Welcome to the Launch of Balance & Grace!!!!

"This site is developed with the recognition that we are not alone. We are in this together. Who we are is more important than the titles we give ourselves or the labels we accept. Life is a journey to be shared, not a race to be won. Here we will develop balance and cultivate grace by celebrating, supporting, and challenging the spiritual, physical, and emotional growth of each other. We will teach each other and create a safe haven for discussion. Respond to a post, start a new topic, make a video request, or share a thought. It is here because of you and for you. So jump on in!!!!"
~Christine Grace Ivy,
Balance and Grace Pilates and Life Coaching~
www.wix.com/mamasladybug/christineivy

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

LEMONS =TART FACE or LEMON CAKE?

So, as many of you know, after three weeks of debilitating injury I am almost ready to jump back into the full swing of things. I'm not quite up to full capacity, but I'm getting there. And many of you also know that it was quite a challenge for me to go from being a physical hurricane of momentum to spending days on my back with my legs up on a couch. Quite frankly, it really sucked. And it took more than  a minute to re-determine how I was going to define productivity and personal assessment and goal orientations. But, as I look back on the last few weeks I can see that I was able to utilize the "down time" to do a plethora of things on that never-ending "to do" list that I had been keeping at procrastinations door for weeks! I did my taxes, addressed important files, did some re-organization, caught up on e-mails/research/etc., re-set some goals for the year....I actually accomplished many things that I had been desiring to place attention towards but had been up till then too busy to address. In some ways I've been the most productive since Ive had to slow down a little.  Isn't that funny? It hasn't been fun, but it has been eye-opening.  And here's one of the things I learned from this abrupt lesson: Habits follow you wherever you go. If you are in the habit of gratitude, it will find you, even in your darkest hours. If you are in the practice of productivity, it will lure you out from being trapped in the pool of  self-pity. And if you are in the diligent mindset that every day is a fresh start with fresh opportunities just waiting to be tapped, then those opportunities will find you. Life will bring to you those things that you expect you will find. If you expect love and community and blessings and harmony, then you will dedicate yourself to living in such a way till those things begin to naturally weave themselves into the fabric of your habits and relationships. If you expect failures, sadness, disappointment, rejection, and negative outcomes, those too will find you.  Expectancy = Outcome. As the Bible defines it, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen. Our expectancy determines our actions which become habits which become our lifestyle which ultimately determines our destiny. Don't you see?, You already have all the tools you need to determine the kind of life that you want to be living. It definitely isn't always easy, but its really not that hard.  And although I am still learning how to incorporate this philosophy more fully  the truth of it rings clear and I am ever more encouraged to bring all the things that I truly desire out of life, like real relationship, love, acceptance, passion and purpose, to the table every day. I'm still a work in progress, we all are, but I hope that you will be encouraged to do the same.

Here's an example of acting in expectancy of a positive outcome. This little dog teaches us all what we can do when we believe in something bigger then our current situation.