True or False

When we find out we’ve been duped by someone’s falsehood, the feeling of betrayal can be enraging. We want the truth. We want to trust that what we’re told is real, no hidden tricks or ulterior agendas.

As honesty makes headlines, I’m left to examine truth and my great regard for authenticity. No one likes a liar. Nothing infuriates me like a fib.

Yet they say that when you point a finger, there are four others pointing back at yourself.

Are there places in my life where I’m less than honest? Have there been times when I’ve chosen the convenience of a ‘white lie’ over the discomfort of the truth? I aim to always speak honestly, regardless, but am I doing this all of the time, every time?

Looking beyond my communications with others, am I honest with myself?

Are there certain things I just don’t want to face? Do I sugarcoat the grit? Am I burying the unsightly? Creating facades? Attempting to camouflage aspects of reality I just cannot accept?

We all know our true north. When something is right, it rings true in our cells. When something is false, our bodies feel the funk.

Angry and astonished as I may be at disregard for the sacredness of truth, I’m prompted to look at those four fingers aimed right at my own little heart. If full transparency is what I want, then am I ready to really face facts? Am I willing to be radically (and lovingly) honest with my self?

One thing’s certain: we are powerful. Each of our arrows are pointing to this authority on our own inner compass. There’s no denying True North, and this truth will set us free.

Simple Soothes

This morning my eyes just want to rest
on small
simple
truths
beauty
being
soothing
sunglight
marigolds and blue glass
at my kitchen window

Our Greatest Compass Point

This post digs back into the Archives, circa 2011. Jeb was eight and I was a single mother trying to juggle work and parenthood while maintaining some sort of higher perspective.

Six years later and the image of the hand on the heart comes back to me this morning.

These days of late seem wrought with overwhelm. Change is afoot and with it comes uncertainty. The work to be done in the world feels daunting.

As we face the days ahead, as we sit in this very moment, right now, I hope we find the tools we need to keep ourselves oriented to our True North.

Our hearts are our greatest compass points.

Here’s a modified excerpt from that 2011 post about bringing it all back home.

“…Jeb’s in the back seat trying to see if one of his Star Wars Storm Troopers can fit in his remote control Jeep while Buzz Lightyear looks on.

Buzz Lightyear and a bald Mr. Potatohead
Buzz Lightyear and a bald Mr. Potatohead

Riding shotgun with me up front, is my laptop and paperwork, a ten page to-do list and a stick of gum. I feel the overwhelm close in on me like a shroud. And then I remember the words of the Ambassador.

If you follow the Archives you may recall the Ambassador shared his story of 15 seconds of grace. He also imparted some sage advice for moments when grace can’t even be felt for a millisecond. He suggested the simple gesture of a hand to the heart. A deep breath in, and just be there, like that, for a moment.

I’m driving down the highway with Jeb and Mr. Potatohead and I reach my hand to my heart and breathe. There is a comfort there of simply feeling a hand on my chest. An abbreviated version of a self-hug. I notice the air in my lungs. I begin to see the sparkling green of the wet trees along the highway a bit more vividly. After about a minute I realize my body has relaxed.

No circumstance has changed. I still have a client to meet. Jeb is still sniffley. But I’m a bit more calm. It’s then I realize that the metaphorical mountain on my head is not just sourced in situation. Surely life will provide plenty of external conditions to challenge me. But in the end, I’m the one who decides how it affects me. I choose to tighten. I choose to loose my grace in haste.

Hand on the heart makes space. I like this.

If you’ve read this far I invite you to try it for yourself right now. Put your hand on your heart.

How’s that?”