dance on your vibration and as you step up a step powered by the heart hold my hand as I gently hold hers, and shift like the dusty winds. Tornados of energetic integrity spitting gifts of love across the breeze. Please as you move through this cosmic sea, dance with grace. Take this place, this part of your heart and fertilize the world, leaving trails of light glittering like the open night sky. I am the shooting star I wish upon. Exploding vibrant forces and rhythms heard in the beat of the earth, the beat of the heart, the beat of our dream. Love JL"

Forward this email to your friends and family so that they can see it, too.

Don't want these alerts anymore?
http://vimeo.com/settings/notifications

LOVE,

More Than Words

"How are you doing?" is a phrase that we hear and repeat countless times. This is one of the most asked   questions with one of the most dismissed answers encountered on a daily basis. We have all been guilty of using this colloquium as an ice-breaker to start a conversation. I must admit that there have been times that I have asked the question without expecting honest and full disclosure.  And yet how many times have we all felt the sting of wanting to scream out the answer when nobody was asking and, worse yet, when we were being asked the words without any intention behind it. To dismiss the weight of an honest answer can feel as dismissive as a rejection of the person sharing their truth. This might be the reason we usually respond to this casually used question with such routine lines as, "I'm great", instead of saying, "My life has never sucked more than it does right now".  And by flippantly allowing this false exchange to occur we all deepen the depths at which our authentic and beautifully flawed selves remain buried and ignored.

By the same token, when a person is going through a rough season, a rough day, maybe even just a rough moment, they don't need to use words to tell you they are feeling awful and fighting despair. The state of the soul is hard to hide and is usually as blatant as the clothes on their back. All it takes is a moment to visually listen to sense where people are in their journey. Maybe its bags under the eyes, perhaps an unusual slump in their steps, maybe a nervous anxiety in their jaw, perhaps a protective energy that feels heavy or dejected....whatever the signs, the body will never lie. The truth of who a person is and what they are feeling is always as accessible as a moment's consideration.

We  never have to ask, "How are you doing?", because if we would just slow down for a moment and look beyond our own harried lives and schedules the answer would be clear. If we really want to know how other people are doing, we don't have to use our words. We only need to use our eyes and the sensitivity of  the spirit. What we do with this information is another conversation entirely, and I will share my opinion on that at another time. But the thought I want to leave you with is this: We learn more about people in their silence then from their words. And my question to you is this: Why do we bother asking, 'how are you doing?', at times when we don't have the time or the interest in the real answer? Are we such creatures of habit that we cant decipher a better way to recognize each other? Thoughts, anyone? I'd love to find another way to greet people so that when we do ask people to share how they are doing the thought holds more weight. If we only ask when we really care to know the answer, the value of the response will be felt and in turn, the answer will become more honest. Honest answers = honest people = a more authentic life lived.

A Daily Choice

I saw a baby yesterday and I smiled to myself as I thought about having one of my own one day....which by itself is a shocking thought to those of you who know me already....but that's not the point of this post. The thought that stikes me are all of the reasons WHY having a mini-me is starting to sound appealing. I imagine that the thought of another blank slate encountering and conquering a beautiful, yet to be formed journey has something to do with it.  A pure, unencumbered life that hasn't yet learned the sting of the words "no" and "but" nor accepted the  awkward  barriers of  learned fear and bitter regret. But here's the thing....we already have a perpetual blank slate before us! Every morning is an opportunity to encounter and conquer a beautiful, yet to be determined 24 hour journey. Every morning we are blessed with chances to be better, stronger, kinder, loving, and authentic. We choose whether we dare to be different then yesterday...Whether we take chances, hear as well as listen, choose love over hate, and risk making fools out of ourselves. Dare to make every moment the kind you'd want for your children. Live the life you'd want for them. Make the choices you would challenge them to make.  You just might surprise yourself with the outcome.