Celebrating Life

Celebrating life!  Celebrating Nana G!  Nana G is not my Nana, but today was the celebration of her life and passing.  I wanted to be there.  I probably hadn’t seen Nana G for over ten years, and she probably wouldn’t even have known me if I did see her, but I wanted to honor her, and in a way, I wanted to gather with those who celebrated her and knew her better than I did.  I wanted to feel the joy of her life because she represented for me something that I wanted in my own life– fun, joy, pleasure, laughter…

Over and over the testimonies from her grandchildren and great-grand children (she was almost 97) validated my knowing of her – she loved life, she had fun in almost everything she did, family and friends were so important to her, and when you were in her presence, you knew you were going to eat something homemade and delicious.  What was also shared today, though, was that she faced difficulties and challenges all throughout her life, and yet in all of that she chose life, joy, laughter, and lightness.

I had the privilege of working with her in her pain.  She came to me for therapeutic bodywork.  Her legs were swollen, she walked with a limp, she was slightly bent over, but it was as if her heart told a different story than her body, and she wasn’t pretending.  She greeted me with a hug, told a few jokes, and always invited me to come and visit her for a meal every time she saw me.  She was there for me to help her, but I always left the session feeling loved, enlightened, and a little lighter with joy.  Pain was there, but it never really governed her story.  She was a very feisty woman.  What was true about Nana G was that she was free to accept help, but even more so, she was always free to give – help, food, and useful creations.

I took her quilting fabrics and magazines from my mother.  I remember seeing piles of craft materials, magazines, and fabric throughout her rooms.  I understand that even into her nineties she was reading, learning, sewing, creating, and growing.  There wasn’t a moment she didn’t seize to enjoy.

What I also know about Nana G is that she didn’t read tons of self-help books to learn how to be, or learn how to connect, or learn how to take care of herself.  She did love her Lord.  Love was an action; it wasn’t a duty.  At least it didn’t feel like it was a duty.  She loved because she felt loved.  She loved because love flowed through her.  She was connected to love and in knowing that love deeply, sharing it was natural.  She lived how scriptures spoke to her.  She lived love!

We have much to learn from Nana G’s life and I was reminded of many of those things today.  Every day we get to write the story of how we live in love and share love.  If the moment is heading in a direction we don’t want to go, we get to create a new direction in the next moment.  Our story doesn’t define us.  What defines us is the love we rest in, that lives in us, and that which we share.  Joy and laughter are choices in the journey…from watching her and her family; it appears they are exceptional choices.  Celebrate life today.

Entertain the Senses

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We are vibrational beings. We are energy.  Our cells have intracellular and intercellular vibrations.   Vibrations influence the cellular chemistry.  Chemistry is affected by emotions, hydration, stress, pain, sense of self, toxins, environment, you get the idea…  We work hard at investing in our well being by: recognizing stress, feeling pain, working at relaxing, trying to eat well, trying to drink water, exercising, trying to do “all the right things” for our health and wellbeing, but in reality so much of these to-do’s add to the stress in our lives…which adds to the chemistry, which influences the vibrations. (That was a long sentence, wasn’t it?)  So then the benefit of the good chemistry from our efforts has to compete with the stress chemistry of the “doing” it.  (Wow, all of that sounds terminal or defeating – don’t let it be)…read on.

Rather than interjecting another “to-do” even though that is going to be how it sounds, I wanted to share with you some guidance a mentor of mine shared with me.  She asked me, “How do you [entertain] your senses?”  I told her I like to take baths with essential oils and pleasing scents.  I like to cook and eat with many spices.  I like to: create, use my hands, draw, write, feel, craft (some)…  She asked, “What about sounds?”  I said that I listen to music, sometimes.  She said, “No, how do you make sounds?”  Of course, I laughed, and said, “I don’t.”  She went on to tell me to make silly sounds, to sing, to be silly with words, to put sound effects to events, actions, to have fun with sounds.  If you know me, those suggestions are anything but things I would do…which is funny in and of itself.

By entertaining our senses, we are influencing the vibrational frequencies because sounds and scents have their own frequencies.  When we influence our vibrations, we influence our chemistry…cellular activity…feelings… emotions… stress level…  Making sense?  Is it really that simple?  Making sense of the research regarding laughter and comedy movies as therapy? 

So you could tone traditionally: ” AAA, EEE, III, OOO, UUU, UhUh, AhAh”, etc.  or you could “Honk”, “Blah”, “Bingle”, “AhOhEEBahBoo” (I would love to be with you when you say that out loud) and influence your vibrations and stress level with no investment except a few seconds of letting go…imagine that.

Bringing this full circle…this “integrative thought” is not about adding another to-do to your life, but it is about giving yourself the freedom to: be silly, play with sounds, have fun, let go and influence your well being vibrationally from the inside out.  With that I leave you with this:  “oooAAAUgBeepUUpEEEAAAchU”