Dark Nights

“Your dark night teaches you the truth of the moon. Life is not intended to be only solar, and indeed the cool, blue shadows of the moon have a special beauty. You can live in that beautiful glow, that light shaded by painful experiences and doubts and lack of understanding. Life is often more buoyant there than it is in solar brilliance.”
– from Dark Nights of the Soul by Thomas Moore

It is in the dark, on those moments when nothing seems to make sense or that numb our senses, where we finally dig deep in order to bring forth our essence. Everything that lives deep beneath our mind, beneath the walls we plaster over our soul in order to protect the tender areas of our being. We are never safe from the perils life send our way all we can do is face them, if we shy away from them we end up living a meaningless existence. It is in trials and challenges that we begin to live in the manner we are called to live and to stand for our dreams and values. It is the moment when our true colors shine through.

We stand before the mirror and many times don’t recognize the face we see, it is the reality that time and circumstances have changed us not only inside but outside as well. Perhaps we have lost that optimism and good sense of humor in the day to day dealing with circumstances we have been forced to live. Resistance can make up a lot of intolerable moments in our life that we prefer not to live but there is only one way to handle that situation; facing it. It makes take us days, weeks or years but it is ultimately the only way to cross to the other side.

Tell me about your Dark Night experience.

Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

Living Your Life

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.
Albert Camus

We can easily get lost in the analysis of life and happiness, it’s natural for us to wonder and want to understand and control every circumstance in our life. It is good to reflect but we also need to act upon some of our yearning dreams, it is only then when they will materialize before us.

Refusing that our physical existence is finite help us waste a lot of time, accept that it is, and most of all that the moment to part can come at any given moment. If you do you will begin to look at your life in a different manner and try to reach for goals you had on your to do list long time ago.

I loved the movie Bucket List, it reminded me that life is too short and that dreams can come true but only if we take action. Who knows when our time will be, the main thing is that we live true to ourselves and that we love one another.

If we live this way and learn to take action along our earthly life, we will live a live a life that will touch others in a very special way.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

The Body of the Soul

Body and soul, two very important components of human nature but totally ignored by many of us along our life. It is so much easier to attend to what we see than to what we don’t see and yet, neglecting the body of our soul soon reflects upon our physical body. No wonder many medical doctors are beginning to realize the body-soul connection to illness and recovery of their patients. Our body is the reflection of our soul. That’s why dead people don’t look the same way when they were alive, because the soul is no longer part of their physical body.

Our physical body is a mere instrument to do and move about our human existence. It should also be at the service of our soul and the divine promptings which it receives. It is through the senses that our physical world nurtures the soul and somehow transforms the simple into the sublime. It is important to notice that all of our senses must have room in our daily life. A beautiful place close to nature can be both a place of torment and a place of rest. I’m not sure if our personality has anything to do with the way we react to our surroundings and what satisfy our soul but to me personally time to enjoy not only the color, sounds and textures of what surrounds me helps me connect my body to my soul.

I’ve spent three days in my parent’s country home, a beautiful place full of the sounds of nature; birds, horses, chickens and more. Somehow all of that was overshadowed by the busyness and the noise of a radio and TV from sunrise to sundown, I was growing weary. The lack of time to be able to go within, to listen to my thoughts and reflect on my reading was slowly sipping the enthusiasm out of me. Today my mom didn’t turn on the TV and decided to sit outside to read. Perhaps she listened to me saying that I couldn’t have noise all day long so she is sacrificing herself giving me the chance to really enjoy my time here. What a difference silence makes in my daily living. I hear the birds singing, the lawnmower while my dad works and I smell the fresh cut grass. At one point I take my camera a go around taking pictures of the fruit trees on the property. Sight, sound and smell, all let’s me know that I’m alive, that there is life around me providing me with the necessary stimulation to feel human and creative. It is impossible to live in total silence but fragments of silence throughout the day can make wonders on the way I feel.

When we don’t attend to the body of our soul our life continues but not to the fullness of its potential. There is always a nagging feeling that something is missing. The soul, that part of our nature that has the capability to communicate to its creator, begins to slowly become weaker and at the same time begins to demand our attention. We realize our full potential when we finally begin to care and nurture the body of our soul and when we align the physical with the spiritual.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

Dealing with Emotions and Circumstances

Our life is shaped by the experiences we live and how we deal with our emotions and circumstances. Two people could have the same thing happen to them and have a different outcome according to their reaction to it. One could be crushed while the other is propelled to look for new ways to overcome their situation and create something positive.

Emotions are powerful and they are meant to stir in us a sense of being alive, they move us to act. They can make us feel happy, sad, compassionate, and enthusiastic. The person who is unable to let their emotions flow is usually an unhappy individual, their emotions build up to the bursting point unto the surface of their daily life like an exploding volcano.

The way we approach challenges and changing circumstances shape the magnitude of the impact it will have on our emotions. The mind is the one that begins to form the ideas that will help us act later on to make it a reality.

In dealing with emotions and circumstances it is important to know that many times we have no control over circumstances but we can control our emotions if necessary. Because our emotions are so volatile we must know to distinguish when going with our emotions is the right thing to do. It won’t be easy at times to go against our emotions but at the end it will be the best decision we ever make in our life. To be at the mercy of our emotions is to forever be on a roll-a-coaster ride unable to get off. Getting off the ride every once in a while will give us the chance to experience a certain level of stability and them a thrill when we decide to go back on.

How do you deal with your emotions and circumstances?

Emotional Responsibility, Whose Is It?

Last night I thought of how many people feel responsible for someone else’s happiness or sadness to the point of thinking bad about themselves if they fail. True, but I would say that many times we are not responsible but we are the catalyst by what the circumstances develop in someone’s life affecting their current existence and provoking them to be happy or sad as a result. But situations of this magnitude don’t develop as a result of just one individual, but two or more and sometimes even other aspects of life take a toll on the dynamic of the situation as well; health, financial pressures and what’s happening in the world.

Looking at it from that point of view, it is unjust to believe we are the solely responsible for someone else’s happiness or sadness. Each person is in charge of themselves and it is their duty to know how to obtain and maintain their own emotional state independently from other individuals. When we are content within we attract more positive emotions in our reality.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to make someone else happy as long as we realize that it is ultimately their decision to be receptive to our efforts and their voluntary opening of their hearts to welcome the possibility to feel it. Two people can create a beautiful dynamic relationship opened to experience the many rewards it can develop, but no one person is responsible for the outcome of what it may become.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

Creating Our Destiny

Destiny, some people think it is an undeniable force that propels us to what we are supposed to be in life. Not counting with our will and effort; what is meant to be, will be. I don’t believe it for a second.

In life we are presented with many different options that affects our life. These opportunities brings us potential carreers, love, our husband or wife and many other things. Not all that is presented to us become part of our reality, because in order to do so we must put some effort integrating it into our life.

I guess the best way to illustrate this is by asking you to think back on your decisions, decisions that shaped your present. Looking back you’ll clearly see what actions took you all the way to where you are right now. There is nothing we can do about the past but to learn from it, not only that, but we many have to live with the consequences of those decisions as well.

If I have learned anything in my years of living it is that we are in a constant evolution of our being. We live, we learn, we grow and continue to do so at so many different levels in our life. We perform certain tasks and responsabilities depending on the life stage we are living at the moment; son or daughter, student, worker, partner in marriage, parenting, seeing our kids leave the nest, reclaiming and recreating our nest, retiring, becoming grandparents, facing sickness and death. The reality is that we can’t be the same person throughout all those stages, we develop and utilize different gifts, talents and attitudes that will help us navigate each one them. Some people see change as a threat, they want everything to stay the same including those around them. It’s an impossibility. If we are alive and growing in any way, (physical, mental or spiritual) we are changing. Try to put a stop to our growth and we’ll only become frustated and depressed.

Destiny is something we create moment by moment as we move along the path of life. We might have taken the wrong turn many times, but then again, there are many routes to arrive at the same destination.

Anything Is Possible If You Believe

“Anything is possible,” were Kevin Garnett’s words as they won the NBA Finals 2008 after 22 years. Words couldn’t describe the emotions he felt over the team’s accomplishment last night before the Lakers. “I told you!” were Paul Pierce’s words after receiving his NBA Finals MVP trophy.

We have to believe, we have to visualize our goal already obtained and then we have to give it our ALL no matter what we see happening around us. Everything changes in time if we give enough of ourselves to make things happen.

I noticed how every time they played at home they absorbed all the energy from the fans to win their games, last night was no exception, they drew so much that they managed to win BIG. But before we can draw from others we need to dig deep within and be totally present in order to face the moment. When we open our heart and mind to all the possibilities something magical happens and we suddenly are able to explode our God given talents to the max. I don’t know how to explain it other than we experience Heaven on Earth and that’s what I saw in Garnett last night while he was being interviewed; his physical being was there but his soul was elated to another realm.

Yes, anything is Possible but ONLY if You Believe. Dream, believe and dig deep, it is there and you can make it happen!!!

Congratulations to the NBA Champions 2008, Boston Celtics!!!!!

Kenny Loggins signs If You Believe

Living the Now

“To accept the duty of this moment for God is to touch Eternity, to escape time.” - Fulton Sheen

Why is it so hard to just plain live the moment that is before us? The past is gone and the future is unknown to us. Why do we keep living everywhere but the present moment?

There is no way to undo our past and there is no way to jump to the future. I believe it is because we are trying to escape our present situations. It is easier to look back or look forward in that way we completely forget about the present moment. I would personally like to skip times of agony, indecision, loneliness, unhappiness, sadness, sorrow, pain, and depression. I realize all these emotions are rooted in the lack of my Now living. If we don’t live our Now we are not really living, we are in this world but not really present to ourselves or others.

Remember the days when you lived your Now to the fullest, never giving any thought to the past or the future? Not worrying about what people thought and moving along in life. Of course a lot of stupid stuff was done but all in all up to a point we lived. What happened along the way? Where did we begin to lose that way of thinking and began to think of other times? I really don’t know when mine began, all I know is that at this point in my life is wearing me down and I’m tired. To me, worrying about the past or the future is one of the worst robers of happiness, peace of mind and ultimately hope.

So how do we begin to live the Now?

Accept that you are going to die, when? Nobody knows, so start living each and every day to the fullest.

Do all you can today, don’t leave anything for tomorrow.

Don’t compromise every single minute of your life, prioritize and give your time to that which is so important to you.

Take time to be quiet and alone. We all need some down time to recharge in order to be able to give to others.

Take the time to be in nature. There is nothing more powerful than to come in touch through our senses with natures and animals. Stop and look around in detail God’s creation for you.

Find something to do just for fun. Not everything in life has to do with making money, take up a sport, art or volunteer work that will help you be creative.

Spend time with your kids, they grow up so fast.

Start dreaming again. If the doctor told you that you have only six months to live, what would you do? Well, think about it and do it right NOW!

I’m sure you can add many more things here, go ahead! Share them with me.

The Power of Belief

There are powers deep within each and every individual, they were put there by God to be totally transformed and empower to do, create, recreate, accomplish, impact, and fulfill our earthly mission. Many of us live our life ignoring the reasons of our existence, we usually don’t ask ourself the question until a certain stage in our life. Very few find their reason for being early in life, why that is I don’t know.

I have been watching the NBA Finals and one thing that strike me was the last interview with Paul Pierce. He was asked how did they manage to win the game after being 24 points down to the Lakers, at the same time he listened to the question his head slowly began to face up to the ceiling and he pointed upwards acknowledging God and then he said BELIEF. They believed that they could win that game no matter what they were seeing on the score board. Their focus was on believing they could turn things around and they did, winning the game by 6 points. The team that never won a game away from home on the regular season were now making it happen, not only that but they want to win the NBA Championship in California today.

I guess many of us understimate the power of belief in our life. When we believe somehow our mind gather the necessary strength to make things happen. Every action begins in our mind. If we believe something is possible somehow we overlook the obstacles and find the way to reach our goal. The complete opposite happens when we don’t believe, we see every single obstacle and lose hope when we don’t see how to overcome them.

So to the power of belief, for the Celtics that will put it to the test tonight and to all of us who continue to believe that many things are still possible in our life.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

Learning to Accept Reality

We tend to hope and dream to reach for what make us enthusiastic about life again. There is a fine line between reaching out for what we think we want in our life and fighting with our heart to make it happen. Not everything we want is meant to be. There comes a time when we need to accept the reality that we have to let the dream go, is not easy, especially when you have put some much time and dedication into it.

In dealing with people if you don’t find the other person receptive to what you want to accomplish, in time you will have to let it go and move on. The only person you can control is yourself. I know well how we can contemplate what evolves right in front of us which let us know it is not going to work out and yet we keep justifying everything in order to continue on. Other times we think that it will change but the reality is that just like the mule decides that is not moving anymore so it is sometimes with our situations, we are stuck and that’s just the way it is; unless we dismount and decide to walk or get on another animal we are not going anywhere.

I’m not advocating to give up too quick and easily because there are times when we need to work around a situation in order to make it work but there are times when you know deep inside it is over.

Challenges, failures, fears and disappointments inevitably change and mold us in ways we sometimes wish it didn’t, but in the long run we can utilize the lessons learned to make it work the next time around. In business we learn what doesn’t work and that help us to be more creative in our approach, delivery and execution of our ideas. We need to be intune to our inner wisdom, our intuition, that innate connection we have with the Divine (God), it takes time to develop and dedication to keep it fluid within us but it is what ultimately will guide us in the right direction.

One thing I need to learn personally is to take with me all the positive I received from a situation even if it didn’t work out. There is always something good. Instead of focusing on the negative I need to keep looking at the little nuggets of wisdom I managed to dig out in the journey. Then I need to learn to push the negative far away from my mind and heart, holding on to it will only spoil the next situation I will need to deal with in my life. Trust me, this last one is easier said than done.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life