FORGIVENESS

WHAT A PARADOXICAL WORD.  Vast, yet simple.  Hugely unimaginable to give to someone in some situations, yet so easy to bestow in others.  And is it right to say; I can forgive you, but not them?  Can we indeed CHOOSE forgiveness, or must it just come naturally?

Personally, I think that there are no rules, and that every situation is different.  I also think that sometimes it's enough just to understand and accept why something has happened, without needing to forgive a person who has hurt you.  We can also work towards forgiving a situation.  These are very personal choices and there is no right or wrong way to go.

And then there's self-forgiveness.  What if we don't feel that we deserve it?  What do we do then?  Can we really move forward without it?  I believe that we can only get so far before the self-punishment pain we are holding within ourselves for the mistakes we've made, catches up with us, manifesting in all kinds of ways in our lives.  We are the only ones who can offer ourselves this gift.  The only ones who can release ourselves from our distress.

So whether the issue is forgiving another, or ourselves, the question you need to be asking is; what do you REALLY want?

Greetings from The Woman's Garden

MAKING TIME

IS THERE TIME FOR THE SACRED IN YOUR LIFE?  I guess the first thing you need to ask yourself in regards to this question is, what is it that is sacred to you?  Is it spending time with your kids or your friends?  Is it going to Church or walking through an old growth forest?  Or sitting on a headland watching whales playing in the sun?  Maybe it's that first cup of tea in the morning, when the household's still asleep and you have the whole wide world to yourself.  Is it easy for you to name what is Sacred to you, or do you find yourself at a loss for words?  Do you not care one way or the other, or are you suddenly sad because you really don't know?

In this world where there are countless gadgets available to keep you connected in with others 24/7, where days are often timetabled to the nano-second, and stress and anxiety levels are alarmingly on the rise, making time to contemplate and enjoy the Sacred in your life may seem like an impossible priority - even a trivial one.  My advice?  Always find the time to make the time; you may end up discovering that this is exactly what you've been spending all your time running around looking for...

THE DOCTOR WHO FACTOR

ONE OF THE THINGS I ADMIRE THE MOST ABOUT DOCTOR WHO IS THAT HE ALWAYS HOLDS HIS SPIRITUAL GROUND.  He has stood before beings who have committed the most atrocious crimes against humanity and the Universe, pleading with them to come over to the Light, that it's not to late to change.  The singular voice in the crowd, calling for understanding about why this being is the way that they are, struggling and calling for understanding and peace.  Offering the offender, and everyone else, belief, and hope for a better reality, a different way of existing with eachother.  A man who believes passionately in such things, wielding a sonic screwdriver in preference to a gun, The Doctor is one who has his own demons that he lives with, his own reasons for fighting for a better way.  He himself has said that his opportunity to step onto the path of personal redemption came along in the form of Rose, a woman of strength and courage, who brought compassion back into his life.  He made a choice to listen to her and stuck to it.  Of course, if the potential for such greatness of character hadn't been there in the first place, then he wouldn't have transformed into the man who we all know and love so well - must be that extra Heart!

How lucky we are if we have or have had a Rose in our lives.  And a Dr Who!  We all have times in our lives when find ourselves at a personal crossroads with a decision needing to be made about which direction to take.  It can be enormously difficult to come to a place of realising that there's just nothing more that you can do to revive a situation,  a relationship - a person.  But what if, even with that knowing, something inside of you still wants to hope? 

Yes, there are times when we're just being naive and not wanting to see the whole of the moon, wanting the stark reality laid out before us to not be the truth.  But then there are those times when we are not being any of those things.   It is just that, against all odds, all reason, all evidence, we are still allowing for the Doctor Who factor.

Blessings.

FAITH

WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?  Faith - there's an awful lot of chest beating out there about Faith and what it does and doesn't, should and shouldn't mean.  Religion, used as a constant excuse to start wars and to justify acts of mind blowing abhorence, at the same time inspires people to reach out to one another in the most profound and  life affirming ways.  Some people devote their lives to their religion, whilst some run a mile from any mention of God and all that jazz.  And then there are those who define themselves as Spiritual, who feel that they don't require an alignment with an organised religion to be tuned in to the Divine.  One thing's for sure - after all of these centuries, religion is still an immensely powerful topic.

I think that one of the most important questions around our connection to the Divine, however we express it, is how your Faith holds up when something's up.  It's easy to say that you believe in a Higher Power when all is well in your world, but what about when everything's falling apart?  Does your Faith serve you?  Does it nurture you and provide you with what you need to ride out the storm?  Just how much of a believer are you?  How much of a believer did you think you were?  How much of a believer do you want to be?  Do you want to keep believing in the same things, in the same way?  Do you want to keep believing?

These questions and the like are very personal and, ultimately, can only be answered by each of us in our own quiet moments of reflection.  There are no right or wrong answers, there are only the answers that are right for you.  Food for thought...

FAMILY

WHAT DOES THE IDEA OF FAMILY MEAN TO YOU?  Is it the traditional idea of mother, father, children, uncles and aunts etc?  Or is it more about what people in your life mean to you?  Who's there when you need someone?  Who can you rely on?  What if you don't have good, if any, relationships with your biological family?  I believe that the idea of family must extend beyond the traditional concepts we often hold dear, to include those soulmates we meet along the way in life, - including animals - who turn out to be more relation to us than any of our blood ever has, or could be.  This doesn't mean we have to stop loving those who we're biologically related to, (if we do!), - it just means allowing those who we love differently, to enter, and enrich, our lives.

PASSION

I'M BEING REMINDED A LOT LATELY ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING YOUR PASSION.  If you are in a situation in your life that is making you unhappy, then to the best of your ability, change it.  Start moving in a different direction, in a different way.  Just like the old Pantene hair ads used to say - it won't happen overnight.....

Change is difficult for many of us, but it is not impossible.  Mostly, it requires a decision.  Ask yourself - what do I REALLY want?  And if you don't know, find out.  Tune in to yourself, start listening to the messages you're being sent everyday - through your body, your environment, the people around you.  Allow yourself the time to explore change.  You never know where it may lead.