"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."- Steve Jobs

I LOVE this quote!!

Good morning God,Please deliver me FROM CHAOS TO CALMFROM ANGST TO ACTIONFROM UNFOCUSED TO UNSTOPPABLEThank you,And keep up the good work.

“I've come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call "The Physics of The Quest" — a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: "If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself... then truth will not be withheld from you." Or so I've come to believe.”― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

* I got this email from the Universe this morning (www.theuniverse@tut.com)Feels like an affirmation about the tooth as a sign! Be on the lookout for yours!Happy Monday!Pssst... Hey, gorgeous!Want to know a secret?Everything in your life is a symbol,A reflection. A clue. A reminder.Of what you understand, and of what you don't, made manifest.Look to the beauty for truth. And to what hurts, for its beauty.Your biggest fan,The Universe

This solar eclipse energy is such, that many of us are re visiting situations for balance and final closure.The "scratch your head" part of this is,these are situations that are YEARS old.These felt like that had been "put to bed" a long time ago,but just like the toddler who appears in the hallway for one more drink of water at bedtime, "They're baaacck".These are full circle moments.One friend had an old boyfriend call the other day after several years,Another, some old legal matters came up again, and me,As you may have guessed, mine is dealing with the demise of my store four years ago.Processing, processing, processing!Shit!This energy is about owning your own powerby first un burdening yourself of any secrets,or unfinished emotional business.Letting all your freak flags fly and just being authentic.Telling your story AS IT IS,Warts and all.So here goes!Here's my full circle circumstance that happened this week.In 2006 after I had quit my job, but before we had decided on a location for the store due to permit problems and delays, (which should have been my first sign to run for the hills)!I got a tooth abscess.Now I'll tell you why this is an anomaly.I'm anal about my teeth! No...that just doesn't sound right!But you get the gist.I floss like I'm trying to start a fire, I brush whenever I can, I water pick,Dental cleaning for me take 15 minutes, because plaque wouldn't DAREgrow on these teeth!I'm obsessed...maybe because my parents got me braces and I'm just so grateful.Anyway, it was caused by a condition called resorption,which is what makes the roots dissolve in baby teeth, so they fall out, but its rare in adults.I had a molar that was convinced I was a six year old.I had a root canal and a crown and yada, yada, yada.But the molar next to it , in an act of solidarity for its friend, never let the gum between the two, where the abscess had been, close up.No reason, just to mess with me.So for the last 7 years I evaded infection, much to everyone's surprise,by being even more obsessed with that area,shooting straight LISTERINE into itTwice a day with the water pick.Every checkup, my dentist would poke a sharp instrument in there to try and make it bleed, or just to see me jump, I'm nor sure.And all was well...until last week.Last week it became infected, and Thursday I had it pulled.That's a whole story in itself.Note to self...get put to sleep next time.Now, I'm a seeker,I delve,I ask questions of the Universe,So I asked : what the hell is going on with this tooth?And you know what I got?"this is a physical manifestation of a full circle moment."WHAT!?"No more indecision"So I looked up teeth in Louise Hay's little blue book,And here's what it said:Teeth represent decisions.Problems with teeth: longstanding indecisiveness. Inability to break down ideas for analysis and decisions.As teeth are used to pulverize and pound food, teeth problems indicate difficulty pondering new information, ideas or situations. Hence, problems with the teeth indicate fear of making incorrect decisions. Remaining stuck.And as we all know the last few weeks I've been yelling how I'm done with being stuck!!How I'm striving to be more authentic by sharing my crazy journey in this blog.So...there you go.I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my cheek, marveling at God and her painful, yet powerful way of getting my attention,And letting me know.... She heard me!And I'm done!Share your full circle moments!XoxJanet 

How can we ever come to new insights or conclusions about our lives if our existing reality is never challenged?That would be like only eating at the salad bar because you've never walked the whole buffet and seen the dessert cart.We are creatures of habit,Scared of any turbulence or bumps in the road.But can we learn to appreciate, even welcome, the rainy days when we only prefer clear skys?A certain amount of failure is necessary for success, because it sends us back to the drawing board.When something's not working, there is clarity in that realization.A certain amount of discomfort is good for our souls.We know we don't want to do that again!so it colors all our decisions.Like Abraham says, who comes through Esther Hicks, "When you know what you Don't want. You know what you DO want".I've come to this conclusion : that all the great gifts that have come to me in my life,were born out of soul searching that was either precipitated by dissatisfactionwith the status quo, or....I was dropped kicked by the Universe in the direction of a new life change.Either way, it felt like shit.So, Here's my NEW conclusion:Big change feels scary,It feels awkward, and uncomfortable and uncertain.Change is rude! It shows up unannounced, often at the most inopportune times, and tracks it's dirty feet through your life.It also does a number on your diet by making you eat raw cookie dough and cereal right out of the box!So what does this all mean?We can either hide under the bed,Or ...we can put our arms up, throw our heads back,And scream bloody murderAs we careen toward our brighter future,On the roller coaster of life,In full surrender mode,Knowing the Universe has our back.

Bad things happen to good people.Horrible, unimaginable, things.Those experiences can either break us,Or make us.Often the first thing to affect us is a profound crisis of faith.How can we operate in a world where chaos reigns,Where prayers seemingly go unanswered,and often, endings aren't happily ever after.Failure,adversity,devastation and lossKick our butts another rung up the ladder to the divine.On the way up, we accumulate the experience, compassion and empathy toReach out our hand and pull the next person up the ladder.I often feel like the elephant being pushed up the ladder by the Universe,Maybe that's just me...I believe we CAN rebuild our foundation.We CAN regain our faith.It won't be quick, and it won't be easy.We'll have to dig deep, way below the surface, to find who we at our core.To open the drawer, and find our big girl pants among all those "pull ups."Do you have strength?The strength to conjure tenacity?Can that tenacity fuel a vision?and can that vision carry you forward into the grace of the Phoenix, reborn from the ashes?I think you do!! I have hope that all of us have the innate ability to right our own ships. Adversity is the direct route to that deep reserve of strength and courage you didn't even know existed !Just think about that...Contentment and happiness do not lead us there,Playing it safe certainly will not .Expansion of our spirit does not happen up in an ivory tower.We have to get down and dirty,Get into the street fight that life often feels like,Living as if a richer, broader, more expansive life depended on it!Because it does!

Pol·ly·an·naˌpälēˈanə/noun1.an excessively cheerful or optimistic person."Hi my name is Janet and I'm a Pollyanna.""Hi Janet"Geez!I've been called that name countless times in my life...like its a bad thing.I've been that way ever since I can remember.Always believing that good would prevail, and thatevery cloud has a silver lining.I think when I was in line to come to planet Earth,I was busy checking my lipstick or goofing around, because I never got the memoabout all the bad shit that could happen here!I came for the adventure and the fun of it.Never once did it occur to me that misery and loneliness,sadness and depression would be part of the equation.Therefore, when things happen that are terrible, or unjust, Or just plain sad, I have to admit...I'm still surprised.And surprise can lead to disappointment, as I've found out.And disappointment can be the key that let's all the heartbreak in. Because that's what happens to me, I become heartbroken.So...what to do? what to do?How do I integrate these two? The beautiful light that happens here.And its companion, the "darkness".It's continuing to be a process for me.I was once told that when your light shines brightlySome Will be attracted...And some repelled.I guess I thought that might apply to bad things too.Maybe I could repel them somehow.But why would I be different than anybody else?No one WANTS pain!But can I learn to reconcile the ups and downs,The ebb and flow of life?Can I be just as okay letting sorrow wash over me as joy?Or will I choke it off, or stop it altogether because it's just too damn Uncomfortable?Accepting the bad with the good is my holy grail.What if I didn't dog-pile all the judgement on top of the unwantedevents that occur?Maybe if I learn to throw my hands up and surrender to the painwill help it move through easier.My brain understands, my heart...not so much.If this has been your struggle as well, what has worked for you?Please share!XoxJanet

This very thought has been a life preserver in a sea of dread that tries to drown me in the middle of the night.I have the choice to either believe that my best days are behind me, which can let all the air out of my life, or... to anticipate many wonderful days ahead.Which do you choose?XoxJanet

“Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame,judgment, and blame.”― Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You AreAfter reading this book and hearing this woman, whom I deem A gift from God speak,I had an "ah ha" moment about that torturous, addictive, up in the middle of the night, thing called perfectionism.What Brene helped me to understand, was that perfectionism comes from that deep well of shame and inadequacy that we immediately go to when we feel we must impress. But who are we impressing?That well has been filled by all our negative self talk, and is fed by the very thing that we feel we lack the most.So we will overextend ourselves, often to the point of exhaustion, to overcompensate. That starts more shame and self judgement, and now those negative voices, they have formed a choir.... A very loud choir, and the well gets deeper and deeper.Here is the question I've had to ask myself. Am I striving for excellence?wanting to be the best ME I can be? Is that what fuels the desire to be perfect?Or...is all this tail chasing going on because of what I want "THEM" to think of me?AH HA! Right?!I was often under the false illusion that I was just striving for excellence.But your demons are great bullshitters. They'll tell you anything to keep the game going, those rascals.So , "who am I trying to impress"' is always the first question I ask myselfWhen I get that twinge toward perfectionism.Because you know what?The peanut gallery,"THEY"Are never satisfied.If they are as judgmental as I am...I'm doomed!I have to say that age has set me free. Perfectionism was my judge and jailer much more when I was younger, and age has brought me a certain ability to relax into the fact that things are never going to be perfect, most certainly, myself.Whew!! What a relief!!XoxJanet 

Uncertainty and indecision are the two backseat driversin life that can really shake you to the core.They keep you off balance enough that you find yourself walkingin circles, not sure which direction to take.They keep you distracted by their very presence,Their voices drowning out any voice of reason, and even the radio!"Why don't you know what to do next?" taunts uncertainty."Why such a hard time deciding?" scowls indecision.We are here to tell you:Sometimes you just don't know....and that's okay!There are times in life, when you're going to be standing at a crossroads,checking in with your gut, asking "which way now"? And you're going to hearSilence...Crickets...And you know what? That's an answer!When you check in, when you do all your due diligence,and all you hear are the voices of those scoundrels Uncertainty and indecision,Stand stillBreatheIt's going to be fine!Those two cannot hold up to the scrutiny of courage and faith.It takes courage to navigate uncertainty.It take faith to conquer indecision.They are not scoundrels after all, they are two very powerfulteachers.Once you make peace with that, you can kick them out of your backseat,Let go of the wheel, turn up the radio, and know that all is well and the answers will come.