Sometimes...It's Necessary

I don't care who ya are; everyone has days when no amount of meditation, exercise, sleep, alcohol, shopping, eating, dancing, romping, painting, singing, hanging with the critters, working one's ass off....will change the fact that you're in a FUNK.

It happens.

And sometimes...

it's best to just LET IT.

Being the Queen of Choice (as in JOY...), I am just as susceptible to such days as anyone else. No. They don't happen often (thank the gods!), but still...they happen. When they do, I am just as prone to skirting that sadness as the next person. I use every single tool in my toolbox to avoid the Funk. I go above and beyond. I do back flips. I jump on trampolines. I eat chocolate. I am a MASTER of avoidance when it comes to The Funk.

Sometimes it doesn't matter. The Funk is a mighty powerful opponent.

On such days, I remember, clear as a bell, something my sister told me. She left the planet a month ago. Perhaps my Funk has something to do with that. Perhaps not. No matter. She wrote this on a post I'd written when Bruzer crossed the Rainbow Bridge:

Sweet Sister,
I just wanted to drop a few thoughts here, maybe they will be useful, maybe not. But I know you are in deep pain & being who I am, I feel a need to DO something to help you feel better.
We are spiritual beings having human experiences and sadness is truly a part of it. Yes, honey, we can often choose joy but sometimes we have to FEEL the sadness first. It makes the joy so much sweeter. So right now, you can choose to allow yourself to be sad and be TRUE to your feelings or you can "fake it 'til you make it" but sooner or later, your human experience must unfold. I don't want this to sound preachy...I just want to comfort you.
Bruzer remains a part of you always. Memories can make us smile & cry at the same time. Hence the term "bittersweet". It's OK to FEEL this. It doesn't make us any less spiritual or evolved. It makes us stronger & more grateful.
I love you, baby girl.

If I am the Queen of Joy, Cricket was the Queen of Hearts. That's just who she was. (IS!) She believed, wholeheartedly, in FEELING. She was not one to run away from her heart, no matter how badly it hurt. She often tried to guide me to live this way. I often ignored her wisdom. I was (and still am!) convinced that we have the power to change how we feel by the thoughts we think. For the most part, that is true. For me. Again....back to the beginning: I don't care who ya are, you're going to have days....

The Funk may engulf, but it need not rule. Yes. It's part of our Human experience. Let The Funk rise up. Allow your Self to feel it. And then...

You can make your way back to The Joy that is Who You Really Are.

Ya can't have one without the other.
Or so I've been told.

GiddyUP ~~~

When Death Is A Gift

We all know...that death is a part of life. Nobody likes it. Everybody thinks they understand it. But mostly, we do our best to avoid the subject altogether. We don't like to think about it. Or talk about it. Or face it when it comes time to face it. But, we all know...that death is a part of life.

Now, given that this blog is about Joy, about choosing Joy, one might wonder why in the world I'd be talking about death. Please...bear with me. Although there seems not to be anything joyful about it, there are times when death is welcome. Times when losing someone, so to speak, brings relief. To be sure, there is also sorrow. But when someone you love is in such deep and unyielding pain, suffering every moment of every day, for months on end, sometimes we pray for them to go. Sometimes we know that even though it means not having them on the Planet, we'd rather be without them than watch them suffer. When death comes, in times like this, we'll often feel, not only relief, but joy. Joy for this loved one to have cast aside the burdens of the body and soar. Whether one believes in a "heaven" or not, still there must be some other realm where we live on. Because if we are what scientists claim, if we are "energy", we know, too, that energy never dies. Energy may take different forms. It may be diffused or scattered or moved. But energy does not die. Ever.

With this in mind, no matter what a person's religious or spiritual beliefs, if one has any semblance of intuition, then one would know, somewhere deep in themselves, that death is really not. It is simply a transition. A transcendence. A variation of what we call "life". And knowing this somehow makes the whole death process just a little more bearable. Even when we know that there will be no more touching of hands or hugging of necks or kissing of cheeks, there is no thing that can stop the love that lives on. Because love, like energy, does not "die". Instead, it seems to deepen. To become even more treasured. And, if we're really mindful, death can also urge us to be more loving and appreciative of those who are still here, on this magnificent Planet, for us to touch. And hug. And kiss. Death, in some ways, is as much a gift as Life.

But still...it hurts.

So for today, I pray that those of you who have or are right now dealing with the passing of someone you love dearly, I pray you will remember that even amidst the pain of that loss, there is a gift. Your journey, being without their physical presence, does not need to destroy you. Walk that path, trusting that you will soon reach a peaceful spot on your own chosen path, where you will, once again, feel their presence. You will hear their voice and feel the love even more deeply than, perhaps, you did before they left. When you reach that place, sit yourself down and allow your spirit to luxuriate in the love that never dies.

Then....do your happy dance.