Since I can’t jump off the boat for a swim, I’m back in the Magen’s Bay habit. It’s my early morning exercise: physical, mental and spiritual. I walk or paddle board and then get down to work at my office under the sea-grape tree where I’ve been getting a better internet connection than at home.
Beach time is precious and well spent. Not only do I keep my body in shape, but the chatter in my head die downs. I delight in what’s right in front of me: the sand and the sea, sea glass, the people, the birds etc… I breathe deeply and let the good stuff bubble to the surface: the juicy ideas, epiphanies and aha’s. I daydream. I de-clutter my mind and see what’s left – what’s important. I can hear my inner guidance/intuition/heart better if I get quiet and listen carefully.
I have seized the moment and have adopted the holiday theme of Thanksgiving, gratitude, appreciation.
I decided – on my walk this morning – to practice what I preach, make it real and let you know what I find out: Test out the G-list.
As I was walking I began a mental gratitude list. I said thank you for everything that I appreciate in my life, starting with the obvious – good health, the beach, that I live in such a gorgeous place, have great friends, family, my poodles, enough to eat etc…. Once I got started, I couldn’t stop.
I kept walking and thinking of more and more that I was grateful for – and literally my heart started to grow bigger in my chest and I was feeling so good I ended up walking another 1.5 miles saying thank you and I wasn’t even done. To tell the truth I could have kept going – walking and saying thank you – but I was thirsty and eager to get my computer out of the car and begin to put my thoughts down.
The more I focus on what I am grateful for, the more I realize how much I have to be grateful for. It’s like turning on a faucet and watching the stream flow stronger and stronger until it turns into a waterfall. My gratitude list primed the pump, the pressure is great and the energy of gratitude is circulating inside and out.
I ask my clients to keep gratitude journals. Some of them pooh pooh it (like I did), especially when they are not feeling particularly grateful. I say, ” try it out for a week and see what happens” and ask them to write down 3-5 things for which they are grateful at the end of each day. If they have more things to list – go for it. If not, 3-5 are perfect.
The people who do it report feeling lighter, happier and more grateful. Looking for something to put on the list flexes the muscle of gratitude and like all muscles it gets stronger with use.
People notice that when they are grateful for something it keeps showing up in their lives. They become aware that when they complain and are negative those things also keep showing up in their lives.
It’s wonderful to have a special day when we gather together in families and tribes based on blood and/or friendship, share delicious food and each others company and give thanks for our bounty.
Life improves by leaps and bounds when I take the time to be grateful each and every day. It may be writing in my journal, being mindful in everything I do or taking the time to say thank you, thank you thank you ….. as I walk along the shore, the waves lapping at my toes.
Reporting from the field, the beach: When I thought of things I was grateful for, I immediately began to feel better (and I had been feeling pretty OK before). I noticed that when my mind started to veer toward the the dark side that if I thought of something to be grateful for, it was as though someone turned on a light.
Whatever you are doing today, sprinkle it with gratitude. Find something right here and now to appreciate starting with the fact that you are alive and breathing. Appreciate something about each and every person you meet throughout the day. In every situation find something to be thankful for ( you finished a book in the horrible traffic jam or got a good nights sleep because the power went out – you know, those silver linings).
I am grateful that you are reading this post and hope you catch my Magen’s Bay attitude of gratitude – and surf (run) with it.
I finally figured out what’s up with mopping the floors. He said I kept mentioning ‘mopping the floors’ over and over when I got back after a month at sea. Maybe there was more to mopping floors than meets the eye and what did mopping the floors mean to me? Was there some kind of Lady MacBeth thing going on? What was I hoping to scrub away.
I was heading for a clean slate: clean like I left it and how I like it.. I like walking around bare-foot without sticking to the floor. I also like how it feels to open up new spaces inside and out, be more present, cleaner and clearer, unstuck, free to evolve. I think I also saw mopping as clear the way to a new space – inside and out.
The floor is newly mopped: yesterdays footprints have been washed away, it’s the dance floor of the present moment – sun dried tiles on clean feet. I’ve moved from mopping to cleaning the glass sliders and sorthing out long ignored shelves and cupboards, getting rid of stuff – a kind of 3-D mop job.
Then suddenly this morning I had an epiphany about the past and the future and clean floors and mopping.
I don’t want to be walking on steps (including my own) that have dragged in dirt before me. Mopping makes starting fresh possible (even if it doesn’t take long before the floor is dirty again) and there’s such satisfaction when the mop finally wrings clear and the floor shines.
Moving soap and water across the floor of my small cottage, I shift the energy of my home and my homecoming. It becomes lighter and more spacious. Cleaning the sliding glass doors this morning expanded the horizon to infinity. Mopping cleared the way and set the stage.
On the inner landscape, scan your body, check in with your emotional guidance system (how you’re feeling) and notice your thoughts – you can see better where to mop, where the grime and monkey mind thoughts have gathered and which approach will dislodge and dissolve them.
In my kitchen I pull out the stove and cupboard to find rats nests and havens for roaches (yuck). I clean it all up, drown the spots in bleach and take pest control measures. I divest myself of what I no longer need and as the space grows in the drawers, I find that I can breathe better and my small place feels airy and full of light.
The world is your mirror. Whatever you do on the outside is always an indication of where you are on the inside. When you are mopping you are not only cleaning your house but also cleaning your inner hidden pockets and crannies. It’s a dual purpose activity – just add consciousness – results guaranteed.
That being said I’m going to find my Bonnie Raitt CD, crank it up and mop the floors baby!
Sailing is slow going and leisurely. ‘Getting there’ involves patience, paying close attention to winds, tides, the mechanics of your boat, weather reports and practicing Be Here Now, fully. It invites you to tuck into a Baie de Tresor (on the east coast of Martinique), or a Ilet de Gosier ( on the east coast of Guadeloupe) and to be here right now in an internet cafe in the sleepy, off season yachting village of Ile Francois at the northeastern tip of Guadeloupe where we’ll do some provisioning and check the weather report before heading north to Antigua tomorrow.
The metaphors are rich for the milking: Anchoring, Setting Sail, Playing it by Ear, Course Adjustment, Keeping Your Boat Afloat and Balancing the need to go with the wind with keeping your destination in mind.
As I learn more about all of these hands on aspects of sailing, I also learn more about my own inner navigational system and find that each of the above also apply to the inner journey on which I find myself.
The more I am able to live in the present moment (The Power of Now) and appreciate the bounty that presents itself today, the more I find myself at amazing anchorages and off the beaten path, surprise bays full of treasure.
Squalls do arrive. There are times to batten down the hatches, breathe, recheck the weather, re-evaluate where you really want to go and decide if you’re going to ride it out or find shelter from the storm. Stormy weather always gives ways to rainbows and sunny skies and you can be sure that blue skies will turn ominous with thunder clouds lining the horizon.
Today I am paying attention, savoring the places in which I find myself inside and out, being patient and loving what is. I plot my course with courage, love, eager anticipation and the absolute certainty that I can’t make a wrong turn and am always making course adjustments. Right here, right now I have arrived at some of the most beautiful destinations imaginable on my outer and inner maps.
Learning as I go, I invite you to bob along on this journey with me so that you can get clearer about your course, discover the hidden treasures along the way and fine tune your own navigational system and so
be guided to your most spectacular places here, now and always.
Annie in the dinghy in Carriacou
Twenty-three years ago I quit my job as a social worker at the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York. I flew to St. Vincent and the Grenadines on the advice of a Vincentian friend who said it would be the perfect Caribbean destination for me. How right she was and how little did I know that saying YES and listening to my heart would change my life forever.
After a lifetime as an urban dweller and city slicker, I went on to shed my down coat and high heels to become a barefoot beach dweller, an island woman, a Caribbean Queen. I’ve put down roots in the turquoise waters and greens hills of my Caribbean home and filled my sails with tropical breezes.
When, a month ago. I received an out of the blue (?) invitation to an adventure and blind date – a month long sail, island hopping from Grenada to St. Thomas with a mystery captain, I felt a similar flurry of butterflies. Once again, saying YES and listening to my heart is proving to be a life changing experience.
The details of paradise are unique to each and every one of us. Deserted islands may capture the hearts of many but I know there are countless scenarios that describe the joyful geographies that mirror your hearts.
I’m distilling the ingredients of transformation so I can share the recipe with you. I’m paying particular attention to honoring who you are in your heart of hearts; to the resounding boom of YES; the grace of gratitude and The Power of NOW. Plus, of course, a dash of this, a soupcon of that, the essence of what matters most…
So, whether you keep your recipes in an index card file box, a loose leaf notebook, a dog-eared, grease stained Joy of Cooking …. the proof is in the pudding. Make a mess, taste test, see where your appetite leads you ….
And by the way, how’s your life tasting these days? Delicious or bearing last’s years expiration date? Are you a left-over person? Do you bake from scratch? Milking the metaphor, I’d love to hear what you’re saying YES to these days, what you’re grateful for and what kind of terms you’re on with your NOW… ? And of course, what flavors are floating your boat these days?
Here in Martinique it’s fair weather and smooth sailing and croissants.
The Law of Attraction encourages us to live in the vortex (that heady good feeling place) and move downstream (rather than straining against the current).
There is nothing better than floating downstream and ending up somewhere even better than you ever imagined – looking around and saying “pinch me, I must be dreaming”.
Well here I am aboard the Bel Ami (Belamivoyages.com) with Captain Dave Goodman and life couldn’t be better. The photo is the rainbow (of course) under which we set sail from Grenada and headed north to Carriacou yesterday.
I am now sitting on deck enjoying a speedier wi fi connection than at home in St. Thomas, looking out at the lush hills of this friendly island, being rocked gently by the sea and smiling to myself at how the universe conspires on our behalf if we’re willing to go for what we desire and say a resounding YES when opportunity knocks.
If my dream is to create a life in which I can be anywhere and continue to connect with deliberate creators who are longing to create their versions of paradise and to inspire and serve as the test dummy for the principles of the law of attraction – I have definitely taken a giant step. The good news is that if I can, so can you.
Perhaps it is like the playground game of Simon Says and the voice that is calling the game is your own inner guidance system – no trickery involved, just listening closely to the whisper (or resounding bellow) that has your best interests at heart always. When you hear – say YES, TAKE A GIANT STEP (your inner guidance says) – and do it – you reap rewards that are right here and right now. The more you tune in and follow the instructions
Rainbow over Grenada
of your heart the more you end up in pinch me places inside and out – beyond your wildest dreams, sailing under rainbows to deserted islands or whatever paradise looks and feels like to you.
This is definitely it for me today.