Month: July 2016

What Helps You Be Super Present?

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Recently a new friend asked me what helps me be present. At first I wasn’t sure how to respond. Then, as I allowed my mind to wander, the floodgate opened.

A cool breeze.  Intimacy.  Awareness of my breath.  The moon.  Gratitude.  A delicious latte.  Reverence. Snow. Deep conversation. Skiing. Meaningful ceremony. Kundalini yoga. Railroad tracks.  Expansive vistas.  The Grand Canyon.

What Helps You Be Super Present?
How could I not be present with these two love beings?!?

My cats.  A long, hot shower.  With my lover.  Dancing.  Music that moves me.  Aaron Neville.  Grief.  Sunrise.  Sunset.  A rushing stream.  The ocean.  Silence.  Tiramisu.  Touch.  Holding space for someone.  Kissing.  A compelling movie.  A shared tender moment.  Sade.  Drumming.  Vulnerability.

Realizing what helps me be present feels so good to me!

What helps you become super present? I’d love to hear from you.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for transforming crisis into clarity and purpose”)

How to Create a Stress-Free Zone in Our Lives

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I learned earlier this week that my car needs a new engine. And, I learned this the way I learn many things – experientially.

Sitting on the side of the road waiting for AAA, I realized that, as we always do, I had a choice. I didn’t have the choice I wished I had – choosing my car to get back on the road, drive to Whole Foods and then drive home.

I did have the choice of where to focus my thoughts and attention. My human inclination was to think of all of the things I should have done differently in the past to have created a different future.

And then I heard, clear as could be, “we spend our lives trying to manipulate the future to correct the past.” In that moment, as I felt the cool evening breeze coming in the car window, I realized the insanity of that.

How to Create a Stress-Free Zone in Our Lives
How rich are our lives when we truly receive the moment, moment by moment?

We have the opportunity in any moment, no matter how much we assess the situation as “bad,” to receive the gifts of the present.

When we are willing to let go of our thoughts about the past or the future, we create a stress-free zone in the present. When we are willing to focus on what is right in front of us, we don’t need to manipulate or change anything. How freeing is that?

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for transforming crisis into clarity and purpose”)

Into the Blue Beyond

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It looked like
the end of the road.

The sign read:
Road ends in water.

Ann Strong Into the Blue Beyond

I sat by that sign.
For quite a while.

Waiting.
Lamenting.
Wishing.
Hoping.
Waiting.

Oh, the waiting.

Until I realized,
if I believe
this is
the end of the road,
then it is so.

I am still here,
waiting by this sign.

At first,
the view was terrifying.

I was sure
the road would take me
to my death.

As I’ve been sitting here
by this sign,
my perception has shifted.

What if
this road isn’t death?

What if
traveling this road
is rebirth?

What if
traveling by land
is no longer the way?

What if
the water transforms me?

What if
the sky expands me?

Having sat here
for quite awhile,
it no longer seems
so ominous.

The blue
of the water,
the blue
of the sky,
they call me.

I take a deep breath
and answer the call,
moving into
the blue beyond.

Moving into
the blue beyond.

(Excerpted from my forthcoming book, “Strong from Within: Simple perceptions and practices for transforming crisis into clarity and purpose”)