Living Love

This is a guest post by the warm and spirited Joy Holland of Unfolding Your Path to Joy. I hope her words will be at stirring and comforting for you as they always are for me. Please feel free to leave your comments for Joy while I’m away in the Himalayas. Enjoy!!

May you look into the mirror & say: “I love you. I appreciate you.”
May you then allow self to Feel loved and appreciated.

May you do this with me?  For the few moments that we share energy in this space together, may we try something perhaps a little different.  I ask that you turn off your mind and access your heart space.  In our heart space, we may comfortably meet as One; all that I share in these moments is purely from my heart..genuine heart whispers.

It took me many years to be able to look at my reflection in the mirror at all, let alone to look and say and feel “I love you”.  I could readily open my heart to the moment, and to strangers, but to open my heart to “me” was a struggle.  I write about this struggle in this article The Lost Girl.

From an early age, I was taught to “dim my light” to fit in, so that is what I did..I learned to become “less than” enthusiastic, effervescent, joyfilled so that I wouldn’t stand out in a crowd, I would fit right in wherever I was.  My parents asked me, my friends asked me, my lovers asked me and I accommodated their requests in the hopes that I would feel the love, the peace that I so desired.

As you might imagine, this charade wreaked havoc on my body.  As an empath, I am extremely cognizant of– and sensitive to– emotion.  Where many “think something out”, I naturally “Feel it through”.  These compressed feelings manifested in physical ailments and these physical ailments kept me quite restricted in movement.  Very often, I ‘stayed put’..exactly where I was even though I knew I had gifts and talents that would allow me to soar far past the moon when I chose.

I wonder, can you identify with any of this?  Catering to other’s opinions, the feeling of “less than” or “not enough”, squelching your own dreams so that you may “fit in”, living an ordinary life when you know an extraordinary one is waiting patiently for you to step into.

My story is one that I rewrite every day. In my personal life, I live mindfully present in this moment; I release the details of my story daily and wake fresh and new, ready to create label free.   I drop my story so that I may fully live my life.  However, I share the details here because it is one full of faith, moxie, perseverance, courage–traits we all share.  If you click the link and read it, you will be surprised at how much external I have been presented with, and how I transformed the feelings of “ far less than” to a life that is truly as magical as I allow it to be. I was raised to believe that self-love was selfish and silly, my childhood religion taught that service to others was my duty–even if that meant I martyred my self in service.  I believed that in life there was a cross to be carried, so for some time I valiantly carried that ”cross”, even though it squelched my spirit and almost physically killed me. I believed that life was a struggle, a climb, a series of obstacles to be overcome.

I believed all of this until the moment that I learned that peace, love, joy, gratitude are already within, not something to be earned or bought or given, but something to open effortlessly to.  Through a concentrated two-year “time out” from the routines of life, I invested energy into raising my young children as a single mom, but as importantly I invested energy into huge blocks of time in silence, in nature, in study to heal my heart wounds, to expand my perspective, to grow and blossom into a woman who could say “I love you” not merely with words, but with the way I choose to live.

I choose to live love.
And I Fully believe that life is not meant to be anything other than the experience of  passion, delight, creativity, peace, love, gratitude;
any struggle, exertion, challenge, climb, exhaustion is self-induced..
a moment I refuse to open my heart; instead choosing to cling to something of this earth.  

It is my passion, my life’s purpose, my joy to *be love*..in this moment and all moments. I share this passion with you today, because I feel it is of utmost importance to love my self  fully (thus releasing my self) so that I may love *you* as fully as you deserve to be loved.  I Feel if I reflect this to you, with words here because this is the medium we have, perhaps you will give yourself permission to open your own heart and love as fully, as deeply as I model for you.

In closing, I want to touch base with romantic love, for many of us wish for, strive for, search for romantic love.  I have experienced the most wonder filled; most magnificent; most movie worthy, storybook romance because I was able to open my heart to it, and guess what?  There isn’t a fairy tale ending, just one moment after another of opening my heart through barriers, past fear, to love genuinely and transparently. And I am able to do this and experience this right now because I am able to love myself unconditionally.  Some days this romance is with World, some days this romance is with Nature, some days this romance is with a Partner; regardless of label, every day this romance exists. Because I open my heart to receiving graciously as I share generously.

In life, I love a “thinker”..such a different reality to process thoughts versus feelings.  So, I know those of you who are thinkers are wondering how does all of this heart talk apply to me?  I understand.  I would ask you to consider this:

The most beautiful things in life cannot be seen or touched, they can only be felt with the heart.~ Helen Keller

Much peace,
Joy

Joy Holland shares her gift of clarity to guide others to find peace, joy, and love in this moment.  Joy is an energy healer, life coach, motivational speaker and the author of the site “Unfolding Your Path to Joy”. Joy is bold in her actions, loving with her words, peace filled in her life..and invites you to join her in allowing your life to be: “as magical as you allow it to be”.