Welcome to my blog. From Comfort to Freedom.

I am very happy to be writing my first post for the Larkspur-Corte Madera Patch. My blog discusses my life journey, and the lessons that I am learning, in the hope that they will support others on their journey.

Lately my life circumstances have become very intense, and I know that I am not the only one. Rather than pray for my circumstances to change, I pray to no longer be afraid. And I find that my prayers are being answered, as over and over again I discover ways in which I have been betraying myself. Lo and behold, when I discover what I have been doing to sabotage myself and change, the outside circumstances change as well.

So my blog is about my self-inquiry and my discoveries. I have been writing for a while now, at my personal blog, which you can read here.

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Most of us are going through huge transitions. I don't know anyone who is feeling very stable right now. Relationships are changing, jobs are going away, moves are happening. It seems that a giant hand is moving all the chess pieces around. Will we get to settle in one place again? Will we ever feel comfortable again? I don't know.

It seems that comfort and freedom are opposites. The more comfortable we try to make our life, the less freedom there is, the less adventure, and the less joy. So my guess is that the giant hand that is moving us around like chess pieces is not concerned with our comfort, but is more concerned with how alive we are. And how free. And how present.

For those of us who are having money problems, have you noticed that just enough money shows up in the nick of time, for our immediate needs? Not so much money that we can feel comfortable or secure, but enough to buy the groceries, or the pet food, or the gas, or something that is very important to us. We are being asked to live simply and to really identify what our priorities are. And we are being asked to live in the present.

I know that if I start thinking about next week I will freak out. There's another bill on its way; I don't have any money coming in; and I have no idea how I'm going to manage. So I stay in the present and ask myself, Am I OK, right now? Do I have food, right now? Do I have shelter, right now? Invariably the answer to all these questions is yes. I am OK, right now. So I stay in the present and I find that I am grateful for the beautiful home that I am living in, even if I don't know if I'll be here next month. I am grateful for the friend who is cooking a delicious dinner and inviting me to join him. I am grateful that it's a beautiful day and there are butterflies fluttering around. I remain grateful.

Whatever is leaving my life was no longer giving me joy, but rather was a burden. Each day I notice that there is more freedom in my life. Each day I notice that there are more loving, generous, supportive people in my life. I am starting to recognize that I am not alone in this world. And I am happy to trade my comfort in for freedom and community.