Smelling the Roses

I almost titled this Time but then realized that what I really mean is taking time and not so much dealing with Ben Franklin's time is money.  What I mean is just taking time to be in tune to what is going on around us and how we are connected to it all.  

I really have been able to take time for what I feel is important and necessary.  I have used the phrase a couple of times in the last month that "there is a time for everything".  What is amazing is the time I am "taking" is not spent as much on the past or the future.  I am focusing so much more now on the present--something I have always really strived for in my life.  How did this happen?  How did the switch just flip?  

Someone recently told me that I am very balanced, and granted, this was right after having done a head-stand contest and realizing how good my physical balance is.  When we talked later about the idea of physical and inner balance, he said to me that I am very well in tune to myself and aware of what I am feeling.  

The action I am currently working on, however, is the communicating of my feelings and needs.  I long to get better at honoring my desire for relationship while allowing for openness to transform in these needs.  I have set my heart on being more conscious on how to communicate the inner balance and/or imbalance I feel into active ideas and thoughts.  

This is not an easy task for me and I will probably be set back before I accomplish the ideal.  However, as I was talking to one of my classmates on our walk the other day, Communication is part of the title in our Master.  It is part of the reason I am here.  How incredible that what I feel I need to improve upon could be directly and/or indirectly involved in the knowledge I gain both in class and (mostly) outside of class.  

I will work on this balance I have as part of the process of improving my communication.  I will take time, in the present moment to focus on my words and what I am feeling and be able to merge this into vocal expression.  

In the same way, I want to remember my connection to the unlimited oneness of the universe.  I've been talking to friends these past couple of weeks on this topic, and I know my need for improvement in consciousness and being receptive of this link.  I truly believe what we feel could be influenced by outside sources, beyond our imagining.  We are one with each other in the end, and this will be acknowledged more as time goes on.  

Inner Peace

A part of me has the attitude of "go hard or go home" and I think in some situations it has served me well.  However, Italian culture is not based on the all or nothing attitude, and I think it has been a blessing for me here.

I had a conversation with a friend yesterday about how important it is to just observe sometimes.  We can learn so much just by allowing our senses to take over--mostly in terms of vision and hearing.  Gestures and body language, and even the choice of words people use can give us insight on that person and really allow us to see them in a new light.

I have come to appreciate the days I have in Italy where I can just be still and let my calm and silence be a reflection of my inner peace.  I truly feel that this allows me to reflect to others the foundation of a life filled with love and meaning.  I am able to better serve others and let my love shine by taking time to contemplate and have silence, while at the same time actively finding myself and building my faith--a faith in myself, in others, and in all of life.

In finding myself and building my faith in this earth that we live in, I am also better able to find what I can do and where I can be of best service to others.  I am more aware of what I owe and to whom I owe it.  What perfect timing to be in Italy, getting my Master's in a subject that I know will allow my talents and reason of being to evolve.

I have learned so much just in the classroom, and have so much written down I want to share.  The in-class learning, however is only a small portion of all I have learned in not even yet a month.  After a year I think I will know my true path and my purpose.  Until then, I will live as always with patience kindness and faith, while applying myself to good and positive things, and surrounding myself with the people who reinforce and deepen this path to purpose.