How would you live your life differently?
New Works On Paper
Nadine Stair, an 85-year-old woman from Louisville, Kentucky, shares her answer when asked, "How would you have lived your life differently if you had a chance?"
"If I had my life to live over again, I’d dare to make more mistakes next time. I’d relax. I’d limber up. I’d be sillier than I’ve been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances, I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would, perhaps, have more actual troubles but fewer imaginary ones. You see, I’m one of those people who was sensible and sane, hour after hour, day after day.
If I had to live my life over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances, I would ride more merry-go-rounds, I would pick more daisies."
Source: Chicken Soup for the Soul 20th Anniversary Edition
I often remind myself that most of my troubles are imagined.
I can create all the plans I want, and sometimes the universe sends something else entirely.
Sometimes this feels like ‘troubles I should worry about’. Other times, it comes as an opportunity I must stretch to say yes to.
I couldn’t have predicted my life of today 10 years ago. So many of the imagined troubles never materialized. So many wonderful and unexpected blessings bestowed upon me. And yes, some uncertainty and troubles too…(Pandemic, anyone?)
Through the ever-changing journey called life, I've found ways of keeping the imaginary worries at bay with a few simple practices.
Staying in the present, using my breath to engage the moments (as I remember to, throughout the day). Breathe in Love. Breathe out Joy.
Feeling into my body more so it can guide me, listening between the lines for my intuition to have a say. Looking through the eyes of beauty.
Honoring my natural rhythms as best I can by knowing what they are and how I can support my wild and feminine flow.
So let's follow Nadine's example and expand on the simple things that connect us to our aliveness. Let’s cultivate our Radiance. Let's live our lives forward in a way that has us looking back with a smile.
I believe when we tend to our lives in this way, we bring more joy and creativity to our days, and in turn we bless the world.
Tending To The Spirit at The Soulful Leadership Conference, Orlando 2023