Falling into Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season of all!  As we get our comfy sweaters ready to wear and our cozy throws appear on our beds and couches, we still enjoy a few more warmer afternoons, before the chill of the nights settle in.  I love days like today when you can feel a slight crispness to the air, you can hear the crunch of leaves under your shoes as you walk and you can smell the leaves as they transition from tree limb to forest floor...  Deep inhale...  Mmmm, Ahhhhhh...

As the trees and flowers begin to shed their summer wardrobe, we too should choose to shed what no longer serves us.  Who needs to wait until spring for said "Spring cleaning"?  Hmm?  I say each season we need a good cleanse!

My husband and I call it the Purge, and no, not the thriller movie kind of purge, but a cleansing for the mind, body and soul kind of purge.  When we are surrounded by too many "things" - especially things we no longer find valuable, or things that are no longer of use to us, we choose to be surrounded by stagnant energy.  Stagnant energy will bring us down, even make us sick.  Think of it this way...  Would we choose to move to a city that has extremely poor air quality and we are surrounded by smog every day?  Well, that's not preferable, correct?  So why would we choose to surround ourselves with stagnant energy that effects us literally on every level.

Take a weekend, or even just an afternoon to choose to go through one area of your home or office.*  There should be four distinct categories.  1.  You use every day - so you keep close by.  2.  You use every so often, and when you need it, you want it close by. (this one you need to be very careful of, as it could be a very slippery slope!*)  3.  You no longer need or use, but someone else may - here is the beginning of your donate pile and then of course 4.  Trash it!

We try to recycle as much as we can, but let's face it, sometimes it's just junk!  And that's ok.  Let it go.  I love donating items that I once loved and think now someone else will get to love it as much as I did.  It's a very heart warming feeling to think you don't need to keep everything or have everything in order to be happy.  Why?  Because happiness begins on the inside - right?  And if we are looking to outside influences in order to make/keep us happy...  when those things are no more, or go away - so does our happiness.  Not a healthy plan.  However, if we start with a happy, loving and balanced heart, we find we no longer need to hold onto everything we ever loved in order to maintain happiness.**  Yes, it is indeed, very freeing.

My husband and I purge often.  It is very healthy and, may I even add, necessary in order for us to live healthy and fulfilled lives**.  The first time may be the toughest, but then as you master the art of living simply, you recognize right away, if something needs to stay, or if it needs to go.

Happy purging!
Be Well,
Mary-Anne

*If you have trouble on where or how to begin, there are folks that can help you...  like Carleen - the Clutter Doctor!

**If you want more information on how to create a more healthy & fulfilled life with a happy, loving and balanced heart, email me for a free consult!  :)

Spring is in the air!

This year, more so than in years past, we all truly have thee worst case of cabin fever, ever!  The temperature is rising, the sun is feeling warmer, and we want out!

Spring is the best time for new beginnings.  A great time to start a new pattern or habit.  We have attempted this January 1st with our new year's resolutions, and then find we start to fizzle out.  In the spring, we once again feel the urge to begin again.  We feel very inspired as we watch the buds appear on the trees and the flowers begin to bloom.  We relate.  We, like the crocus, feel as though we have been buried long enough, and we are ready to sprout from under the rubble, to breakthrough!  We want to stretch and reach for the sun!  Admit it, just then, you wanted to stretch your arms to the sky.  You are already feeling larger than life!  It's in the air! 

Now, the question is, what do we do with this new found energy?  How are we going to funnel the energy in order to feel inspired and create our best year ever.  We want to grow, we want to succeed and we want the feeling to last!  Are we taking the necessary steps to get there?  Are we focusing on the positive vs. the negative?  Are we coming into situations with a 'glass half full' approach?  Our thoughts matter!  

A friend, in conversation, reminded me...  "the story we rehearse, we become".  It literally felt like a slap upside the head.  And for the situation I was referring to at the time, I needed that said slap!  He, and now I, say with the utmost compassion, knowing we can make excuses all day long every day; but keep this in mind-  The energy we put forth becomes our thoughts.  Our thoughts then become our words and the story we tell both ourselves as well as others, and the energy continues to become the life we lead, laying the foundation for our future.  

The energy we create leads us down a given path...

Will your path be that of light?  Or that of darkness.  The choice is yours!

With love & light,
Mary-Anne
Be Well.

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