Me and Brian doing what we love – being outside going for a walk and then going skiing and snowboarding!
Start With Love
Let anything you desire –
a small change,
a big change –
for yourself,
for your dear ones,
for the world –
let it start with love.
Love for yourself,
your body,
your dreams,
your soul aches,
your soul longings.
Love for your dear ones,
their quirky ways,
their faults and challenges,
their “not yets,”
their inner light and beauty.
Love for the world,
its rivers and mountains,
its snowy peaks and sandy beaches,
its hummingbirds and elephants,
its humans and our potential
to create a new way of being
that reverences the earth
and reminds us of our
shared humanity.
Let it start with love.
Lisa McCrohan (c) 2024
Sometimes our lives can get so complicated. We need a change but we don’t know where to start. Our bodies need some more attention, our minds are full and always on. A relationship might need some tending to. Our work life might have become consuming.
We can feel exhausted, anxious, and tired. We need a change, but it all feels like too much. We don’t know where to start.
Start here – connecting to your body, breath and heart.
Start with slowing down.
I know this might sound like the antithesis of what you want to do – the mind wants to speed up, figure it out, take action. Lao Tzu said, “Can you wait until the mud settles and the water becomes clear before taking the right action?”
Ironically by slowing down and dropping out of the mind and head and INTO the heart, our nervous systems move out of stress mode and stress mode solutions, and into deeper regulation…and it’s from this place of regulation that we make creative and wise decisions.
The heart teaches us to make decisions and take actions that are rooted in love. Love is who we are. It’s our essence.
Whether we start a new and more nourishing exercise routine…whether we take a soul risk to deepen a sense of intimacy with someone we have been wanting to connect more with…whether we make a big shift in our work life…let that journey start with love.
In episode 69. Start With Love, on my podcast, Delightful, I’ll lead you through a soul-nourishing reflection and meditation to help you start with love…
Take a moment and soften or close your eyes. Place your hands on your heart center. Let your hands rest there, varying the touch so it feels supportive.
Feel the breath flowing into your heart space…
Feel the heart expanding on inhale, releasing on exhale…expanding, releasing.
Feel the beating of the heart – this ancient hum of aliveness…This familiar sound that has been with you since you were in your mother’s womb. It beats without us willing it. The seat of compassion, the seat of vitality and aliveness.
This is how to start anything, to heal, to refuel, to renew our vitality, to embrace our lives – right here…connecting to the heart…the body…the breath…start with connecting to love.
Listen to your heart and ask it, “Show me how to love today.”
And let it guide you. Maybe through sensation – you feel a softening through your muscles and bones. Maybe it’s through energy pulsing through you as golden light. Maybe it’s through an image of yourself going through the day. Maybe it’s through an emotion that can guide you today.
For most people, it starts with loving ourselves. Taking care to nurture and tend to ourselves – even in small, tender ways – the eyes resting between text messages and emails, the body stretching between meetings, sipping lemon water throughout the day, the hands gently massaging your head and neck and body, pausing to actually slow down and eat a meal.
As you receive love…you then might notice that someone or some situation comes to mind that you are dealing…that needs tending to. Hold an image of that person or the situation in your heart for a moment.
Breathe with it.
Even if there is a squeeze of hurt, a wave of soreness or anxiety, bring it to the vast ocean of the heart and breathe here.
Let the heart show you how to start with love.
Take a moment and receive guidance on the next right step…
This is how to start anything – this is the place we start to heal, to refuel, to find guidance…to make sure our actions are rooted in love and that they come from and are grounded in love.
The strongest force in the universe that pulses through us and is always available in abundant supply for healing, hope, and guidance.
Start with love.
I imagine a world where we all stop before we take action and connect to our hearts…to start any conversation, meeting, class, or difficult decision by connecting to the heart and asking it for guidance…. To start with love. What a world we can create as we do this.
___________________
Me and my ever present pal, Sherlock. He teaches me so much about love.
I am turning 50 soon. I have been taking time to reflect on how I want to start this new decade.
I am starting it with Love. I am deepening my love for my own self, my nervous system, my body, my mind, heart, and dreams.
I am starting it with giving myself spaciousness and the freedom to not do things according to anyone else’s plan, timeline, “shoulds.” or requirements – that includes how I work, where and how I spend my time, and what I do with my energy and heart.
I will share more as we go into 2024.
I encourage you, too, to consider STARTING WITH LOVE – and letting love guide you as you go into this new year.
Blessings,
