Big Love

Sunday morning blog time. Please grab whatever beverage of choice you need to sit with my thoughts for the next while. I’m sipping on earl grey tea while relishing that I have a glorious day off.

We all emit a certain vibe about us. Some of us operate from a place of love and some of us operate from a place of fear.

People who operate from a place of love are delighted when others around them are succeeding. They are innately aware that they have inner joy within and blessings and abundance surrounding them and they can flow freely their support and encouragement because they understand that there’s enough for everyone. And, in turn, their lives usually have extra richness to them because they’re not wallowing in their own….fear.

People who operate from fear ( and I’m not talking about phobia fears but, rather, a place of negativity and self unawareness), are nervous when others around them start succeeding and they deem themselves not to be. They can become angry and judgemental because they want to pull those people down to the “prison” that they’re in. They focus too much energy on not having and we have lived here long enough to inherit the knowledge that what we focus on, we see that or attract that more in our lives.

I believe that what I write today is something you probably have heard before. But, let’s get to the root of it:

Why do some people operate mostly from a fear based place—no matter their upbringing, spiritual beliefs, and environment?

Why do some people operate mostly from a love based place—no matter their upbringing, spiritual beliefs, and environment?

A lot of it is what your relationship to yourself is and where you focus your attention.

Yes, we have all been hurt before. We have all been kicked when we are down. We have all not coped very well at times. In turn, we have all had encouragement, loved ones, affirmations, and joy before.

Sometimes the scales aren’t balanced. And sometimes the scales feel unbalanced for too long in a way that you don’t agree with.

My encouragement for you this week is to look within and ask yourself where you feel you are mostly coming from with your intentions toward life, people, and yourself?

If the answer comes up and it’s from mostly fear base, be gentle on yourself and know that you can make small steps in a direction that leans more toward a place of love and self love. Your world as you know it will start to change and bloom.

This is your journey through life and you may as well have all the beauty that is there for the offering. You are so worthy to have it and share it with others.

You are a gift to this world, no matter how big or small your reach is.

I challenge you to love.

With love(that word keeps popping up a lot, doesn’t it? 😉),

Lindsay M.

You

Sunday morning blog, friends! Please grab your morning beverage of choice and sit here with my thoughts for a while. I’m about to take my first sips of a gorgeous and steaming cup of earl grey with a splash of cashew milk and coconut sugar.

I’ll let you in on a little secret…

No matter what, you need to be yourself in your most raw and authentic way.

There is absolutely no point to try and be someone you’re not for people. At the end of the day, it will get you nowhere.

Each one of you offers something so unique and precious and you are worthy just by being you. You don’t need to have parlour tricks up your sleeve in order to be a part of this game. There are those of you out there who can sing like no other, do math like no other, listen like no other, make coffee like no other, and change a diaper like no other.

No matter how big or “small” your God Given Gifts are, you bring value to peoples lives; whether it’s on a smaller scale or more grandiose. It doesn’t matter. You just be you.

This isn’t a quick race to the finish line, my friends. I’m reminded today to slow down, take in these moments, and remember my roots. Time is passing and us along with it.

You do not need to fabricate any part of yourself for acceptance or love.

My challenge for you this week is to turn inward and give yourself that acceptance and love. Yes, even the ugly and unlovable bits. When you do that, you are more free to look outward with a clearer mindset.

Go be fabulous. You already just are. Remember that.

Love,

Lindsay M.

It has to Hurt if it’s Going to Heal

Sunday morning blog time, my friends. Please grab your morning “pick me up” and glimpse into my thoughts for a few minutes. I’m sipping on a green matcha tea surrounded by boxes,bins, and bags awaiting in anticipation for my upcoming move.

I think a change will do you good.

Are you freaking out by that statement? Even just a little?

Good.

You need to be shaken up every once in a while. Otherwise, you’ll become complacent and comfortable and coast. The dreaded three C’s.

Complacency is being ok with being ok; staying stagnant and not evolving. That goes against everything in nature as everything in nature is constantly evolving and growing and going through cycles.

Comfort is a cousin of complacency. Comfort will lure you in to a flat line of “everything is fine….neither good nor bad” kind of state. Where do you grow from that? It almost blinds you and stunts you.

Coasting is a Great Aunt of complacency and comfort. She’s been around a looonnng time and she’s been surviving off of comfort and complacency–watching the years and opportunities she wishes she participated in pass her by. Coasting is like dipping your baby toe in the water when the rest of your spirit is screaming to jump in.

Well, the beautiful thing about this little life of ours is our “Wake up Calls”… the little nudges that prods and pokes us to come to a level of awareness that we can no longer ignore. In any moment we can change our thoughts and put action toward them.

You are not your shortcomings. You are not your past mistakes. You are not your (what you deem to be) failures.

You are a work in progress. And progress you shall. You are interesting and intricate and useful and quirky at times. You have value. You have awareness.

Now, what I gently (and firmly because I’m in duality like that) suggest is that you pause for a moment and check in to see where you’re at. Are you partaking in the “Dreaded Three C’s” play or are you creating, collaborating, and collecting new adventures?

I cannot stress enough how much your 92 year old self does not want you to fall into the trap of monotony. He/She is begging you to seek life, beauty, vastness, growth, and change on a constant basis. Even if it’s just little things. It will make a huge impact on your today and on your future.

I think you’re swell. And I think you’ve got it in you.

It’s in the back of your mind. Yes, that little thing that’s niggling to come out…that’s YOU trying to break out and change course. Make you a priority. Make that little voice a bloomed and magnificent flower.

I always believe in you.

With total certainty,

Lindsay M.

No (Wine)ing

Look at that. It’s Sunday morning again. That must mean that it’s Sunday morning blog time. Please sit with me and sip on your tea, coffee, smoothie, or morning hair of the dog while you read my thoughts.

Have you noticed that whenever you have gone through what you deem to be a hardship or trials, that is what propels you to positively change something in your life.

It’s like it is a wake up call. So many times in life, we can coast through it and everything feels “ok” or “fine”, even.

Who on earth wants to go through life consistently feeling ok or fine?

But then something upsetting, not right, hurtful, or downright awful happens to you and it shakes your core but also shakes your awareness and brings you to a place of…”Alright, enough of this bullshit…”

That is where you have to take a step back (and, dear reader, I know it’s hard when you’re in the midst of heartache) and take a good look at your precious life and see things as not necessarily happening to you, but happening FOR you.

I will share a personal example.

A couple of weeks ago I was out with some friends and had a couple glasses of wine which I’m totally fine with. Unfortunately, I had this on an empty stomach. Another round came and I thought, “Eh, I’m Polish, Irish, and Scottish…I can handle 3 measly glasses of wine.”

Well, the next morning I felt dreadful. I know. We have all been there. I was surprised because I was used to casually drinking a couple of glasses of wine here and there often. No big deal. But then I asked myself: “Why?”

“Why do I consume wine as often as I do?”

I came to the conclusion that it was a (for me) false sense of security, comfort, anxiety prohibiting, and tasty wee habit.

I’m currently on a 30 day no alcohol and healthy eating cleanse which was propelled by that silly night where I felt wretched from over consumption.

And I feel fantastic and vibrant and clear! But..I would have continued to unconsciously drink the wine with my dinners and socially more often than I realized not connecting to the why had I not been “woken up” to what the effects really were doing.

Tony Robbins states this:

“You will tolerate things in your life until you don’t tolerate them anymore!”

It’s true. But sometimes you don’t realize the stress and certain abusive people and situations in your life until a large, and often, a shakeup occurs.

Please do not look at these situations as a negative, my friends.

Trials, hardships, tough lessons, and sometimes losses are to be used for you to reflect on what is truly of value to you.

You are a human being. You have brokenness, beauty, worth, and a myriad of everything within you.

You are built to persevere and level up.

This week I challenge you to reflect upon the experiences you have had throughout your life that you had deemed to be awful and unfair at the time and then try to find what the good was that came out of it had you not gone through that. And…the person you are today.

We are shaped and formed by our experiences and we are here to strive and even jive 😉

Don’t lose faith through the storm, my friend.

It’s bringing you to exactly where you’re supposed to be.

With the utmost care,

Lindsay M.

2017 is SOOO Last Year

Sunday morning blog and the last day of 2017…how fitting. Please grab whatever concoction fits your needs to read this (maybe you’ll need something strong for this one) and let’s get on with it.

I was laying in bed the other night and a thought came into my head. I thought to myself : “I’m now a day closer to my last day on Earth…”

I promise, you guys, I’m not morbid or constantly thinking about my time BUT….those little thoughts do come in and I let them. Because it’s reality. We are all given an allotted amount of days and it’s what we do with them that counts.

I know, it gives me anxiety as well.

But, it also brings me to this topic…

If you look at your life on a sheet of paper and there’s a start and stop date, I bet you would want to fill the in betweens with really cool shit. Right?

We do not know when our end date is. We do not know when our friends and loved ones end dates are. What I do know, though, is that I do not want to spend a day that is such a gift doing mundane and non productive things. And by productive, I don’t just mean work. You can be productive by expanding your mind by reading or attending a class. I believe in growing at any age.

Don’t limit yourself. I find that we can become too complacent in our current situations.

I love what Tony Robbins said once, “You will tolerate it until you can’t tolerate it anymore.”

Well, guess what? I cannot tolerate knowing that I have an expiry date on Earth and letting my precious life pass. Our time is valuable. I challenge you to ask yourself this question:

“What do I want to fill my “in between” days up in 2018 with?”

Do you want to repeat the same years over and over again? Nah!! Even if you are at 100% right now, there will be always room to grow and learn. That’s the way the movement of life is. Forward. Not backward.

You are not your past. You are not that awkward teenager. You are not the outcast. You belong with this beautiful universe. You are a Child of It. You are the co-pilot—that’s a pretty big deal.

I believe in you. I believe in myself. And I believe in us as a collective community. Let’s step into our roles of becoming better—it’s a bit by bit process. Small steps and the journey.

You know what…there WILL be bumps and bruises along the way. There WILL be moments of self doubt. There WILL be triumphs and accomplishments. There WILL be all of it!

Looks like you’re filling up your “in between” with an awesome pulse instead of a dull flatline, though.

Come on, 2018…we are SO ready for you.

With appreciation for your time reading my blogs and my best intentions for you to have an amazing 2018,

Lindsay M.

Hustle and Flow

Sunday morning blog, dear friends. Please grab your morning choice of beverage and cozy up with me and my thoughts.

Sometimes I get angry. Most of the time I’m pretty even keel; pleasant in mind and spirit. But sometimes, I get really angry. I want to exam our anger today. Amongst other things.

Anger is a real emotion. Its derivative is usually stemmed from hurt, unmet expectations, and disappointment. It’s a cutting emotion that comes up in various sorts of ways. Sometimes we lash out, sometimes we hold it in, and (my least favourite) sometimes we get passive aggressive.

We have ALL been hurt before. We have all had anger. You and I and everyone on here have probably experienced some sort of every emotion available.

Emotions come and go. They move through us as they should.

But anger, now that’s a tricky one.

Anger in your heart can be devastating to your health and mental well being. It can manifest physical ailments if you harbour it. I’m a big believer in expressing to someone how you feel—effectively.

Use words like, “I feel this way when this happens…” or “I want to tell you how I’m feeling.”

Common sense, yes. But so often in anger we are quick to make the other person wrong and when have you ever seen that go over well when someone is quick to jump down another’s throat?

I’m watching my life shift. People are coming in and out of it. Some friendships are dwindling and some are lighting up. That’s the nature of things. You put into relationships/friendships what you can and if it’s reciprocated, great! If not, thank you for the lesson.

But, my dear readers, remember that you are worthy to be loved by those whom you surround yourself with. Please do not surround yourself with people who don’t see your greatness and value. You don’t need to be something more grandiose than what you are today. You’ll find your tribe. I have often said that I’d rather have four quarters than a hundred pennies.

We are not perfect. We are not always going to be everything to everyone. That’s exhausting and unrealistic.

I’m watching unexpressed anger and emotions dissolve relationships and friendships. Yes, unpleasant emotions are tough to confront, but remember, you will always feel lighter if you express it in an effective way.

As Will Smith once wrote and sang:

“Hate in your heart will consume you, too…”

I invite and challenge you today to exam your heart and see where you’re at. Maybe call up that friend that you’ve been meaning to apologize to. Maybe gently confront that family member who wronged you. Whatever it is, don’t hold on too hard. I promise you’ll feel better with open and honest communication. You’re safe.

With a helpful nudge toward your wellbeing,

Lindsay M.

Mr. Worry

Sunday morning blog time, friends! Grab yourself a cup of tea/coffee/rum and eggnog (too soon?) and have a lookie-loo into the thoughts I want to share on this rainy November Sunday.

Do you worry? Do you overthink? Do you spend time feeling anxious over things that haven’t happened but you’ve created in your mind? Do you wake up in the morning sometimes and immediately your headspace goes to yesterday’s troubles or tomorrow’s fears?

You’re not alone. 99.9% of us go through that at some point in their lives. It’s a discomfort that most of us think we battle alone. Yet, day by day, we put on that “mask” or “veneer” so that we appear ok and that our anxiousness isn’t getting the better of us; so that we can portray to the world that we are fine.

Guess what? If you’re struggling with thoughts like that, there is something you need to look at. There’s something that is not in alignment with your ideals and expectation of what you feel to be true for your life and well being. Maybe there’s a part within you that is coasting along and not feeling a connection to the here and now.

We are created to live fully present in the moment and to flow with everything. We cannot transport into the past nor future (yet 😉) but we are created to be fully alive and aware right…now.

Where has your worry, anxiety, fear, self doubt ever taken you? Probably onto the path of MORE worry, anxiety, fear, and self doubt.

And we fight it, you know. We have a strong determination to fight the worry and give it so much attention. It’s true what they say,

“What you put your attention on, you will create.”

Look, you guys, I can be a notorious worry wart. I tend to overthink and sometimes feel hyper aware of all the things happening around me and within me.

What I challenge us to do this week is to look within and confront these worries and then put into action some mindfulness techniques to bring us to the present moment which is much healthier on our psyche. Enjoy the richness that is around you in this very moment.

Do a step toward aligning yourself to your authenticity and vibration of what feels harmonious to you. You don’t need to go too steep of a gradient; baby steps are ok.

You will start to open up and be receptive to less worry (and I’m not talking about not caring–two different things) and you will start to feel more connection to the flow of life. You are all a part of it–make sure you’re awake and not in the past that has passed nor in the unknown future. Be here. Now.

Sending love and calming chamomile tea to your wee souls,

Lindsay M.

You’re worth it…

Sunday morning blog time, loves. Please grab whatever beverage you need to get you through this and away we’ll go! 
Stop being ok with mediocracy. 
I’m talking about the kind of bullshit story that we repeatedly tell ourselves over and over again to make complacency feel ok. 
I met a man last night that lost his wife three months ago. He was on a cocktail cruise by himself and I was drawn to ask him why he was by himself; no judgement. Just curious. With tears in his eyes, he told me that he lost his wife three months prior and that they were scheduled to do this cruise tour together. And she had encouraged him to do all the things they were going to do and…that she would still be with him.
That is love. That is devotion. That is divinity. It doesn’t die. 
Love like that. Love like you care immensely for that person. There are certain things in life to be semi blasé about and love ain’t one of them. 
Look at your career. Sure, we can complain until the end of the day that 

we need a paycheck to survive but it’s time to look deeper. Are you satisfied with where you spend 8-10 of your waking hours? If not, responsibly look at your life and seek action to take charge of your own precious and beautiful time given. You can’t get that back. 
Friendships. Don’t hang out with people who bring you down and who make it about themselves constantly. You will start to pick up on these traits when they never ask you how you’re doing or check in to see how you’re feeling, etc…I would rather have four quarters than a hundred pennies. Your energy is valuable. There’s a saying that says, “You are the average of the five people you spend time with.” Choose your friendships wisely. 
Your health. Ok..you’re in a body. It’s operating. I’m not saying that we should be militant 100% of the time, but eat your veggies, stretch, move around, and drink water. I tell you this as I tell myself. So often we forget to take “me time” just to solely operate on our physical well being. Let’s stop doing that. 
Read books. Expand your mind. Learn something new. 
Don’t coast through this journey. We are all not getting out of here alive so we might as well live up to our personal potential. I feel it’s time to wake up and start cutting out the mediocracy and start being more mindful about each 24 hours we are given. 
Raise your awareness. You’ve got this. 
With a smidgen of tough love,
Lindsay.

Beware the Pedestal

I’m going to give it to you straight. Beware the dreaded “pedestal syndrome”

When someone cannot see any of your imperfections at first and you are “high on ‘love’..” that is so scary. Because there is only one way to go when you’re on a pedestal. And that is down. 
Find someone who loves you, stays devoted to you, and won’t give up on you even when you’re feeling unlovable. Because that’s when we need it the most. 

Please find your spot to read this little ditty and enjoy. 
I’m speaking at a very special event today. My dearest friend and soul sister is putting it on. It’s for the Sparkle Project BC. Basically, it’s an event to remind everyone that we were all born with a sparkle and glow to give to this world and to not let anyone or anything dim that beautiful light. What a thoughtful event and intention. 
So often we are squashed by others. It’s been like that since the dawn of time and I would love to just chalk it up to human nature, but I think we deserve more than that. I think our essence is made from love, light, creativity, bliss, loyalty, divine…that feels right, doesn’t it? Anything that’s opposite of that isn’t what we are innately comprised of—sure, we have a myriad of emotions and that’s grand, but I think our general spirit is to reside in joy and playfulness. That’s why we love games, sports, trivia, experiences, etc…because of our playfulness. 
I’m going to keep this one short and sweet today, my friends. I have a lot of prep to do for the event. 
I’ll leave you with this, though. 
Don’t forget who you TRULY are. You are not your bills, your breakup, your flu, your mistakes, your shortcomings, your addictions…
YOU are intricate, complex, vibrant, worthy, consistently growing, learning, and made from love into love. 
Go shine and, hey, maybe even sparkle a little. 
Love you’s,
Lindsay.