Relax your shoulders, wiggle your jaw, feel the muscles behind your eyes relax. Take a deep breath and feel the love and support that surrounds you. How do you feel now?
If you need help, then help someone else. If you need support then support someone else. If you need love then love someone else. If you need to receive then give.
It’s okay to get lost sometimes. If you get anxious, stop and take a deep breath. You’ll see a camp fire in the distance. Follow it and you’ll be surprised what you find.
The hunger to satisfy and fulfill yourself dissolves the moment you change the question from ‘what can I get?’ to ‘what can I give?’
I was chatting to an old grey hair friend the other day and he shared his rule for working with people:
When he meets with new clients, one of his questions is whether or not they have pets. It gives him a good idea about what they are like to work with. His theory is that pet owners are more comfortable with the imperfections of life and mostly roll with it. Animals vomit on that special carpet or scratch that fancy chair. Their hairs get everywhere. Dogs bark at inconvenient times like when the baby is sleeping, and cats don’t come when you call them. Living with animals is a practice of love and patience.
Animals teach us to throw our hands up in the air and say shit happens! We get exasperated and angry but give the dog a cuddle anyway.
Be okay with surrendering control. Life won’t follow your script. Animals are great teachers.
Vampires suck on you constantly. The more distracted you are the better it is for them.
It’s the monthly subscription you pay for but never use, the unread book that sits on your bedside table, and people with their own agendas requesting time and attention. These things drain you over time and suck up your energy. The constant pull builds up resentment in you and the result is anger and frustration.
It’s hard to say no to people when you don’t have a yes to something else. Free up space to spend time on your own goals and dreams. Once you’ve simplified and clarified “your way” then it’s easier to see the vampires because the clutter is removed.
Taking time out, sitting still and breathing is like garlic and silver bullets. Do it every day.
Humility is the key to new ideas. Smart humble people change their minds all the time. Being smart is not enough if pride is a blocker.
Set your own agenda. It creates consistency for others and is habit forming. If you aren’t on your own agenda then you are on someone else’s. Stick to your plan.
You’ll find yourself saying no more than yes…that means it’s working.
Be careful of maybes. A quick no is better than a slow maybe and clears the way for a yes.
Physical pilgrimages are important. I used to think that viewing something digitally was enough and that being there physically didn’t matter, but I’ve learned through traveling that being there physically can accelerate a connection to people and places.
Smells, sounds, people and places all trigger feelings that should be acknowledged and processed. There are places where the energy is palpable like airport arrival halls, Yosemite National Park or returning to the town I was born. In other places the energy needs to be stewarded, nurtured or repaired..maybe it’s been drained or sucked on by too many people or it’s been a place of suffering or pain. It’s hard to feel it without physically being there.
It can’t be experienced remotely via digital doors like Facebook, FaceTime and Skype. Digital connections build relationships and we are more compassionate and connected because of them, but physically being in the place is a different level. It’s about resonating with the frequency of the place and in turn having it resonate with you.
Carve out the time and travel. It stimulates growth in you, and in the people and places you visit.
Want to be an agent of change? Frustrated about what you can do to help?
Get proximate, go deep and start small. Stop trying solve problems from a distance. Work through the details. The devil is in the detail. The more you understand, the more compassion you will have.
By getting proximate I mean start with your own community, friends and family. Tweeting and posting to social media creates an illusion of action. Being physically proximate is greater than being digitally proximate. Being proximate fuels compassion.
When making any decision start with compassion and love. When carrying out the decision, do it with compassion and love.
Small changes and small interactions add up over time.
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”
Martin Luther King
This tweetstorm from J.K. Rowling has inspired me to hit 
Here’s the original tweet. She’s a great person to follow on Twitter.
markbartels.org 