this gift

it's as if

when the branch sways in the wind --

it sways for me.

when the butterfly flaps its wings to fly so delicately in the sky  -- 

it flies for me.

when the sun shines --

it shines for me. 

and the rain falls --

for me.

all moments of all time were created for me.

and for you. for all of us. 

for the experience… 

for that knowing -- that is within each of us.

 yet we can't quite put a finger on.

…the eternal consciousness….

as they say.

that is beyond the 'me', the 'i', the 'self' form….

that is more than that. 

and more than what can be put into words.

this world…

this human experience…

this beauty around us - in all forms…

is a gift.

for the eternity that exists within all of us.

beauty is life and life is beauty

To be in this moment is to embrace everything that is.

By practicing this form acceptance, it uncovers the true beauty that lies in every single moment.

Life is beautiful… and meant to be so. 

You are life!
 

You are beautiful because you are alive.

Allow yourself to embrace all of your beauty; it is your true nature. 

Have compassion for yourself and others. 

Enjoy all that is. 

Love and care for all that surrounds you.

Smile. Create. Laugh. Be grateful. Eat well. Rest well. 

This is beauty. This is life. This is truth. This is you.

with love, katie lain

the biggest gift

“find in what look like sorrows, the seedlings of your joy”

Just over a year ago I left a relationship of 5 years. This relationship started when I was 21 and I was madly in love with the man since I was a kid. It began beautifully with romance, laughter, happy experiences and true love… but as more and more time passed it turned into a verbally abusive, then physically abusive relationship that only became more severe over time. I had always believed that I would never allow myself to be in an abusive relationship -- and I would hear about these women who would stick around with men who hurt them and I considered them weak and foolish for doing so. But then there I was, smack dab in the middle of one – and I stayed for years.

With this environment came deep, deep unhappiness within me. I ached with pain nearly every day… had suicidal thoughts and true hatred of myself. I felt trapped in my situation and myself and didn’t feel worthy or strong enough to leave… but every day I begged God for a sign or strength or something that would make me able to leave the situation that I felt I was drowning in.

One day the abuse was so severe and loud enough that my neighbors called the cops. It was the worst incident yet… I felt completely humiliated having to speak to the cops in front of my neighbors and I even lied to them about the abuse (I still don’t know why I did this). But this was the sign I was begging for that gave me the strength to finally leave. I had had enough.

Now, a year later – I see this relationship as the biggest gift of my life. 

Throughout the years of abuse and the deep unhappiness I felt, it caused me to truly self-reflect and go within myself to try to repair anything I could. Although the solutions I came up with were never a fix long term, it caused me to grow as a person in all ways, little by little. It taught be about forgiveness and showed me God and spirituality. I began a meditation practice and started going to Buddhism meetings. 

I believe that I somehow needed this struggle to really have a purpose to search for happiness and truth. I learned what feels like an infinite amount of lessons in this relationship and really transformed as a person. How can I not have anything but gratitude for this experience?

To me, this was a divine lesson on struggle and as I reflect back, I know that every single challenging or trying time in my life has always made me grow as a person; grow spiritually and ultimately made me more whole and happier. I find myself now at a place in life where I embrace struggle. This is not to say it feels easy or is enjoyable – because it’s not. But if you can practice simply letting the struggle be… and have faith that it is for a deeper reason – for your growth and for a better you; you will witness the joy emerge for the circumstance.

Self Care

Defined:
In terms of health maintenance, self care is any activity of an individual, family or community, with the intention of improving or restoring health, or treating or preventing disease.

I developed habits of self care sort of by accident as I was healing from the end of a long term relationship. I began to meditate regularly, spend time exercising outdoors in nature (rather than just the gym), reading positive books, practicing yoga and getting more rest than I ever allowed myself before. I felt like overall, I learned to slow down and take time for me and it was transformational in my life. Through these regular practices, not only did I start an ever-growing healing process, but I developed the ability to listen to my body and my intuition to always know what I needed for peace and happiness.   

I have had these practices in place for a little over a year and was feeling like I was on a roll with my self care rituals and inner development. With my integrated practice of exercise, time spent in nature, mediation, rest, time spent with good friends, eating healthy and delicious food, reading uplifting books and listening to uplifting speakers - I felt a sense of sustained balance in my life that brought peace to every situation no matter what I encountered. I was truthfully able to go with the flow.

Then I began to feel off. This feeling was a progression over time -- I did not even have an awareness of it until my state of mind became unsettled and I began to feel trapped in my life and my body. This feeling was progressive over about one month’s time and I found myself blaming my outward situation (stress at work, friends/family being too demanding on me, bad weather…) for how I was feeling inside.

I was talking with a friend and he kept asking me what was wrong – which is something he has never had to ask me before. I had maintained my healthy self care practices for so long that I rarely felt unbalanced or unsettled and if I did, it was for far less time and not nearly as severe. I was little offended and surprised by his questions and kept responding with, “nothing! I’m great! Everything is fine!”  But being the genuinely caring person he is, he dug deeper and asked me if I was resting enough, how my yoga practice was and how I felt inside. This is what caused me to realize I was not being true to my self care practices – and thus everything inside of me and around me was suffering.

What happened was that I was not present with my practices and was beginning to take them for granted. I had developed the mindset that I had them mastered and treated them as second nature. After all, I was still putting my rituals into practice – but far less often, and with less heart. I had greatly reduced my personal development and well-being by over-committing myself to friends, work, socializing and events - and slowly but surely, I began to suffer and this effected everything.

Self care is so so important for being an effective person in life. It should always come before anything else because it is the source of your well-being and happiness. It emanates out and effects to every other aspect of your life by bringing balance and security to all experiences. However, it takes regular attention and is not something you can just add to your list of to-dos. It must be done with pure intention, awareness and an open heart.

Now, I’m going for a walk… here’s to your self care – whatever that may be.

with love,

Katie Lain

enjoy life.

that moment is here.

the one captured in photography, art, pictures…. 

the beautiful, breathtaking moments you see in front of you -

but cannot always see around you.

which pause the beauty of life. 

of happiness --

of love.

...the soft lighting of the sun or

witnessing two people embrace each other or 

simply consumed in pure, joyous laughter.

those moments that warm your heart...

and bring peace to your inner being.

that feeling is now.

those moments are now.

every day.

every moment.

now.

--

with so, so much love.

katie lain.

Manifesting Abundance

I love this video and wanted to share.... he speaks about experiencing true joy and happiness in life, no matter what circumstances arise in your life. Developing this unconditional inner happiness manifests more of it in your life. Please ENJOY!

 

Video by Jason Gallant

embrace all of your moments

two cents for today…

Every single moment you encounter in life is essential to your personal development and personal growth.  Embrace and truly experience all situations. Be with the moment. There is a valuable lesson to be learned and always something to reflect upon.