I Am My Parent's Child

I am my mother's daughter
I come from a place of self-doubt
Constantly questioning not you but me.

I am my mother's daughter
I indulge in my chocolate treats
Nurturing and helping others see and reach their dreams.

I am my mother's daughter
Listening to the performers voice on stage
Sharing their story through song and dance.

I am my father's daughter
I tell my life's students to push harder, go further
Reminding them they can achieve, they can dream.

I am my father's daughter
Wiping the sweat off my brow from going the 3200m distance
Learning I don't need to win the race to win.

I am my father's daughter
When the lawn I mow is ready for re-growth
Ensuring all the blades are the same height and perfectly manicured.

I am my parents child
When I sit in silence and consider the moment, the day, the dream.

EAP, Feburay 2013

An Afternoon with the Camera

 

 

Powerful Silence

Noise fills our minds as it fills our ears

Noise fills our hearts as we judge, and

Noise fills our thoughts with question, resentment and doubt.

We respond by saying 'give me some peace and quiet.'

We beckon true peace through the silencing of our world, our mind and our heart.

Silence is powerful,

It heals as we practice it.

Silence, the tool that doesn't need sharpening,

Its potential is ever present and always within our reach.

Clarity comes as we go to our center without interference from  things that pollute our being.

Calm rests the doubting as the Spirit comforts our soul in times of grief and pain.

Silence used often allows each of us to be in the Sanctity of our heart, mind and spirit.

Pause to be deafened by silence.

EAP - February, 2014

Color

Color is the thing that connects.  It makes us unique, helping the beauty our spirit holds shine.  When we are off our center  all we have to do is find the thing that connects us to help us put the pieces together.  Whether the picture is complete or not, if we can find the spectrum of light that binds us, our path will be illuminated. We have to trust that the path will lead us to a good place.  A place of health, a place of rest, one of laughter, reflection, learning and giving back.  When we get there the light will shine, indicating the connection is meaningful, true and right.  What is the color that will connect today?

Threading the Needle

I am part of a leadership group that has met monthly since January.  Each month we are introduced to different tools to consider as we consider our values and  continue to contribute to our communities; challenging ourselves to make sure we are able to call on our values as we continue as servant leaders. Without it, we risk burn out by distancing ourselves from what is important as we are called to assume more leadership within our fields.

At one of our recent cohort meetings we had the pleasure of Ruth McKenzie joining us.  She's an incredible musician, vocalist and recently ordained minister.  She shared that her path has lead her to understand the Path of the Voice as the expression of one's essence.  At the same time she brought forward a concept that we have to be "conscious of the thread we are holding onto" as WE weave OUR life's path.  

This statement brought forth many reflections.  First, it reminded me of one of my mom's favorite lessons that "everything happens for a reason."  Ruth's belief about the thread made me realize that I am the one "holding the thread" and therefore responsible for identifying the lesson, or the reason, my mom pushed me to identify. This challenged me to consider what the thread is that ties life's experiences and lessons together from one to the next.  How does something I experienced at a young age inform who and what I do today? The core values that I have been asked to consider are at the essence of my life, be it family, friends, community or work.  

I think about the thread as combination of the gifts of my family, setting the stage of my values and the Spirit, providing the internal compass for the values I have formed.  Together these form the  thread and I hold onto the needle, constantly being asked to guide the it in a way that allows my essence to have voice.

Thanks Ruth, Thanks Abby!

-EAP, November 2013

Authenticity

To be real...

from within.

Authenticity asks us to deliver honestly,

without anger, but with compassion

not fearing exposing vulnerability

but embracing it.

It requires not anticipating the response,

but sharing an openness to the power of potential

where our authentic self may lead us.

It will teach us.

Being authentic takes heart, it takes courage

It results in blossoming of spirit, love, self and relation.

Take the risk with purity of intent.

Practice Authenticity.

- EAP, May 2013

INTENT: the root of discpline

Discipline is the structure, intent is the purpose.

Why? How? Where? does my intent come from - its Root?

Does it come from the soul that is housed in the body?

The soul that is the voice of Spirit.

Discipline is the demonstration of the value, 

of the intrinsic that becomes extrinsic as soon as discipline becomes act.

It is the behavior that has its roots at the cellular level.

Discipline demonstrates whether or not I truly value something ~

if I am for real.

Do I walk my talk?

It is a conscious choice to live as the soul, as the spirit encourages me to live.

To live like the cells pulsing through my body with such clear intent on their role,

their responsibility.

Thought, reason, and excuses sometimes create a detour for for purpose, for intent.

I've got to get the mind and the soul acting as one,

in harmony and in relationship with one another.

Symbiotic, not antagonistic.

One compass direction.

True North.

Discipline.

Intent.

Harmony, Balance.

Right hand, Left hand.

Sun, Moon.

Give, Receive.

Love.

Joy.

Focus.

Direction.

Blessed.

-EAP, 

March, 2013