THE DAILY SPARK

"The doorway to our next step of growth is always behind the urgency of now.  More than ever, when all feels urgent:   you must cut the strings to all events... not run or flail... believe each question is a beginning... must be strong inside where no one has seen you. With each breath, untie yourself, one urgency at a time."Quote by Mark Nepo from his book:  THE BOOK OF AWAKENING  Having The Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You HaveREFLECTION:What is an urgency that is demanding your attention now?Take a breath to create some space?With space created, how can you see this situation differently?How will you move forward with this insight?

I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fearof falling or catching fire.I choose to inhabit my days,to allow my living to open me,to make me less afraid,more accessible,to loosen my heartuntil it becomes a wing,a torch, a promise.I choose to risk my significance,to live so that which came to me as seedgoes to the next as blossom,and that which came to me as blossom,goes on as fruit. Poem by Dawna Markova from her book: I WILL NOT DIE AN UNLIVED LIFE  Reclaiming Purpose and Passion   REFLECTION: Are you living? How can you inhabit your days more fully? What does "risking your significance" look like for you? Seed-blossom-fruit: where are you in this process of your being?  What is your next step to being more fully alive?

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,because there is not effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly..."Quote by Theodore Roosevelt's speech "Citizenship in a Republic" delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris, France on April 23, 1910.REFLECTION:Are you in the arena of life?Are you allowing the "critics" in the  stands to point out your shortcomings?Is there a worthy cause you are willing to get into the arena for ... to dare greatly?What is it?  Take a first step into the arena today.