When you beautify your mind, you beautify your world. – John O’Donahue
Sometimes we get caught in an odd misconception: that we are simply “supposed to be” happy. That psychological normalcy is an upbeat, cheerful, satisfied attitude. We assume that if the external events in our life are relatively stable and good, we should be “happy.”
The problem is, we live in a world that is still very wounded, still very unwise. There is a great deal of pain and darkness in the world. Whether it is the depressing physical environments we encounter, the headlines in the news, or the wounds other people act out in the way they treat us, we each get a lot of messages every day that we are not enough, not sacred, and that life is not safe and abundant.
I believe we are deeply affected by all of this. That we are vessels – and our attitude, our mood, is a product of what is poured in the vessel.
Each of us is responsible for our part – for what we pour in, each and every day. Do you pour in beauty? Do you pour in uplifting music, or uplifting words? Do you pour in loving thoughts? Do you pour in bitter thoughts, cynical television shows, harsh words, violent images?
I depend on spiritual literature, poetry, prayer, music, visual beauty, movement, and conversations with loving people so that I can “pour in” enough light each day to feel the way I want to feel, and to be the woman I want to be.
What you pour in will determine the quality of your life. It will shape what you are able to see. It will make the world look like a dark and ugly place or a kind and beautiful one.
What are you pouring in? What do you pour in each day that makes a difference for you? Please share in the comments so others can learn from your practices too.
Love,
Tara
p.s. – I’m having a great time in New York. 3 speaking engagements, 1 radio interview, 1 Broadway show, and 1 bottle of brand new moisturizer that froze on the walk home from the drug store. Literally.
We have two tix open for my event tonight in NYC due to cancellations. If you want to grab one of those spots, you can join us here.
Love,
Tara
What Are You Pouring In?
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How true and so easy to forget. Thank you for the reminder.
Your posts seem to come at the right time for me.
This is such a beautiful place to own. I love the “pouring in”. I am feeling a wave of abundance and worthiness because I spent the last 6 Mondays watching Suze Orman’s money class and felt blessed for all the free information coming through the OWN network. Money is something I pushed away in the past but I now see my relationship to money is part of loving “me”. I am reading her book, Women and Money, and doing the “work”. I took the on line exam and passed today and if I win her contest great, and if not I have won back a part of me that knows there is enough! I agree- we create our reality everyday and receiving the gifts in life is vital.
For 14 years, my yoga asana practice as been one of the best ways to pour in the light… even though going to the mat often means the darkness comes whooshing up to meet me (and be moved through, most of the time). In the past year and a half, my husband and I have taken on an Orgasmic Meditation practice that steeps our bodies in sensation, our minds in presence, and our relationship in exquisite attention. It’s good.
And of course, the presence – through reading their writing or walking and drinking tea with them – of brilliant women in my world reminds me both of what I need to remember and of the gift I myself am.
Thanks for a beautiful question, Tara! Stay warm in the Big Apple!
This is so lovely … a reminder I needed today (as I lie in the dark with an excruciating migraine). xox
In a way, I think beauty really is like an attitude. When I keep an eye out for noticing the wonder in my experiences of the people and places and little things around me, including myself, abundance is felt much easier.
I have a print I bought from etsy that hangs on my office wall. It says, “Those who look for beauty find it.”
I love to listen to uplifting podcasts during the day to fill me up too. Crucial!
Thank u for this reminder to pour in. I pour in beauty by watching great sunsets (and every sun set has it own beauty). Watching children play and their parents becoming child-like playing with them. Poetry, landscapes in movies, blogs like yours keep the spirit happy. Thank u and god bless 🙂
So well said! Very, very true. My daily practice is to keep a gratitude journal. At the top right hand each day, I write the date, then, in the back of my mind ech day, I am open to goodness. I am noticing all the good in my life, so that at the end of each day I can honour it with a collage, sketch or short description. In my case, its primarily visual. I am teaching workshops on how to do this, and I LOVE it!
I’m pouring in light through yoga, a practice I just renewed after a dozen year hiatus. Highly recommend. And I’m pouring in a decision to seek joy. To appreciate the present. And I even started writing a little poetry — there’s an example on my blog right now (hope that’s okay to mention). http://clairification.blogspot.com/2012/02/present-is-my-present-this-february.html The light in me honors the light in you.
Hmmm what do I do. I like to pour in good thoughts. I pour love into myself by looking at myself in my mirror and telling myself that I love me. I love doing yoga and breathing and becoming an observer of my thoughts. This is profound. I choosing love on an even greater and deeper level. Wow! Thank you Tara. With All My Heart, Johanna
Like so many others, these wise, beautiful words came to me at just the right time. Thank you Tara! I also love knowing how others pour in to spark ideas for my self-care… I fill myself up with yoga & meditation, with massage and cardio exercise, with delicious meals with friends and family, by being in nature whether ocean or forest, by gardening especially colorful flowers, through conversations with wise friends and mentors, and by being present with my children and marveling at their capacity to be present and fully experience and express their joy and their pain. I’m yearning for more pouring in!!
This post will be the basis of my yoga class this evening. Thank you Tara. xx
Tara, my book, “Winter’s Mystery-Time To Go Within:Spiritual Journeying” is the way I pour the uplifting energy for myself and others.
This book has been my journey to find meaning and purpose from a lost identity. Each day the poems live me. They are the hope and meaning that I pour into my daily living.
They are a mirror that reminds me of going beyond the illusion of form.
The poem become the voice of my soul revealing my worth and beauty.
The creative process of creating the poems and photographs have
been the medicine I pour over the wounds that have created the ointment to heal and make whole.
Each day, I explore my inner mystery with my poetry. The words set me free as they create the meaning and purpose for my life.
Poetry, is what I pour into my being to honor
the essence of all living things.