The Need to Remain

Welcome to my table friends. What a glorious day to be alive and well. What a wonderful moment it is to be present and thankful. Before we get too far along, I invite you to take this moment, right now, and pinpoint one thing you are grateful for. 

Have you got it?

Awesome. Say this with me, "I am grateful for ______________. Thank you for enhancing my life."

You are amazing! Thank you for joining me in that.

The reason why we did that is for awareness, especially for today’s conversation. We are going to have to hold on to perspective while we dive in.

There is a boundless ocean of negativity and fear out there pulling us in every direction. And with wave after wave of destructive thoughts, poor self-talk, and isolation, it is imperative that we find a space to remain.

Remain in truth.

Remain in love.

Remain in confidence.

Remain in peace.

Remain in thankfulness.

So I want to divulge some of the ways I have found to remain. 

Remain in Truth

Truth has found a way to be fluid these days. Society has been encouraging us to find our truth and, if I’m being honest, I am okay with that because it’s the best our society has to offer. I do think there is more to it than just calling your version of events truth. If that’s the case, then basically anything goes. So, if we want to be healthy people who help others get healthy, truth as the foundation is a must.

Because I have not wanted to be discriminatory to people who don’t share my faith, I have, at times, struggled to remain in truth. Many of us have been hurt by religion and/or the ones who are supposed to represent that faith. So much of the time, God gets the blame for human error and I always want to be sensitive to that. So I have found myself evading any faith specificities because I want to represent him so well that I don't even need to mention his name. While this will still be my goal I realize that every truth must be based in my faith. That’s the strong foundation from which I will remain.

Remain in Love

This one gets me every time. I’m good at love when things are good. When things start to go haywire--when I’m overwhelmed, fearful, or stressed out--then my love proves faulty. It’s those times when the reality of how much more work in the love department I need to do becomes apparent. The starting place for remaining in love is:

1- love yourself

2- love your tribe, the people in your circles, the ones all around your life

3- love the ones who are jerks to you (we’ll talk about that another day)

It’s that simple!  

Remain in Confidence

The index of self-hate, pain, and inner turmoil seems to be increasing daily. There have been several incredible people who we admire, who have reached pinnacles in their careers, who are wonderful influencers, who have hit such disparity that they have taken their own lives. They are showing us that self-love and confidence are far more an inside job than an outside function.

Remain confident in the fact that what you have to offer the world is irreplaceable. There’s only one you and only you can deliver the way you do. I am thankful for you. I’m grateful that you’re here and part of the Tribe. Even if we haven’t met yet, we’re connected, and that’s so special to me.

So let me remind you--YOU ARE FIERCE, YOU ARE STRONG, YOU ARE A GIFT!

Remain in Peace

Sweet bliss. That is my adjective for peace. Odd? Maybe! But when everything around you is sheer chaos and you are steadfast, almost as if you are secure in any given outcome, there isn’t much in the world that is more valuable than that.

Here’s the deal: all of us will go through times where it literally feels like your life is imploding and exploding simultaneously. But the truth is, there is a level of peace that you can maintain no matter the implosion, explosion, or both. I still grapple with this feeling of my life being out of control sometimes, but I’m learning that peace is the way to real freedom.

Remain in Thankfulness

Every day is Thanksgiving minus all the fixings. Well, sometimes the meal is included. Who doesn’t love a mid-year Thanksgiving dinner? But how do we remain in this state of gratitude when we’re not all gathered around the table with our families at the end of November?

Well, thankfulness is about intentionality. It’s about setting aside a moment and each day to remember one of the many things we are thankful for. And when you pair the intentionality of thankfulness with the discipline of daily practice it will begin to open up new spaces in your soul, you’ll gain a higher perspective, and you'll find that what you have is plenty. Yet I found that more I do this, the more starts to come my way.

So please share with us in the comments below. Which space do you want to be intentional about remaining in this week? Once you have identified, and shared,  I implore you to take that space and be intentional in your pursuit.  

See you next week!