I Care!

I CARE! 
I really do!
So often, we say "I don't care," "whatever," "trust the process," "give it to God," or "let it go," not as an act of faith and confidence, but as an "f-you" to the powers that be because we aren't getting what we want, how we want it, when we want it.  We choose to give up hope because we don't want to hurt.  We perceive the risk of feelings, pain, image, criticism, you name it. 
What's behind these declarations are feeling of "I don't want to care," "I'm afraid of looking foolish," "I don't want to change," "What if this doesn't work?  Again?"
And, what's behind the fear and the giving up is that we really DO CARE.  We care about being happy, serving, loving, surrendering, believing, trusting and aligning with something more than our small state of being. 
We are told that life beats us up, life is hard, love is work, happiness comes with a cost, all faith meets with a test, rewards are not easy, and there's probably a consequence in every gift.
What if this wasn't true?  What if the moment of surrender was it's biggest reward and that when we feel scared and cautious is the exact moment to dive in deeper?  We are all going to have fear at some point.  We are born with a fear of falling and of loud noises.  All other fears are conditioned and can be reconditioned.
We've all been "hurt."  But really, isn't hurt just another way of saying we didn't get what we wanted when we wanted it so we choose to hold a grudge about it and call it hurt?  (I'm not talking about physical hurt or abuse.  If that's what you're facing, get out. Choose more for yourself.) 

And when we attach the label of hurt, can we see that we've taken ourselves out of the equation and put the ownership of a situation on someone or something else?  We've disconnected from a situation in which we were once invested and now we walk around, or away, wounded. 
What is my connection? 
How am I creating this? 
What am I choosing, not on the grand scale, but in my everyday interaction and perspective? 
Who do I see myself to be? 

I'd venture to say that the degree to which life has hurt, damaged or angered us is the degree to which we've removed ourselves from our purpose, our vision, our sense of self and our partnership with those around us.  Even if staying connected brings us to a place of separation or moving on.  Authenticity is our gift.  First, to our hearts and spirits and second, to each other.
When looking at any situation: a job, relationship, home, child, creative project, vacation, community action, investment, etc., are we willing to see what it really is? A gift from the Universe to know ourselves better.  To up our game.  To give and receive more.  To manifest that of which we dream.  And, are we willing to remember this as we move through the ebb and flow if this offering?
What is set in front of you, regardless of magnitude or price tag, is a gift to become more.  To expand.  To leave the past in the past and to start anew.  While we go by the same name, live in the same flesh and have the same eye color, we are new every day.  What is given to us today is not what we've lived through in the past.  It is the Universe saying we deserve more than what we know, that we are trusted, that we are loved and are capable of loving and trusting and learning more than from our past.

Connection is key to the never-ending process of surrender, of trust, of knowing who we are today and living true to that as a kindness to ourselves and everyone around us.  While love and community connect us to each other, connection to our hearts and spirits is what flows outward and allows us to serve outside our being.  And connection, like surrender, happens in the moment.  As the moment.  And is gone until we connect in this next moment.  Connection here and now can resolve a lifetime of disconnection and refresh the experience of life.  We are new every day, every moment, and revived by that with which we choose and connect. 
Living and Loving Connected ~ To serve my spirit and to serve the world around me. 

Blessed Be.