As an adult, are you hiding or seeking?

Hiders hide. Seekers seek.

And as my friend Clayton said to me, “Finders find.”

Mary Anne

I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. ~Joseph Campbell

What is your theme or focus for 2012? What are you declaring 2012 to be the year of?

MY 2012 MANTRA
Wherever I am, there is outrageous bliss.

I would love to hear your theme, focus or word for 2012!

{Photo taken by Mary Anne Flanagan on the Big Island, Hawaii}

As I plan for more adventures of outrageous bliss in my work and life, I realized how terrified I have been in every new venture and yet I keep going. I keep an index card on my desk that reads, “Do It Afraid.” For 2012, I may have to change it to, “Do It Terrified.”

I am grateful for terror for letting me show up in visible, outrageous ways.

What is the dream you have been terrified to live?

Isn’t it time you live your outrageous bliss?

Breathe – and live your dream – terrified and all.

My mantra for 2012 is: Wherever I am, I experience outrageous bliss.

Now, it’s your turn.

Mary Anne

It’s your life. How do you want to live it?

Experience it?

Share it?

Explore it?

Write it?

Experiment it?

Play with it?

Create more in it?

What’s the story of your life you want to be living?

Go ahead. Live it.

{Photo taken by Mary Anne Flanagan, Egypt}

All relationships with people, connections with nature, and experiences are filled with holy intimacy.

How have you experienced holy intimacy in your life?

Mary Anne

When politics, sports, or money come before the safety of children, we fail as adults. If we don’t tell the truth, report a crime, or protect our children, how can we expect another generation to know or do better?

There is a greeting in Africa when people meet, “And how are the children?” This is done whether you have children or not as every village knows every child.

And how are the children?

Mary Anne

I spent the next day putting on a heating pad, more gels, did more stretching, and took some Advil. I decided to ask for some healing energy and positive thoughts from friends on Facebook. Many of my friends sent me kind messages, energy, and love. One friend wrote, “Sending healing energy and suggesting you listen to the messages your lower back has for you.”

Throughout the rest of the night that my back was aching, I used meditation to adjust to and release the discomfort by creating visual images that could penetrate muscles, heart and mind. I listened to my back and what it has been trying to tell me for months and I have been ignoring.

How long have I carried (back) pain, not just in my body, but in my mind? What’s cracking, restructuring, and rebuilding inside and out? When was the last time I allowed myself the rest I so deserve?

Certainly, something that causes any kind of pain – mental, emotional, or physical – must be questioned if I am truly to move beyond it. What is lodged so deep in my spine? What or who am I storing and agreeing to painfully hold onto?

It is time to push past the pain, the drama, the unspoken, and LISTEN. It is time to really listen to my back. It is time to move forward peacefully. I have ignored the whispers of back pain and now my back clearly has a message for me. I am still listening.

I love that my back pain has a treasure for me – a message of love. I am open to receiving it. Amen.

Mary Anne

Life really is like a game of Chutes and Ladders, I thought, taking the long view while nosing around, and burning up my life. You work hard to climb, and you get lucky, too; you’re ambling along when suddenly, wham, you roll wrong, you make a stupid move, and you’re perilously upside down the slide. You’ve got to pick yourself up and start the climb over again. It gets wearying after a while.

That’s the starkest pattern in all of our lives. It takes so long to get the hang of it, the slipping, sliding, and starting over, that by the time we’re old enough to know that the climb is everything, the whole story, the destination doesn’t matter, we’re tired enough to let wisdom in, to move efficiently, thoughtfully, to finally stop and enjoy the view along the way.

There it is – for Dominique Browning life is like a game of Chutes and Ladders. I started thinking about what ‘game’ my life is like. The first one that came to mind was the game Twister. Right hand red. Left foot yellow. Left hand green. Right foot blue. My life is like Twister because it twists and turns and various parts of my life and friends intertwine. Like the game, we cross paths on our way to reaching our various destinations. I live my life  like the colorful mat the game is played with so many vibrant interests (writing, coaching, reading, traveling, drumming etc…). At times, I trip over myself, over all the things I have said yes to, and all of my work engagements. But mostly, I am like the game of Twister because it is so full of play, of colors, of falling down and getting up again. In the game Twister, there is no limit on the number of people who can play – so full of possibilities. And, anytime I play, there is always a good amount of laughter.

Thinking back to all the games you played in childhood (or perhaps play now with your children), what game most represents your life? I’d love to hear from you so feel free to leave a comment!

Let’s play!

Mary Anne

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Namaste Steve Jobs. I will remember how you used your genius to keep us connected. I will remember that you honored your ability to think different. I will remember you for teaching me to think different and bigger. I am grateful to you for giving me the tools to connect and grow – how I used my iTunes and iPod to carry many years of music, how I used my iPhone to meet and connect with my family in Louisiana, how I used my iPad to grow my business, and how I bought an iMac that allowed me to make a “It Gets Better” video. I have downloaded apps that have allowed me to use my creative genius. I knew this day was going to come. I just had no idea how sad I was going to feel. And while I may be an “Apple groupie”, what I have really admired is his ability to share his genius and his determination to keep going when many times along the way he could have quit.

How has Steve Jobs influenced your life? How will you remember Steve Jobs?

I hope we continue to “stay hungry” and “stay foolish.”

Mary Anne

I am the hope of Spring.  

I am faith that moves mountains.

I am the bagpipes that makes your feet tap.  

I am the laughter of a six year old.

I am the sunrise in the East.

I am a prayer and a song.

I am as loud as pelting rain.

I am as quiet as morning dew.

I am the New York Times crossword puzzle.

I am the Winter blizzard that arrives with intensity.

I am the bee that always finds the nectar.

I am the child of surprise and spirit.

I am the adult of wonder, of love, of generosity, and of faith.

I am truth, freedom, and limitless possibilities.

I am more than this.

I am.

I.

Am.

Mary Anne