We gathered for our usual fellowship after Sunday service. Lots of connecting, hugging, talking, laughter, and sharing. On this particular Sunday, we were sharing our wins for the last month…the things that we experienced and want to celebrate. One person spoke of receiving unexpected money and another of finding the perfect place to live. Then one of the children, a 4 year-old, shared that he went to the playground!! It was so simple and so joyful. We all need to go to the playground!

There are lots of ways we resist going to the playground and instead sit in the parking lot.

• We feel guilty about that piece of cake we ate (the guilt is actually worse for you than the cake!)
• We’ve always wanted to – fill in the blank – but we’re afraid
• We over work, work long hours, and neglect our families and ourselves
• We’re attached to the idea of productivity and have forgotten how to just be
• Often we beat ourselves up because we think we should be different, better, richer– we forget that we’re already enough
• We deny our dreams and desires (did you know desire is deep love expressed)
• We get so future focused we miss the miracles, magic, wonder, and joy right in front of us
• Or are so stuck in the past that we continue to deny the joy of the present moment
• We think we don’t have time or need more time or that play is a waste of time

I’m familiar with all of these, you may be too, and there are hundreds more. So what’s a person to do?

Keep it simple. Keep it here and now.

Breathe, and notice. Notice the wonder of your body, the breath, your heartbeat, your aliveness! Notice, in the present moment, that you have everything you need. Have faith that you always do. See the blessings in everything. Sometimes the greatest blessings are in the most difficult challenges because inevitably we rise.

When I was a young girl, the eldest child, I remember being a leader. I loved organizing the kids in the neighborhood around one event or another and getting my siblings together to sing songs when family came to visit. Connecting and gathering people together is one of the ways I express my love of life. Yet, as a girl, I recall being severely chastised for being ‘bossy’. That stayed with me. It took me a long time to let go of the belief that bossy is bad, and truth be told, it still comes up now and again. I’m learning to stop resisting the feeling and love what it has taught me.

This is my playground!

I love connecting people, connecting with people and gathering together to share a meal, wisdom, love, celebration. I also love helping people connect with their own inner magnificence. It brings me joy and I am good at it. What being labeled ‘bossy’ taught me is this. I’ve learned to be a leader with integrity, and I lead with love. Sound boastful? That’s one way of looking at it, and for a while I did too. What I’ve come to understand is that the only one who knows my gifts and can claim them, own them,  is me. I give myself permission to do so. And you can too!

I was also reminded on that Sunday that ‘desire’ comes from the Latin meaning ‘of the father’. Our desire is sacred. It comes from Spirit/Source/God, the higher self. Our desires are how Spirit works through us. It is the true self knocking. Ernest Holmes called it “fire from heaven”. Don’t you just love that?

This week, I invite you to go to the playground daily – whatever and wherever your playground is. Get out of the parking lot! Approach each day with childlike curiosity. Allow yourself to experience the wonder of everyday magic. When the tendency to complicate kicks in, imagine what a young child would tell you. Even better, ask one!

Are you sitting in the parking lot of life. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for permission to play? You only need to give it to yourself.

From my heart to yours,

Want to try a new playground this fall? Do you have a desire to travel off the beaten path and discover the world. Join me an an amazing group of like-minded, soul-full women to Nurture Your Inner Goddess in Tuscany, Italy.

Photo by Craig Whitehead on Unsplash