know they need no other force.
~lao tzu
life is a choice.
just like
trauma
is not
an event
but how we
experience
an event
life isn't defined by what the universe brings to our doorstep
but by how we relate and respond to it. 

it's not what you're given
it's how you receive it.
how we receive anything is a reflection of the meaning we give it.
welcome guest...
...unwanted pest?
a gift...
...an insult?
a blessing 'in disguise'—from a friendly universe that's on your side:
a lesson that leads you to your truth.
the doorway to wisdom future-you depends on.
bootcamp for a muscle that turns out to be a super power.
...or a curse, a cold universe that doesn't give a shit about you, a cage there's no escaping, a crippling wound you will never heal.
a terrifying teeny tiny... puppy?
...or beast—that triggers you to feel safe, to laugh and play.
​​while the bad news is the 'meaning' things have is rooted in the stories you believe
​​the good news is you are the story-teller!!
perhaps, like me, you were imprinted with stories that taught you the world is unsafe, that... puppies are to be feared.
perhaps you were raised in a society whose stories taught you you don't matter—that boundaries are wrong.
​​perhaps your parents, their parents ...ancestors you never even met! passed down stories that taught you your internal guidance system was faulty—that you can't trust yourself.
and what!?​​
you're not bound to those stories.
​life is a choice because we can choose to tell ourselves
whatever
god-damned
or
gods-blessed
stories we want.
we can choose what light us up—
the exciting, expansive, intoxicating stories
that empower, inspire, rejuvenate.
we can choose stories where success isn't limited by willpower
but fueled by our blazing desire to Be
to Do
to Have
what sets us on fire.
we can choose to ask The Real Questions.
the ones that peel away the 'could's, 'should's, 'i think i would's,
that make space for where we actually are,
and reveal what moves us because it's where we actually want to go.
you can choose the stories.
and
you can choose to be clever;
to harness the cacophony of powerful tools and practices at your disposal.
the truth is, it's not the obstacles that drain your energy and keep you stuck.
it's the energy you waste resisting, resenting and rejecting the opportunities for growth these challenges offer.
it's not the circumstances that make you a victim.
it's the finger of blame you point at everything outside yourself that strips you of the power you have to create the life you crave.
you don't get to choose whether you are a creator.
every choice you make creates results.
you get to choose what you create
through how you choose to create—
consciously or unconsciously, by default or by design, intentionally or... unwillingly.
​"not" choosing is a choice for things to stay the same.
the perspective you identify with, live from, reinforce—it sets the parameters of what's possible for you...
but it's not set in stone.
and it's not just the mystics that say so!
science agrees—you can rewire that remarkably plastic brain of yours.
​
it all begins with a single choice—to reach for beliefs that lift the ceiling on what you tell yourself is possible.
you can choose the lens that traps you in addictions that destroy your heath and relationships.
or
you can replace it with one where your addictions are guides—revealing wounds you need to heal and boundaries begging to be built.
you can keep reaching for sharp edges to dull the pain that makes you want to end it all.
or
you can choose the lens that turns your darkest days into proof of your power to Rise.
you can choose to believe you are utterly alone.
or
you can live in a friendly universe
that does have a plan
that is rooting for you
that makes you climb formidable mountains
because it knows the You that's
waiting on the other side.
​​
​
​
[and no, you don't have to believe you live in a friendly universe because you're allowed to do you.
just sayin'—the grass is much greener over here.]​
​​​​you can either keep the 'glass half empty' (and evaporating as. we. speak.) goggles you were handed.
​
or you can give yourself permission to swap'em for a pair of 8D half full glasses—that let you smell the quenching rain a-coming to overflow the cup
​
(and learn how to keep those beauties clean, 'cause life's a ride, folks—it goes up and down and when it rains, it more than pours—so there's always mud a'plenty​
but you can also choose to have fun getting covered in the mud—because it all comes off in the wash, dear.)
​ you can choose
to become the person
who enjoys the fuck
out of all of it.​
i know you can
because
i have done it myself.
if you're game—the right teachers will appear, ready to teach you the same.
and the first thing they'll tell you is
flowing with life does not look like
perfect blue skies,
delicious shade
and tranquil waters lapping at the shore
every day,
for the rest of your life.
flowing with life looks like
the gorgeous sunshine you experience
~ in your mind ~
​​when it pours down with rain
(because of the wonderfully oversized umbrella
you had the mind to invest in when it blue skies!)
flowing with life looks like
the delicious safety you experience
~ in your body ~
​​when it's -10º and you're lost in the wilderness
(because of the perfect campfire you know how to build
without getting smoked to death.)
flowing with life looks like
the peaceful waters you experience
~ in your heart ~
​​when the grey sky sulks and the wind bites bleak
(because of the hand-knit cashmere jumper that wraps you in grandmothers' love,
the secret-recipe hot cocoa that uplifts you with grandfathers' wisdom,
the ice-skates you always stash for the winter that is always coming.)
if you long to flow with life
...but parts of you keep resisting, stubbornly rowing upstream
choose to learn about your parts.
if you're ready to build momentum
...but your inner crew keep missing the beat
choose to align with the sun, the moon, the stars, the seasons.
if you itch to stand on the prow of a life that lights you up
...but your canoe is built from broken stories
choose to embody an alterego.
​choose more.
​​
​​
choose life.
​
choose you.
​​​
​let me empower you.
know someone who needs a dose of dark moon magic?