Some decisions are easy to make, but we still choose unwisely. We “know better” but eat fried chicken instead of baked, drink 4 glasses of wine when one is ample…we have healthy, great options, but… So when it comes time to make larger life decisions, we look at our track record and realize maybe healthy choices aren’t our forte. There’s a subconscious lack of trust in ourselves and this creates stress.
The proverbial fork in the road – it’s a place we all come to, sometimes without even a realization we are there. I recently spoke with one of my ministers about this place. This forked road. He reminded me that we will often make wrong decisions – and it may not be how we want to experience this world, but it’s ok. We are people that make mistakes.
Sure, we learn from mistakes, sometimes. Sure, we can again change our minds. And certainly, nothing (but love) lasts forever. But finding peace with decisions requires a maturity that is based in faith.
I didn’t want to be responsible or mature, so I asked him for his direct advice. I normally can’t stand people’s advice, but there are times when I just want to be told what I “should” do. His reply: “When it comes time, I think you’ll know.”
I want to fight that response, it’s not what I want to hear. Someone do it for me. Help me. Just decide for me for goodness sake! But in my heart of hearts, I do know that when it comes time, I’ll know. Just like every other decision that I cared about. I generally go thru a process of mental turmoil for a few weeks, then exhaust myself and in that mental exhaustion I find my heart and suddenly, I hear the answer. It was there all along, but drowned by the noise in my mind. Not all decisions can be made in the heart, this is true. But when you have the luxury of time to decide, you can either relax in the process or have a mental war of “this or that” – I suggest you spare yourself the anguish. Try to let go and listen to your heart. You’ll know – when it’s time.
Archive for the ‘Spiritual’ Category
This… or That?
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Me & Mocha
Monday, January 25th, 2010
My dog died 2 weeks ago. This is the first I’ve been able to write about it. His name was Mocha, a chow, and travelled with me for 16 years. We went everywhere a girl and her 55 lb dog could go, often staying for a year or two so I could follow my dreams or just explore. Los Angeles, Nashville, Santa Barbara, Atlanta, Birmingham, New York, Louisville and every stop in between. Mocha made me feel safe, loved and not alone. What a companion he was…
I’d been carrying him up stairs for 4 years (often 3 -4 flights!) because of his bad hip, but didn’t mind at all. For all he’d done for me, it was a simple thing. During the last stretch of his life, we discovered he had a tumor on his paw and cancer growing in his body. His limp was debilitating. Although it required lots of meatball treats, a friend’s special handicap service van and trips to the vet every three days for new bandages, I’m so glad to have alleviated his pain and given his quality of life back, if only for 2 weeks. He rallied.
Those of you that have lost a pet, a friend or family member can relate to the grief that follows. I knew I had to put him to rest on that last day – he was telling me. Somehow in a process such as this, everything else in the world becomes unimportant. Have you noticed this phenomenon? When it comes to life and death, or even severe illness, a perspective is found that trumps all others. Money, fears, trivial desires or even small ailments fade. The mental chatter of once important work matters, to-do lists or arguments with a friend simply dissipate. What Mocha’s life and his death taught me – love is what really penetrates. The rest, I usually make up somehow to either occupy my mind, validate my existence or just to give me something to complain about. Love prevails, and in grieving, it’s a time to transform the recognition of that love from the physical to purely the spiritual.
The painting here is a tribute to him and was an essential part of my healing process. All of the emotion that was swirling inside was placed onto that canvas.
Although I miss seeing him and touching him, it’s strange, but I don’t feel like Mocha is really gone. He’s visited my dreams twice and his energy is part of mine. And wonderfully, I feel safe and loved. He taught me that.
To all those who have lost a beloved companion, my heart is with you and I hope that love helps you heal.
Tell It Like It Is
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010Have you ever wondered when your life is going to change? I mean really change. As each year begins, we have a stirring hope that this will be the year our dreams come true, our relationships improve, we are out of financial debt, our anxieties would ease, or the weight will stabilize. The resolutions are in place, daylight is returning and maybe, just maybe, we’ll open our eyes one morning with a sign, an epiphany, a kismet occurrence or revelation that will make everything seem *poof* magically different and better. Good luck.
This year, I have a new mantra. To change the circumstances that need changing, to make my life flow, I’m going to tell it like it IS. Here’s my theory…
We largely communicate the way we were taught – polite, correct, without emotion, a particular tone, niceties and most of all, what we think others want to hear. Half of this protocol is appreciated and allows the world to function with order. The other half? Complete baloney. So many days pass without a single, meaningful or honest conversation. And the worst part? I find myself talking smack to MYSELF! My dreams, hopes, will and soul are clouded with a playback recorded symphony of these same niceties; explanations that generally cover excuses, passions, feelings and that powerful lifeforce that burns in my gut. No more. From here on, if you’re going to talk to me, you’re going to hear what is true. Not mean. Not rude. Not without compassion or PC, but true. It’s an attempt to do what I actually claim that I do so well – communicate. Live with purpose. Inspire. And I realize that so much goes undone by the mere drain of energy that it takes to keep up the b.s. of societal living. Explaining why to my family or friends. Talking myself into or out-of a new car/outfit/dessert. The self-talk and interractions with others that we call communication are simply not good enough any more.
I’m on a mission to live with purpose. To get what I want. To feel what happens in life, good or bad, and share my experience so that others can relate and vice versa. To walk a path of integrity that risks judgment. That’s my goal.
I hope you find the power to Tell It Like It Is and let loose your creative genius that makes you thrive. To own your spirit. To release your thoughts and care. There is nothing more inspiring than to see truth in words, in art, in beauty. Let it rip.
The Next Step
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
What do you want this New Year? We often have ideas of what we want or who we want to “be” without formulating a plan for success. We lie dormant in the background of our own lives waiting for external circumstances to determine our fate. Our motives for change get bogged down by other people’s plans, schedule conflicts, lack of motivation, money issues or plain ‘ole laziness.
I want to encourage you today to pick up your foot, bend your knee and take a step. Repeat.
We envision our lives as being better or different if only this or that would happen. If only you got a raise. If only your partner would be more attentive. If only there were more hours in the day. If only you had supportive parents. If only, if only, if only.
The “if only” attitude is a victim mentality that puts all the energy of creating the life you desire into the hands of someone or something else’s control and hinders you from moving forward. There is a different way to live your life. I call it Doing Your P.A.R.T. – Positive Action in Right Time. Simply put, you spend your time doing what you know is right for you to do right now. “Now” is the timeframe you are working with, always. By doing your P.A.R.T., you will not be focused on what or who keeps you immobilized, or fixated on the past. You become an example of right action by using your time in positive ways thereby inspiring those around you to do their P.A.R.T. You weren’t created to be a martyr, but to design a most beautiful journey that is called your life.
Just one tiny step is the next step. With that, you are acting in faith that the destiny you dream of will come to pass and you believe it so intently that you spend your time in positive action, doing your P.A.R.T. to achieve success.
You can get there. You can change your life. Know that with each step you take, you walk toward a celebration of newness while walking one step away from that which does not serve you. Your next step is always the most important one of your life – just take it.
3 Areas of Health
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Each of these categories offers celebrity endorsements and books/articles of conviction. We get swayed into one paradigm or the other- due in part to marketing campaigns. The propensity of our individual character wants to rely exclusively on one or the other (depending on your need to control or be passive) causing fixations and ocd behavior to be “right.”.Disorders stem from this type of imbalance, as do other forms of dis-ease. I mention the types below as more extreme scenarios to make a point. Each area is important, but cannot stand alone for optimal health.
1) You Are What You Eat – Food & exercise generally get the most attention in our appearance-obsessed world. Some believe that all health revolves around the physical body – what you put in, you’ll get out. It’s true that food and exercise can shape the health of the body and even affect mental well-being, but to ignore the other vital elements of well-being is a mistake. The extremists of “You Are What You Eat” use food/exercise as a means to control their environment, attempt to regulate suppressed addictions or anxieties and/or need an immediate sense of self-gratification. Diet restrictions, over-supplementation or obsessive exercise can become a mask for imbalances within. It becomes an attempt to cure all that ails you – be it emotional, mental, physical or spiritual. (This can include micro-managing calories/fats/carbs, happy pills (however natural), extreme food restrictions etc).
2) Mind Over Matter – This school of thought claims that you are what you think- that your mind has the power to make you well, happy and even defeat the affects of unhealthy food, negative emotions or toxic environments. Mind Over Matter claims big ‘secrets’ to a happy and healthy life, many of which are true, but again, a large disclaimer that cannot hold up to some of life’s toughest questions. Positive thinking does affect your world, and honestly it is critical to health, but to attempt to think yourself “well” without relying on other disciplines could lead to many a disorder – essentially a self-inflated mentality that what, avoids death & plays God? Norman Cousins may have laughed himself to eternity, but he’s not living to tell us about it now. The ‘secret’ is to know that you have control of your mind, not the other way around, and that positive thinking and a great attitude can influence your experience in this world.
3) Spiritual Specialists– There are many people of faith that rely on their spiritual practice, God or a belief system to carry them from illness to health, poverty to wealth or other drastic accomplishments without acceptance of their input or other worldly affairs. You might find one of these types escaping from the ‘real world’ to dwell on a mountain top, or a parent declining medication for their child but opting for prayer and faith-healing instead. I’m not discounting spiritual practices – my faith is a large part of my life and I know that prayers and meditation make a huge difference. But, without a pro-activity in the other categories (eating well, exercise, positive thinking, helping others) one runs the risk of becoming an uber-radical extremist – making choices that are unhealthy or unwise. We’ve read these stories.
I believe the key to healthy, vibrant living lies in balance of body, mind & spirit. It is the combination that propels the life-force within. It means acknowledging death as life and finding your purpose. Resolving feelings and thinking positively improves your wellness. Eating organic saves our land and improves our body systems. Praying to your Creator opens your heart and soul. Exercising will make you feel great and can enhance time with your children. Peace comes from sharing. Give energy to the mind, body & spirit equally for sustained health. This may or may not be news to you – either way, I hope you find it as a reminder to pay attention to how you are spending your energy, and your life.
Leah Guy is a Producer, TV Host, Writer and passionista for inspired, healthy living. She believes in 
A Girl Named Guy Productions is a multi-media company focused on Eco-tainment. Creator & CEO, Leah Guy, launched the company in 2006 with a goal to meet the demand for positive, inspired content for the mainstream audience. AGNG produces videos, 
