JoyFull Living by Louise Lavergne

 Life Lessons from the Blossoms

We are all familiar with the saying that life is a journey, but when our need to feel in control of what comes next takes over, we forget. Life is not always logical but rather tropological.

As we watch nature, especially at spring time- we can see a great example of the art of life.  Firstly with the weather: some days are sunny, others are rainy and we have storms, sun showers and rainbows and some days we have all of the above. There is no formula to “order” a specific weather forecast for a specific day.  You also can’t hold on to the sunny days, and we all know that we need those rainy days for nature to survive.  If we hold on to the need for only sunny days, we miss out on the gifts of the rainy days. The same applies to our life. We love the happy moments when we can feel our joy, but we can’t hold on to them.  If we appreciate the moments that we feel that connection to our Light, we can increase our sense of living in the now, deepen our appreciation and create more joy.  Our life is precious, so why waste any time waiting for the other shoe to drop or worrying about things that may or may not happen?

Life truly is a process and a journey; we have our storms when things happen that cause us to forget the better part of ourselves. Feeling sad and mad is as much a part of living in the moment as feeling happy and glad. It is all about being in alignment with what is and living your life fearlessly.  It doesn’t happen overnight and it takes practice and effort to develop the discipline to be connected to our state of presence. JoyFull Yoga offers us useful tools such as yogic breathing and meditation techniques to develop mindfulness. This gives us the ability to be more present and open up to receive the gifts of our experiences, develop the ability to flow with the challenging moments without getting stuck. What we resist persists, so living life in harmony with the ebb and flow of the events of the day helps us attract experiences that reflect more ease and grace.

It is a simple process but not always easy.  It is about accepting “what is,” not resisting or wishing it to be different. Demanding or creating expectations of how things “should” be is a sure way to create conflict and pain. Fear always spoils the joy of living in the moment. Allowing and trusting the process of our journey becomes easier when we develop a connection to the stillness within. It gives us the strength and ability to allow emotions to flow and surface, without judging them or ourselves, but simply be the experiencer of the emotions without reliving the story.

The art of allowing is demonstrated to us so exquisitely with the blossoms on the fruit trees.

I was admiring the blossoms and suddenly a breeze came along and the petals gently surrendered, letting go of the security and beauty of their flower as they danced alone fearlessly in the wind. For a moment I felt sad to see this beauty disappear, but the beauty of their ease of letting go also moved me. Why hold on to the blossoms? They give way to the fruit and on go the cycle of nature and the circle of life.

Life is to be lived as it unfolds moment by moment. It is deep and mysterious. There is no formula to understand or figure out. Remember that when you are stuck and feel jostled, the answers will not come from force or might, but by relaxing your mind and allowing the answers and solutions to come and be revealed.

Next time you feel overwhelmed by a situation try this:

Sit, and take a few belly breaths. Relax, then say: ”I am opening up to the opportunity of this experience. I allow the solution and resolution to come into my life now…. (Breathe)  I am grateful.” Let go of expectations of how the answers will come and see what shows up for you.

When you can accept that life is often beyond the cognitive mind’s grasp and stop trying to live only from the intellect, and embrace your feeling nature, your journey will be much more easeful and Joy-Full. Remember to take time to breathe-and smile. www.joyfull-yoga.com; 899-0707. © 2001-2012 Louise is an international inspirational speaker, author, creator of JoyFull Yoga and JoyFull living coaching. She owns JoyFull Yoga LLC in Jacksonville where she offers private sessions and group classes. Email us your questions at info@joyfull-yoga.com