A Fresh Start in Life – Mindful Awakenings for the Heart
By Sandy Daliege
Spring is a time of new awakenings, a promise of good things coming to life. The same applies to your personal life as well. Every moment is a new beginning, a fresh start to open up to wonderful opportunities. In the same way that you need to clear out the clutter in your junk drawer or spare bedroom, you need to declutter your heart to make room for new beauty.
If your heart has been broken, it can leave a feeling that the damage is too great to repair. Nothing is beyond repair. You are an incredibly resilient human being and when you treat yourself with love and compassion, you can heal all wounds; for love is the great healer.
The way we look at an event, a person, or even ourselves, makes a difference. Mindfulness can be helpful with this process. Mindfulness is focusing your conscious awareness on what’s happening in your life. You can be mindful of the present moment or even a past event and focus on enjoying its beauty. Or, you can go in the other direction, critiquing all that’s wrong with the experience.
Perhaps you’ve experienced this scenario. You’re having lunch with a friend. You’re enjoying the moment, the surroundings, your food and friend, when suddenly your friend begins to point out what he or she doesn’t like? The waiter is too slow, the food is too cold, and on and on? Are you able to continue enjoying the moment or has the experience lost its sparkle? This is what we do with our lives sometimes. We miss all the beauty when we allow someone else’s point of view to take away our joy or when we allow our own inner critic to begin its rant.
How do you look at life? Are you harsh and critical of yourself, demanding perfection? Do you treat others in the same way with unreasonable expectations? We all have incredible beauty within us and when we begin to focus on those qualities, we become our own best friend, rather than the critic who’s never satisfied.
Your Soul has the conscious ability to help you change these self-sabotaging behaviors and see life in a new way, as the Soul views life through the eyes of Unconditional Love. The Soul is your true identity, your Authentic Self. You do not have a Soul, rather you are the Soul—a Divine, Loving Spiritual Being connected to the Universe. Mindfulness helps you become more conscious and view life from this compassionate state of being.
Your inner critic is your wounded inner child—your subconscious—who may have experienced some kind of trauma in the past, or who gets his or her feelings hurt, or becomes worried, afraid or overwhelmed, resulting in lashing out in a negative way. Criticism can then become a habit. Your role as the Soul is like a loving parent to that child, to guide, nurture, and help him or her heal. When your subconscious begins to criticize itself or others, you need to stop the critique before it gets out of hand. If you had a son or daughter, and he or she started calling someone else names, you would stop them. The same is true with your inner child. Tell yourself to stop, that this is no longer acceptable behavior, and from now on, let’s look at life differently. Remember, criticism is simply a habit that can be changed by starting a more positive behavior. Focus on the good things you’ve already brought into your life, your blessings, your accomplishments, your talents and strengths, and that becomes your new habit. Looking at life this way will also increase your self-esteem and self-worth. This retraining will take repetition, patience and a lot of love, but the result is well worth it. You’re helping yourself see how beautiful and valuable you are, which allows your subconscious to begin to see the wonder of life again just like a child.
Concerning the past, you may feel unable to move forward, feeling wounded from a past experience. Conscious awareness can even help you see your past in a new way to heal the old wounds, take a breath, and welcome a fresh start. By observing your past in this way, you can learn from it, see how you would handle the situation differently now, and then let it go. This is extremely freeing when you realize no past event or person can limit you; rather, you have the power to choose, not only your future—but even the way you view your past.
Step into your true power. Choose to view life through the eyes of love. Become mindful of your Soul’s wisdom that is already within you, waiting to guide you to the highest expression of your heart. When you choose to follow your loving, compassionate nature, you open your awareness to even more blessings. People and circumstances in harmony with your Authentic Self bring incredible opportunities to enjoy a beautiful, fulfilling life.
Enjoy the beauty that exists in every moment. Give yourself the gift of Love…and experience a fresh start!