Jaclyn Beckerman Coaching

So I’ve realized (with the help of some coaching) that I’ve got a serious layer of protection called “I don’t care/it doesn’t really matter/whatever”.  I use this to numb out to the consequences of not taking the actions I say I’m going to take or to not have to really be committed (with both feet in) to what I claim I’m committed to.

What this covers up is that I really deeply DO care (if I didn’t, I would have stopped talking about it ages ago).  AND I’m convinced that I’ll be devastated and get my heart broken because it inevitably won’t work out.  The ‘it’ could be anywhere from making a difference with people and getting people to stand for world peace to building my coaching practice to creating the relationships I want in all capacities such as romantic, friendships and with family.

The ironic thing is that the impact of this on me is that I end up feeling frustrated irritated, and really disappointed in both myself and others.  There’s also impacts on specific areas of my life like friendships, romantic life, my coaching practice, my family, etc.  And with me being that way I imagine it leaves others feeling left in the dark, disconnected, hurt and confused or even oblivious.

This isn’t how I want to live my life.  And I’m really well practiced at it.

So what I’m up to is thawing this ice that is covering the oasis below.  What I’m committed to is being a contribution everywhere.

Being a contribution doesn’t have to take a lot of effort and isn’t thwarted by not wanting to or feeling like it because it’s a way of being.  And it’s a choice to create or generate that way of being moment-by-moment.

What’s an act or shtick you can see you’re putting on in your own life?  What’s the thing you do to avoid getting hurt? What is that a facade for or what are you hiding from people (and maybe even yourself) that it covers up?  What’s the impact of that on yourself and others?  Actually let yourself really get present to and experience the impact.  Then decide if that’s what you’re committed to or if you want to create something else.

Every moment of every day you have to opportunity to create something different for yourself.  Is today going to be just one more iteration of how it always goes or will you have today be the day that you bring it to a full stop and create something else?  Invent a new perspective on life. Take a new action in line with it.  Tell people you’re giving up the crappy way you were being before and tell them what you’re creating instead.

Watch your life transform.

So I apologize I didn’t post last week.  I got caught up in some busyness.

Ok, that’s a lie.  To be honest, my body was taken over by “I don’t feel like it”.

I notice that “I don’t feel like it” sometimes does a hostile takeover and runs the show.  I guess it’s to be expected since I’ve definitely stubbornly lived life from that place in the past.  So it can’t be very happy that I’ve started to disengage from it and pay it less attention.  Yet although I’ve had huge breakthroughs around it in the past year (in fact, especially in the past 6 or 7 months), that doesn’t mean it goes away.

That’s the thing with our “stuff” .  Even when you transform it in a huge way and completely alter your relationship to it, that doesn’t mean it’s forever gone.  It just means that you’re more adept at recognizing it and not allowing it to take the wheel and control you. (Even though that may still happen sometimes – it will happen less and less the more practiced you are at acknowledging it and not choosing it.)

It’s funny because there are definitely plenty of times when I feel like I don’t have anything particular, useful or inspiring to write about.  Which compels me to put it off.  Yet I notice that when I just sit down and start writing about whatever is actually going on, it often turns out to be some pretty insightful stuff.

You’re like this too.  If you actually jump into the thing you’re avoiding, often times, it winds up being incredibly easier than you expected.

We can’t help that resistance shows up, we’re human.  We resist the way things are, don’t want to admit to or share it, and then get caught up in the drama of it without a lifeline.  Yet all it really takes is authenticity, recognition of ‘what is’, and ownership of it being that way to completely change the experience.

The point is that we ARE human.  Things aren’t always going to be rainbows and butterflies.  There are ups and downs to life.  But if you’re willing to ‘be with’ whatever your experience is and take responsibility for it, you can choose or create something else that’s more empowering or powerful.  The ‘ups’ suddenly start being more of the norm and the length of time you hang out in ‘downs’ gets shorter and shorter.

So, start noticing where you’re resisting whatever is going on in your life.  You have no power around it until you can fully own that YOU see things the way you do and have things going the way they are.  No one else created your experience for you (no matter what they said or did to you), YOU created it.  If you truly take full responsibility for how you think, feel and respond, then you can choose to have it go differently.  You can choose to be more compassionate, more loving and more understanding with both yourself and with others (and also with Spirit!).  Imagine what would shift in your life living from there.

Piggybacking on last weeks post, I want to talk more about being with ‘what is’.

The phenomenal power of being in the moment and accepting things as they are.

Now I’m not saying I’m an expert at this.  I’m practicing and learning.  But man is it useful and empowering.

When you start to be with what is, you stop resisting how things aren’t.  And after all, what you resist, persists.

For example, you’re on the phone and a major client decides to stop working with you, in that moment that’s what is.  In the next moment, you are just sitting there working, and that’s what is.  Instead of reacting, throwing all your energy into the upset and losing the rest of your day or week, you can be proactive and productive to create new clients or plan for whatever is next. (This takes PRACTICE.  It may take you more than 10 minutes, 3 hours or a day to get back to the present moment at first.  But keep practicing and you’ll get back to it faster and faster.)

Or say you’re on a date and you really like the person, in that moment, you’re getting to know someone and having a good time.  If you’re measuring them up against some imaginary list you’ve concocted representing the ‘perfect partner’ or losing yourself in your thoughts about whether or not you’re going to marry this person, well then you’re NOT being in the moment with what is.  Every time you notice your mind wandering from the exact current situation you’re in, bring yourself back by reminding yourself that you’re here right now.

Or maybe you had a really awful day at work.  Everything went wrong and you felt like you just couldn’t catch a break.  But now you’re at home.  Well, ‘what is’ is that you’re at home, doing whatever you’re now doing (eating dinner, watching tv, reading a book, spending time with your kids, etc).  If you sit there and stress or complain about your day, you’re now living in the past (yes, even earlier today, in fact even 1 minute ago, is now the past).  Your energy is still at work in your crappy day.  On top of that, you’re now poisoning whatever is going on in this new experience with something that has nothing to do with the present moment.  Work will be there tomorrow and it will be a new day, where you can create a new experience.  Being present in the current moment will help you do that.

Or perhaps you just had an argument with your partner or spouse (or even a friend). But now it’s over.  Yet often you’ll spend hours (for some, days) in anger and resentment before deciding to let it go or make up even though you’re not actually arguing anymore.  It’s funny because often when we have these kinds of arguments, while we’re still arguing, we’ll see the other person’s point of view, and actually get that we’re not completely right (even if they’re not completely right either).  Yet we’re SO committed to being right, that we hold on to our anger, frustration and upset and pretend they’re 100% wrong anyway (another example of resisting being with ‘what is’ since you can in fact see their perspective).  What we could do is to actually share when we see the other person’s point of view (notice that that alone will ease the tension, not just for them but for you too).  This doesn’t have to invalidate your experience or deem your feelings to be inaccurate.  But when you can be understanding of where another person is coming from, you can have compassion for them.  From there, they’ll likely be more receptive to understanding you as well.

Practice actually telling yourself what’s going on in your current reality: “Right now, in this moment, I am ‘_________’.”  For example, ‘Right now, in this moment, I am at home writing a blog entry.’  Or, ‘Right now, in this moment, I am on a date.’  Or, ‘Right now, in this moment, I am playing with my kids.’ Or, ‘Right now, in this moment, I am working on my business plan.’

The more you can be present to what is actually currently happening, the more power and peace you can have.

What’s not happening can never be what’s actually happening.

I’ve noticed recently how much energy I spend on what’s not happening.

For example, I had some friends meeting me at Sacred Center a couple weeks ago and they were 45 minutes late.  That’s halfway through the service.  And for the first half of the service, I was watching the door for them and thinking about where they were, annoyed that they weren’t there.  It was then that I first realized that I spend so much time focused on what’s isn’t happening (here it’s that they weren’t there yet) that I don’t get to enjoy whatever is going on.  The kicker is, the idea that ‘they weren’t there’, wasn’t actually happening.  In that moment, all that was happening was that I was there, listening to people sign and talk at Sacred Center.  I was completely lacking any presence whatsoever with where I currently was and wasn’t enjoying this thing that I was there for.

I’ve since started really practicing noticing when I’m stressing out about something that’s not happening.  One of the most obvious places this shows up for me is when someone is late to meet me.  I notice all my focus goes towards them being late and where they are instead of just focusing on where I am and being in the moment.  It’s true they might be late, but where they are really doesn’t have to affect me and take over my consciousness.  I can instead choose to be with what is.

I know I’ve focused on lateness here but consider this same idea is applicable in any area of life where you’re focusing on what’s not so instead of what is.

This could be when you’re sitting at home thinking about work and dreading a certain project or boss or going in general (you’re not currently at work though!).  Or when you’re on vacation thinking about all you’re going to have to deal with when you get home and making lists of what to do (not much of a vacation).  Or when you’re on a date and thinking about if this is going to go anywhere and measuring  your date up against some imaginary guidelines (you’re with someone now! Be with them).  I’m sure you can think of many more examples.

Start noticing where your energy is.  Is it in any other moment than the current one?  What would be different or available to you if you got present to where you are right now, all the time?  What if you stopped stressing out about the things that you’re assuming (or making up) are happening and just started living in the present moment?

Because you can’t.  You can only change yourself and your relationship to other people.  You can’t actually change them. There’s nothing wrong with them anyway.  They are however they are.  Where the power and magic to transform a relationship exists is completely within shifting your own interpretations and reactions to whatever it is they do and whoever they ‘be’.

Consider that YOU are the source of ALL of your grief, anxiety and frustration, yet you assume it is caused by another person (or circumstance, or event, etc).  All that angst is a derivative of your own beliefs and thought processes about how people or things should or shouldn’t be.  What would life be like for you if you could live outside of all the ‘should’ and ‘should nots’?  Outside of defending, justifying or blaming?  What possibility do you see that would create space for?  Who could you BE then?

I was journaling yesterday on how Spirit could guide me to focus more attentively on my relationship with myself and with others as well as various areas of life where I’m up to things (business, relationship, friendships, fitness, travel, writing).  I got two main things out of it.  One was to follow my intuition with conviction and do whatever feels right.  To move in the direction of my passions and let the universe work out the details.  The other, more relevant to this particular topic, was to accept people as they are.  I mean, REALLY accept people as they are.  To completely and totally love them for all they are and all they are not and to not wish, hope or try to change them.  After all, wishing they would change is just as destructive as trying to change them.

I also got that as a coach, bringing unconditional acceptance ‘as is’ to my stand for my clients doesn’t mean I don’t support and partner with them in creating their transformation.  After all, they’re hiring me to create the life of their dreams and get results.  It just means that they are perfectly fine wherever they are and there’s absolutely nothing wrong.  Ever.  There are just things that they want in their life that they currently don’t have, obstacles to remove from the path, and breakthroughs to create to get there.  I have always understood this, especially at the intellectual level, but this time seemed to have permeated me even more deeply than in the past, to a level that touched my soul and shifted my perspective.

Now back to you, I’m not saying that you must or should keep everyone in your life and just ‘rise above it’.  Use your own intuition.  You may find that there are some things you are unwilling to settle for which may be an indication that it is no longer serving you to keep someone in your life.  On the other hand, you may find that you’ve been being a jerk or have been instigating tension or disconnect and choose to change the way you relate to them.  Look at what is most in line with what you are committed to in your life.  Regardless of what you choose, and it is most definitely a choice, when you get present to accepting them as they are, you then are responsible for empowering your decision to continue the relationship or not and how it goes from that point on.

So look at the relationships in your life.  Really look on your side of the street at what has them going the way they are.  From a place of accepting those people completely, what is there to take on?  Apology? Forgiveness? Support? Completion? The ability to create relationships that nourish you exists within in your heart.  Let it speak to you.

I closed my eyes on the subway today.  I had music on at the time and just focused on nothing but the music.  What I realized is that I can quite easily create spaciousness and peace even when I’m surrounded by dozens of people I don’t know.

It’s similar to the sensation I get from being at Siddha Yoga.  I’m chanting and meditating with a room full of people (there they’re doing the same) and the only time I’m really present to being surrounded by folks is if I open my eyes.  The difference there is the warm feeling of unity and belonging you get from being surrounded by others who are committed to raising their spiritual awareness and consciousness.

It’s amazing to me though how closing my eyes and getting present in the moment shifts my mind frame and attitude.  I wasn’t particularly flustered or anything on the subway but the stark contrast of before and after closing my eyes and going within was certainly notable.  Afterward I felt more connected and at ease.

It’s wonderful to experience because just a couple years ago I adamantly proclaimed that I couldn’t meditate even though I wanted to and believed it could be useful in helping me focus and find some inner calmness.

It makes me wonder how quickly other folks give up trying to meditate after a handful of failed attempts.  Have you ever tried?  If you did try and gave up, how much of a shot did you really give it?

I ask because there was a time when I was one of those people who had given up on it. Knowing now the difference it has made in my life – and the difference it has made in many others lives based on various discussions I’ve had – I easily and whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone.

There are so many studies on the benefits of meditation.  Here are just a couple articles that discuss how meditating can make you more intelligent because it increases the size of your brain and how it calms your emotional response system.

There are many forms of meditation.  So if just shutting your mind off for an extended period of time seems daunting or difficult, you could try starting with visual meditation or mindful meditation where you focus on a particular feeling or word – or even just smile the entire time.  Shutting your mind off entirely from it’s regular whirring seems to be the most challenging but many say it just takes practice and a commitment to keep trying and expanding your capacity for it even if/when you struggle with it.

Meditating has been credited with such accolades as lowering stress, anxiety, and depression and increasing happiness. But regardless of how you take it on and learn, it sure seems as though the benefits outweigh the effort you have to put in.

What value do you see for yourself in calming or pausing your mind’s constant churning and actually being still and present for any extended period of time?  What difference might it make in your life to start practicing some focused attention inwards without the judgmental or critical eye of your ego mind?

If you do meditate regularly, what benefits have you gained from the practice?

Personally, I believe it’s made me calmer and significantly more capable of being at ease regardless of the situation or circumstance I’m currently in.  It’s also helped me become more spacious and unattached to any particular outcome with people like potential clients or even with friends.  All absolutely worthwhile results.

I’m feeling the need to share that I don’t like talking about my business in my posts.  There’s something about looking good and avoiding looking bad that consistently keeps me from writing about wins (or breakdowns) or lessons I learn in my business.

I’ve taken my willingness to be vulnerable with people to a whole different level just by starting this blog yet it’s clear to me that I’m not sharing things that would definitely be of value to folks in order to save face or avoid being judged.  It’s funny because I imagine it’s easy for people to judge lots of the things I talk about in my posts anyway yet for some reason when it comes to my business, I get far more confronted than by other topics.

I think we all do this.  We don’t share authentically with everyone what’s really going on in certain areas of our lives because we judge that they should be going or certain way or shouldn’t be going however they are.

Something fabulous that one of my clients said today was that in looking at how things were in the past (actually just a few months ago), she saw that they had to go the way they did and she had to go through what she did in order to get where she is now.  And because of that, she could see that the process was perfect.  Because today she feels empowered and liberated from some limiting beliefs that had a stronghold on her for most of her life.  But couldn’t have gotten here without going through the muck.  By the same logic, you can’t get where you want to go without going through whatever is in the way and breaking it down.  So naturally then, where you are too is perfect.  And there’s simply still work to be done to get the results you want.

So the thing I want to share about my business today is that I’ve had a breakthrough in it recently.  I shared in my post, Give It All Away, that I finally understood that I wasn’t getting what I wanted in life because I wasn’t giving it to the universe.  I said I wanted to be a contribution and to have a thriving coaching practice but I certainly wasn’t consistently having new clients sign up.  What I see is that I was actually being really stingy with both myself and others – more interested in what I could gain for myself than what I could give away to others and life.

What I didn’t share about my experience that day at Sacred Center was that this understanding that I needed to give to the universe what I was looking to have myself really moved to give more than my usual $2 or $3 donation when they passed the baskets around.  Instead, I filled out a credit card slip and donated $20.  This may or may not seem like a huge deal to you but for me it was an act of giving away the thing I’d been struggling to bring in to myself to something I love – without the story of ‘I can’t afford to do this’ or ‘I need to save money’ or ‘This is irresponsible’ attached to it.  I was contributing to something I saw as wonderful in the world instead of looking to be contributed to.  And it felt great.  Her message (I recommend reading the post if you haven’t already) had really shifted my perception of who I was being in the world.

The magic, the reason this is so significant to share, is that the very next day, I had a new client hire me.  While I know I’m a great coach and provide a lot of value for people, actually bringing in new business had definitely not been my strong suit in the past.  So just believe me when I say that this blatant manifestation of the law of attraction was pretty phenomenal.

I have been living and being from this place ever since.  Very aware of my intentions and solely out to contribute to people whether they are friends, prospects, clients, colleagues or family.

This past Sunday at Sacred Center, when they passed the donation baskets around, I at first gave $3, then I decided that was too stingy and was compelled to give more and added another $5.  I also did a workshop which I knew I wanted to participate in and was another $10.  I only had one sample session set up for this week, my first since that last one.  Now THIS prospect, who is wonderful and my ideal client, hired me as well.

More and more I’m feeling confident and certain that my practice is going to thrive and I will be able to serve myself by serving others!  My dream is to support as many people as possible in transforming their lives to be the life of their dreams! (In the future that will also include books and inspirational speaking!) And I must say, living (and loving) from this place and creating this life is SO exciting and rewarding!

What do you see would be possible for YOU if you started living from a space of contributing rather than ‘getting your needs met’ or ‘what’s in it for you’?  (And lets be honest, ‘what’s in it for you’ tends to dominate most folks way of being whether they intend it to or not.)

I feel like many (most?) people don’t.  In fact, many people seem to actually hate themselves.  Which sounds really sad (and it is) but seems so frequently to be true.

I used to be one of those people. Who didn’t love myself and didn’t think I was lovable.  Now, until getting involved with transformational work, I didn’t actually realize I felt this way.  It was a core belief I had hidden away far below the surface, where I didn’t have to see it or do anything about it. I might have even denied it if I’d been asked and I certainly did my best to overcompensate for the belief by being confident and outgoing.

In fact, there are plenty (perhaps even the majority) of people who even when they do face the fact that they believe this (or something like it, ie: worthless, useless, etc), don’t want to do anything about it because they’re so terrified of change and the unknown that they’d rather have things stay the same, safe and comfortable albeit resigned and unsatisfying.

From that place, you’re always living a life of not being enough.  So naturally, nothing ever will be enough.  From there, you can only see what’s lacking and trying to fix what’s wrong.

When in reality, there’s nothing wrong with you at all and certainly nothing to fix.  You are complete and whole just as you are.  There may be some stuff (mainly beliefs) in the way of you living the life you want to live.  But it’s transforming those beliefs and your relationship to yourself, not ‘fixing’ them, that makes the difference.

This has been a long journey for me to come to this place where I DO love myself and am happy with who I am.  I may not have it all figured out yet, and there are of course still fears that come up within me, but inherently I believe that I am a loving contribution to the world and the world is lucky to have me.

A delightful result of this is that I’m actually being a very different person and attracting wonderful things into my life like new men, friends, clients, and venues that support my continual growth and contribute to me living a phenomenal life of my choosing.

A friend asked me how I possibly had so many men asking me out and said I needed to give lessons.  I told her she needs to learn to love herself first and the rest will follow.  I really believe that it’s only because I’ve finally accepted myself with compassion and love that I’m attracting so many great things into my life.  I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage that says, ‘you can’t love someone until you learn to love yourself’.  Well I believe that’s true, and additionally that it will be much more difficult for someone else to love you if you can’t love yourself.  How can someone else possibly give you what you deny giving yourself?

So answer for yourself honestly, how much do you really love you?  Could it be more?  What could you take on to increase your experience of self-love?  Because whether you’re willing to admit it or not, I bet everyone could use more love in their lives – and it truly does start with you.  Feel free to share below. <3

I did a past life regression with Rethnea on Sunday.  It was very cool.  It’s very similar to visual (intuitive) meditation except you’re answering questions about yourself and not someone else.  You can check Rethnea out on her blog.  She’s warmth, generosity and peace all wrapped in one delightful package.

I saw glimpses of 3 past lives.

In the first I was a cavewoman.  My cave was on the side of a mountain next to an ocean.  It had and entrance made of 2 long stones (top to bottom) standing on either side of the entrance and one on the top like a hood.  There was an ocean at the bottom and when I went up to it to look at myself I saw I had an average build, long dark hair, bare feet, brown clothes and was kind of dirty.  Then we fast forwarded to dinner time where I saw I had a husband (a big burly guy) and 2 young children, a boy and a girl.  We often ate meat.  I wasn’t very satisfied with my life and seemed to just be getting by, settling for how things were although I wasn’t really happy.  We fast forwarded to the next significant thing that happened where I saw that I was chased down and murdered by a man, being stabbed in the back with a sharp object.  I wasn’t clear on why.

In the second life I was a princess in either India or Egypt – at first I thought Egypt but once I was there I thought it was India.  I first saw myself walking through a bustling village and people stopped when they saw me.  I felt a lot of love and compassion for them.  I was maybe in my late teens and had long dark hair pulled back wearing a headpiece that come to a point between my eyebrows and a purple garment that wrapped around me.  We fast forwarded and I next saw myself living in an ornate palace with my father and younger sister (who I believe was my older sister Jen) – it seemed somewhat solemn in the scene I saw.  (This is extra interesting because afterward when I shared this with my sister she said she’s been told be two different psychics that she has been a Indian princess and a Egyptian priestess in past lives!  They say you frequently reincarnate with the same group of souls although they may exist in a different relationship to you.) There may have been more family but those are all I saw.  I had the sense that my mother had passed away after my sister was born.  Fast forwarding, I was forced to marry (or be with – I wasn’t clear on whether or not we were actually married or not) a man I didn’t know or love who was very aggressive and cruel and I was really despondent about it.  I had 2 children with him, both girls.  He abused me and treated both me & the girls with indifference most of the time.  When the girls were older he sexually abused them.  I found this out when I noticed they seemed upset and quiet – slouched over a bit.  I tried to run away with them but didn’t escape and was brought back.  I was raped and strangled to death by him.

What I learned from this was that in both these lives, I settled for relationships as they were, even though I was unhappy with them.  I just got by and put up with it.  I learned that if I’m unhappy in a situation to not just stay there and to follow my instincts and my heart.  To not worry about the rules and whatever circumstances seem to be present, but instead to pursue whatever my heart yearns for and have conviction in that it will work out.  But also to create joy or satisfaction no matter what my circumstances are.  Each lifetime ended violently which I wasn’t asked to look into but I think it speaks to why I’ve always been afraid of men taking advantage of me and not trusting them.

In the third, which I had just a brief look into it, I was a young boy (maybe 6 or 7) being picked on by other children and they threw sand in my face.  This was what I saw when we looked into the root of my habitually itchy eyes.  The lesson to learn here is that I let myself be affected by what others thought of me too much when it really only matters what I think of me and that I know myself as great.

Messages from my highest self:

I learned that I procrastinate in order to avoid feeling like I’ll be stuck with something if it works out.  Which is a waste of energy because I can always change things and take on new ventures whenever I want if I want.  I spend so much time avoiding doing things that would move me forward because I fear that I’ll end up stuck in a situation that feels like I’m settling or putting up with however things are.  Basically I straddle between the ‘settling for’ and the ‘never settle for’ by sticking with things I know no longer serve me for longer than necessary while on the other hand (and sometimes simultaneously) jumping from idea to idea, venture to venture, relationship to relationship in order to not get trapped.  What I see I need to take on now is finding middle ground where I can commit to something and allow it to continually evolve into whatever serves me best.

I need to learn trust and compassion.  I need to listen to and follow my intuition instead of ignoring it.  Noticing when I have doubt or a nagging that something isn’t right for me and actually taking it seriously.  At the same time I need to learn to trust both myself and others.

Once persistent message was that everything I need is within.  Love is within.  I need to love myself completely and fully and allow it to flow forth from me to others. I also need to learn patience. I need to love and have compassion for people no matter what because everyone else is the same as me.

I have to remind myself of why I fell in love with things in the first place and to CHOOSE joy as my predominate experience.  I got that I should meditate every morning when I wake up to practice being with stillness and that I could also meditate on a particular way of being like peace or joy or love.  (This will help me sleep better as I sometimes still have trouble as would having more regular sleeping hours).  I also got that I should write my book every day for at least an hour.

It was definitely a cool experience.  I’ll have to let you know what comes of it.  We’re doing past life regression work in my intuitive tools class with Deganit Nuur this month so I’ll be able to relay what others see as well!

Thoughts/comments?

Well, almost 3 actually.

Spending time with my niece Audrey always fills my heart with love and joy. She is a brilliant, vivacious little girl who floods you with love every time you see her.

We went to her indoor open play group on Saturday and it was so much fun watching her run around trying anything and everything. She was most enamored with the trampoline which she’d been relentlessly trying to learn to bounce to her butt and straight back up to her feet.  She was so close but couldn’t get her feet underneath her fast enough.  After numerous attempts (this not being her first day trying to learn this) I asked her if she wanted help.  She said yes so helped her by holding her hands up while she jumped.  After successfully doing it this way a handful of times I let her get back to spontaneous play.  When she came back to the trampoline a little later she was able to repeatedly do it all by herself!

It’s just amazing watching children play and explore.  They have such a curiosity and sense of wonder about life.  Even if they do the same routine and a regular basis, they always approach that thing as if it’s just as new and exciting as the first time they discovered it.  Always looking to keep learning and growing and expanding their capabilities.

I realize there are many areas where I do not do that.  Once I’ve been doing something for awhile I tend to get bored of it and disenchanted by the process.  Often I end up walking away from that thing on to new and more exciting prospects.  I want everything to be fun and joyful and exciting all the time yet I don’t choose to see or experience it that way.  Instead I often choose boredom or frustration or resignation.  It seems like making that choice should be so obvious and simple yet if I’m going on auto-pilot with something I’ve done for awhile, joy and fun are not likely to be the automatic thing to pop up.

I need to start looking at the same old thing, the same task or event or project or even person with new eyes every time I engage with it.  To experience it with all the curiosity and wonder that, for me, naturally exists in anything new.  I have a feeling that that will be the access to joy fun and inspiration.

It really is incredible the immensity of knowledge we can gain from children if we allow them to teach us.