Feeling anxious is not a flaw
on a common current state of being, the living practice, and loving yourself no matter what
my day will be flawed. i will show up flawed today. but I have something perfect supporting this day, supporting me.
love.
love makes everything better.
please remember sweetie: you are the source. you are the love of (your) life.
Hi friends, how are you doing today?
I just finished my yoga practice. I'm still sitting on my mat. And I'm thinking of this past week. I've been waking up with a slight sense of anxiety this week. There is no specific reason and there's every reason.
Again, the world gives us enough reasons to feel anxious, and even if nothing is happening specific in our lives, we absorb it. And I've been hearing over and over again other people that are feeling this anxiety.
And I just wanted to reach out and say that it's okay, that you don't have to feel less because you're feeling anxious. We're not flawed. With all the flawed things that we may do or feel or say or think in the course of a day, we are not flawed.
And it helps to stay calm, to return to this calmness inside… not to run away from our anxiety. To sit with it. And calmness is always the best solution.
Um… some people try to convince me otherwise. But in every situation, every experience that I have had that was a bit dramatic or challenging - when I was able to remain calm, I was able to deal with it better. I was able to show up for the people in my life better. And in the end, I felt better about myself afterwards.
So practicing this calm… and we practice by taking a moment of stillness each day and feeling all that we are feeling and giving ourselves love. And maybe I say it too much… this idea of loving ourselves and the importance of spreading this love. It may sound simple, but we all need love. And the more we go within - with love guiding us - and the more we reach out to people in a loving way, we all benefit.
And I won't… I won't change my mind about this. This is one of my absolute beliefs. I shouldn't say that because things that we thought years ago, we don't think anymore; we change constantly. But we're made of this love and it is a super power.
So I don't know what I want to say today. I guess I just needed to reach out because I have been feeling anxious. Um… I haven't felt that way in a while. The last time was during the pandemic where the anxiety was at a super high level. This isn't like this this time.
But we're always in transition and my family is in a transition stage, whether it's the end of summer or my girl's getting older and having to let go - maybe many parents are dealing with this right now. And also we want to make a life change that is not easy. And the world is changing, changing in a way that I personally don't like. And I know many of you agree.
So let's keep our hearts high. Let's return within. Let's cultivate this calm, loving energy. And it takes a practice - a daily practice, every day. Whatever your practice looks like, it's not this one time thing, a one period thing. It's going to be necessary for a lifetime.
And let's be gentle with ourselves. When we don't show up the way we want, the way we wished… maybe we feel weak… know that it is okay as long as you still love yourself.
Can we love ourselves even when we aren't showing up the way we wish we would? This is the true sign of loving ourselves, the sign that our practice - our daily practice - is doing something for us. Can we show up with love?
sending you so much love today, bye bye
Oh I almost forgot…
a simple invitation/prompt
Most mornings while I am on my yoga mat, an intention spontaneously comes to me. And with this a 'mantra' for the day. Sometimes it is simply, 'only love' or 'be love' or 'I have time' or 'I am (here)'. I love this last one.
I
am
here.
Other ones to remind me of my absolute presence are: I have two feet on ground, I am a human body - or better yet, vessel of love - resting gently on planet.
One of my current mantras: May I work towards my best self today in the service of all life.
Maybe it is because I need to reset my purpose or maybe it is because yesterday I visited a soup kitchen for elderly where we my dad-in-law used to go for company or because last week, a friend of mine generously sent me a voice message of her experience of sharing her breakfast burrito with a homeless man.
Maybe it is because, with all the violence out there (and I think of the children and my own daughters and I feel so… ), I do not want to cause more harm.
It may seem like nothing big, but not causing more harm is a great act of service. We can get lost in our desire for doing these grand gestures when cultivating ‘not hurting’ is so much.
So much.
As I wrote in Notes:
The meaning of Life is to just be… and do as little harm to yourself, others, and Mother Nature while you be.
Daily intentions and mantras are not magic potions transformimg everything into 'beautiful' and 'empowered', but they do set the tone for our day. So… WHAT IS YOUR MANTRA TODAY?
If you can't think of any other phrase, take this one: I am the love of my life.
Plus, remember the quote by Dale Carnegie that I shared last week:
"Two men looked through prison bars; one saw mud, the other stars."
And I said that whenever I hear this quote, I always ask myself: Which one am I? And I always spontaneously answer, I'm the stars guy, of course. Always. And I asked you: And you lately? Which one are you?
Well, I want to share one of the responses I received, along with my reply…
Again, I ask you : who are you today? Most of all, I ask you (along with myself) to be honest. Without honesty, we have nothing. (Honesty is a huge theme in my life right now.)
And I invite us to take radical responsibility for our lives by remembering that we can always do something.
Sometimes the most radical something you can do is just love the messiest you that showed up today despite your early morning intentions to be totally calm, centered, and mindfully fabulous (to be honest: quite often my something lately).
And again: Whether mud or stars, can we show up with love?
yes, we can.
(and this is both the true meaning and the goal of having a living practice)
my heart with yours, 💕 xo Danni
if you missed these from Bare HEARTS
and these recent letters
plus for inspiration for showing up, I loved these:
Loved this! In particular what you said about loving ourselves even when we’re not showing up how we hoped to. That’s the part that gets me every time. The "radical something" of loving our messy, flawed selves might just be the bravest act we can do in a world that keeps demanding polish. Today, I needed that reminder. Mantra for the day: I am here. I am love. I am enough. 🧡 Love & appreciate you!
You are a bright ray of sunshine, Danni. 🧡 Thank you for the mention.