lara simmons

" Your job is not who you are, your car is not who you are, your looks are not who you are, not even your body...is who you are.  You're simply on a journey, just trying things out, to see what you like, to see what you don't... because you can, because it's temporary, and because it's all on the way 'home.'" --The Universe on Tut.com My sister-in-law gave me a Fitbit for my birthday. I was excited because I had been wanting to try one and it was a nice surprise. I started wearing it and immediately became obsessed with how many "steps" I was taking each day. I loved the days when I got the vibrating wrist party that celebrates 10,000 steps and I lamented the days when I didn't quite make it. It motivated me to take the dog for an extra walk around the block at lunchtime (500 steps) or to do a quick 30 minutes on the treadmill (1500 steps) or even to run around Greenlake more often (6000 steps). It also pointed out how s...

"L ☺ ☺ K with eyes of love." -- The Universe  I have no idea where this quote came from - did I hear it somewhere and forget to write it down? - but it sprang to mind, fully formed, this morning as I was talking to a friend.  She wasn't feeling so attractive and was lamenting how her body had changed over the years, how she was aging and feeling just plain ugly.  I empathized and commiserated and finally advised her to look upon herself with "eyes of love." And then I made her say three things she liked about her body before we hung up. Because that's the key isn't it? How we look.  We can look with eyes of judgment. We can look with eyes of guilt. We can look with eyes of hatred or even with eyes of lust, but none of these give us the clearest picture of ourselves or others. It is only when we look with eyes of love that we see as God sees, as we truly are.  So I challenge you today to look with eyes ...

"I'm a little bit of everything all rolled into one. I'm a bitch. I'm a lover. I'm a child. I'm a mother. I'm a sinner. I'm a saint. I do not feel ashamed....So take me as I am." --" Bitch " by Meredith Brooks Sometimes you hear a song without really hearing it. And sometimes, at just the right moment, you can hear it all. Driving in the car this weekend, "Bitch," by Meredith Brooks came on the radio and it was like I was hearing it for the first time. I don't think I know a better song as an anthem for spiritual practice and the path we are all on. As Pema Chodron puts it, "Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better, it's about befriending who we already are."  It's about befriending who we already are - the Bitch. The Lover. The Child. The Mother. Whoever you are today, make friends with yourself. Love yourself. Embrace who YOU ARE right now....

This will be the last post of the summer and I end it with one last piece of wisdom from our time on the road. This one comes from Hailey, ID (former home to Bruce & Demi). We stopped at the Hailey Coffee Company for breakfast one morning. They have great coffee, great pastries, AND great smoothies so everyone in the family was happy. A good stop indeed! They also allow customers to etch bits of wisdom into the wall. I found this one particularity inspiring that day as I had never really thought about it. I think most of us probably don't. We know we are getting older - we think about it, complain about it, take steps to mitigate it - but rarely do we enjoy the age we are today. Today IS the youngest you will ever be. Enjoy! And what better way to get started than with a day off from work? Have a very Happy Labor Day!

"Only by accepting full responsibility for our own nature – as events and relationships serve to reveal it to us – can we awaken the true compassion we need towards others. Everyone hopes; everyone hurts; everyone needs love and forgiveness. In the end, it's only by being exactly what we are that we can start to see how much we are all the same." --Guy Finley in New Spirit Journal