January 10, 2008

As often as I can, I spend time with my friend Daviea and we create glass mosaic art. She doesn't like when I say this but Daviea is a "real artist." She likes to think that everyone is an artist and everything that is produced is art. No matter what I create, Daviea truly believes that it is beautiful. She is such a talented artist, in part because she is completely open to life and all of the energy around her. Accordingly, she is able to see and experience things on a level that many of us don't or won't. Not only has she taught me a lot about the art of glass mosaic, but she has taught me a lot about the art of remaining open to life and all that it sends my way.

One of the reasons that I enjoy my friendship with Daviea is that no matter what is going on in our lives, we end up laughing long and hard. Its not that we ignore our feelings. On the contrary.. we remain very open to "whatever is." In fact, we talk at great length about what we are experiencing and rather than shutting down, we remain open to the vastness of whatever is there. One of our favorite expressions is, "So this is what it is like to be angry, or in great pain, or scared out of my wits." It seems like the more you try and deny your feelings, the more control they have over you and the more fixated you become. Ironically, when you try and deny a particular feeling or emotion, you end up viewing and experiencing the world through the lens of the emotion you are denying. In other words, stuff your anger and the world becomes a hostile place... stuff your fear a nd the world gets even more scary.... stuff your pain and you see the potential for pain all around you.

Just for today, allow yourself your full range of emotions. Remember that you are entitled to feel everything that you feel. Recognize that what you are experiencing is simply an emotional weather pattern passing through. Realize that you can't pick and choose which emotions you are going to stuff. So by giving yourself permission to experience your pain or anger or fear, you are also giving yourself permission to be open to the joy and happiness and abundance and love that is all around you. By allowing the dark cloud to move through, rather than becoming it, you are able to release it and once again dance in the light. And so it is.