5 Steps to Feeling More Relaxed and Grounded

I am 17 days away from realizing a long awaited dream: to release an album.  The songs coming out on this CD I’ve watered and nurtured for a very long time.  I feel like I’m both a mid-wife and a mother; coaxing myself to birth these songs and to enjoy the process.  I feel nervous, excited and amazed that this is finally happening.

Now that I’m on the cusp of this dream, I’ve been fluctuating through every emotion on the spectrum; intense anticipation and excitement (take what you know of ‘excitement’ and times it by 10,000), anxiety and fear (“how will people react to my songs?”) and hope (“maybe everything will turn out okay”).  Then I loop back around and repeat them all again.   It’s a ride that’s for sure.

To keep more relaxed and grounded, I’ve been cozying up to these ideas:

1.  No Junk Food

I love chocolate.  LOVE it.  I usually enjoy a good sweet treat at least once a day so abstaining is challenging for me.  But sugar definitely does not help me relax so I’m saying goodbye to my little treats for now.  For the last four days I haven’t had any refined sugar and I do actually notice a difference in my energy.  I feel calmer and more grounded.  I hope I can keep this up until the release.  Perhaps then I’ll reward myself with a big piece of chocolate cake (or maybe I won’t want any by then…).  Unlikely – but who knows!

2.  Make a Decision

Choosing to make decisions is a powerful choice that can help you feel clear and confident about moving forward.  We may be afraid that if we make a decision we might disappoint ourselves if we don’t fully commit to it or change our mind.  But making a decision is a way to exercise your free will – your power and control over your life.   This morning I listened to what my heart wanted (and asked my mind’s fears and doubts to step aside momentarily).  I wrote down a few decisions that I chose to commit to.   It felt empowering.  Remember that to decide to relax is a choice too.  Whatever your decision, don’t forget to make it in the positive (i.e. “I now decide to eat well” or “I now decide to relax deeply for the next half hour”).  Tony Robbins’ book Awaken The Giant Within has some great ideas about how powerful making a decision is.  Of course you can always change your decisions down the road as circumstances or desires change, but deciding to commit NOW will start your engine that drives you onwards.

3.  Morning Pages

Where would I be without Morning Pages from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way?  It may not seem like a lot to those who haven’t tried it, but spilling your guts every morning on three pieces of paper can leave you clearer, more relaxed and more in tune with yourself than you might think.  Morning pages help you take your emotional temperature.  They help you discover things you didn’t realize bothered you.  They help you know what you want.  What will you discover when you write them?  All you need are 3 pieces of paper, a pen and to get up a little earlier.   For me, the benefits of Morning Pages are worth far more than the few extra zzz’s.  (See my previous blog posts for more info about Morning Pages).

4.  Quiet Time

Step away from the noise, in your head and in the world (and on the internet!) and enjoy uninterrupted solace.  Find a comfortable, private, quiet space and close your eyes.  Then breathe deep, relax and repeat.  It’s amazing what a few moments of quiet and stillness can do for you.  You can tap into your deepest self, your spirit, your unique quality of energy in your veins.  You may remember there’s no need to be anywhere other than where you are.  If you are interested in taking your quiet time a step further, I recommend Ask Your Guides by Sonia Choquette to anyone wanting to improve their connection with their Angels, Guides or Highest Self.

5.  Be Good to Yourself

So often we remember how to treat other people compassionately and forget to be this way to ourselves.  Be kind, loving, gentle and sweet to yourself.  Treat yourself like the beautiful magnificent miracle being you are.  It’s hard sometimes if we are prone to negative self-talk.  But just a little self-awareness can help you transform that into compassionate-self-talk.  Send yourself the love you deserve.  Do something nice for yourself – right now.  Know you deserve it.  Because you really do.

I’d love to hear what you do to keep relaxed and centred, please feel free to comment if inspired.

xo Aynsley

P.S.  In case you’re in or near Toronto April 21st, would be thrilled to have you join me in celebrating my dream.  http://hughsroom.com/2013/02/aynsley-saxe-cd-release-party/

@AynsleySaxe         Facebook.com/AynsleySaxeMusic

Winter Love (Song), Artist Way thoughts & Sending Love

Happy New Year my friends!  I think I’m still allowed to say that because it is still January…right?

What a whirlwind the last few months have been!  According to some, December 21, 2012 marked the beginning of a period of awakening for us humans.  This may mean chaos gets stirred up in our daily lives while we shift into deeper states of opening to love and embracing our wholeness (this process is not always pretty!).   I’ve been seeing and feeling the shifts in many layers of my life and I feel like I’m being reminded that it’s okay to ask for help from a higher force (or whatever you believe in) and to trust and relax into the flow of your life.

This is not always easy, but I’ve been trying.  I’ve been getting up an hour early for the last month at 6am.  I can hardly believe it.  Trust me, I like my sleep.  But it’s worth it to me.  I spend the first 1/2 hour of the day doing my morning pages (see my previous blog about Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way if you don’t know what morning pages are).  Then I spend the 2nd half hour merging with love, or I guess you could say connecting and opening to a higher power, inside and outside of me.  I relax, close my eyes, quiet my mind, and focus on my breathing.  This is usually a lot easier to do after the 1/2 hour morning pages dump.  Sometimes I’ll ask my angels or guides for help (you don’t need to believe in them for them to believe in you) and sometimes I’ll just sit and focus on my heart and imagine beautiful rays of love flowing into my being.  I imagine this love pouring into me from above, filling me up like I’m a cup of tea.  (This book: Ask Your Guides by Sonia Choquette, is awesome if you are at all interested in learning how to connect with your helpers).

When I feel like I’m filled with love, usually I’ll focus on a few people I want to send love to.  I get an image of them in my mind and then imagine their own personal, beautiful, unique light radiating from them and filling them with happiness, health, love, peace.   It’s almost like I’m a magnet, calling into focus that love and light by focusing on it shining in them.  We are connected to each other more than we realize and I’ve found this visualization to be powerful.  When you give love you can’t help but receive it too, so any time you’re feeling depleted, just connect to the energy of love and try sending it to another person, or even an animal.  You’ll instantly feel love yourself because we get what we give.

I’m also really excited to tell you that I just released my second single, Winter Love, from my upcoming album, Take Me As I Am (release April/2013).   Compared to the heat in Stop, Drop & Roll (The Fireman Song) it really cools things off!  I guess you could say I like contrast!  Here is the YouTube Preview for you to have a listen.   I would love to know what you think!

Quirky fact:  Isn’t it crazy that this photo was taken in the summer in the boiling heat?  Gotta love photoshop!

My album is coming… but it seems to have a life and timing of it’s own.  I’ll keep you posted when the venue and date is nailed down but it will definitely be in April in Toronto.  I can’t wait to grab my band and champagne and meet you there.

My heart’s also been feeling like it’s going to burst lately taking in the generosity of so many people who have helped me out by pre-buying my album – even people who haven’t  met me in person!  One such person is Maxine Spence.  We connected through blogging (I guess you could say we’re blogging buddies) and she was inspired to pre-buy my album.  Thanks Maxine!!  Check out her blog, she’s a beautiful soul and writes from the heart.

Just in case you missed the link before and want to support my dream, here are the details  to pre-buy (and I spilled my guts about the making of the album too).     The last day  is February 15, 2013 because I need time for artwork and manufacturing.  Thanks so much for considering it.  I really appreciate it.

Keep warm, be well, smile often (even if you don’t feel like it, it’s good exercise for your cheeks).

xo Aynsley

AynsleySaxe.com

The Artist’s Way Wrap Up, An Emotional Clearing Exercise & Chasing Tails

December 2012 Thought of the Month:  BALANCE

Is it just me, or is this time of year most especially a flurry of busy?  I feel like I’ve been chasing my own tail.  And when I finally grab it, I realize I’d rather be chasing it then gnawing on it.  (“Wow, where is she going with this” you ask….)     I guess what I’m trying to say is I’ve been feeling somewhat overwhelmed lately.

My tweet today was this:

“I’m attempting to take my own #advice:  Don’t let a million things on your to-do list stop you from doing one or two things.”  (If you’re on there too come say hi – I’m @AynsleySaxe)

Yup.  I’ve been feeling busy.  In a way that makes me think I need to dig deep and figure out what’s going on, on the inside.

I’m realizing more and more I have an artist heart, a marketing head (or at least thoughts about marketing my music recently) and a dog’s tail (figuratively speaking!).  I need my creativity, my business sense and I need my fun & amusement.  I need them all daily (like vitamins), or I will feel somewhat annoyed, aggravated, burnt out, shot down, weighted with a gray cloud of disillusionment, boredom, stress or saturation surrounding me.  Perhaps if I let this dark cloud get bigger, I may forget what life is for: Slurping the most happiness out of life you possibly can, every day.

Don’t get me wrong, I know not all days are going to be happy.  But at least with that as my intention I will remember what makes me grin, what gives me energy, what fuels me.  Move over gas stations, we’ve got happiness pumping into us and there are a whole lot of  air miles that come with this puppy.

I did finish Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way last week.  Well, finished might be a bit of an exaggeration.  I read it.  I didn’t do all the tasks (I’d like to meet the person that has).  But I stuck with those morning pages and I absorbed as much as I could from her message of being true, kind and real with your creative inner-artist.   (If you are interested in reading about my journey here are my last three blogs about The Artist Way: Sacred Alone Time and My Pre-Artist Date,  Morning Pages, Affirmations and My Artist’s Prayer,  Hasta La Vista Resistance to the Artist Date (and my upcoming album))

Truly, that book is like a gourmet meal.  You indulge.  And then sometimes you feel like you’ve had enough because your stomach is rumbling. It’s the kind of book I think I will read over and over throughout my life because it has the potential to effect beautiful change when you dive in and do the work.  Digging into the exercises for me felt like the self-meeting-the-self; at times surprising, often moving, and as challenging as I wanted it to be.   I’m stamping it with my five star sticker “Very nurturing and satisfying.”

One of the most beautiful things that came out from my experience with The Artist’s Way was the support group that I found at the beginning of it.  Back in September I mentioned to a few people that I was thinking of diving in.   One friend said she’d like to join me.  Then suddenly the number went from 2 to 5.  We spent an hour on Monday nights on a free conference call service listening, sharing, laughing and urging each other onward through the weeks.  It struck me that people throughout the world can do this.   You can create your own safe support network.  Just put the word out to the universe and see who shows up.   Plus you can do it in your pj’s from your living room while leaning on fuzzy pillows.  Now that’s nurturing!   We were accountable to ourselves and accountable to each other.  From my experience with a successful Toastmasters Club, I know that when we show up for each other, without realizing it or even intending it, we show up for ourselves.

In addition to finishing The Artist’s Way, I was recently given a great, easy emotional clearing exercise I’d love to share with you.  I practice/teach Reiki and I’m always looking for new wonderful ways to align with greater well-being.   Here are the steps:

1.  Do this exercise standing up.  This will help you feel more powerful.

2. Feel whatever you want to clear inside you.  If it’s anxiety, feel it where it resides in your body.  If it’s fear feel it.  If it’s anger, feel it.  You can imagine what it looks like if you want.

3.  Raise your arms out in front of you. Your hands vertical and palms away from you.  Then retreat your arms back and bring your palms towards to you at chest level, as if you are about to push something away.  Set your intention. Then say “I destroy and uncreate this now (what ever emotion you are feeling) on the count of 3……one, two, three.”  On three push out.  Do this 3 times.

4. You might feel like you want to incorporate your breath into pushing this out of you and exhale on the count of three quickly (with sound if you want to).  You can also imagine what you are clearing exploding into a billion pieces out in front of you, crumbling and being swept away from you for transformation.

Once you feel clear of this emotion, you can imagine filling the space where the emotion was with love, peace, happiness, light (whatever you feel you need).   You might want to do this with different feelings – i.e, after you clear anger, sometimes another emotion will be in you like sadness.  Clear them all and have fun with it!

Remember:  You’re an incredibly magnificent being.  This universe loves you more than you can possibly imagine.   May the love you send out be sent back to you a thousand fold.

Whatever occasion you celebrate, I wish you a very happy, health-full, magical and peaceful holiday.  I very much look forward to connecting with you next year.

Peace, love & blessings,

xo Aynsley

Hasta La Vista Resistance to the Artist Date (and my upcoming album)

I’ve been nodding a lot while reading lately.  It seems the more I read Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, the more I nod.  This causes strange looks while reading in public.  I guess Julia’s thoughts are resonating with me.

I just started Week 9 of a twelve week journey.  I’ve been committed to morning pages (see my previous blogs about The Artist’s Way titled “Sacred Alone Time and My Pre-Artist Date” and “Morning Pages, Affirmations and my Artist’s Prayer“).  I’ve been able to coax myself into a few artist dates and play with my inner-artist child.  The artist dates have been few and far between but they are on the radar now more than ever.   I guess awareness that I need more play-time with my inner-artist child is the first step right?  At first I battled a lot with myself in resistance to the artist date with these questions:

“Is time spent on an Artist Date really productive time?”

“Am I allowed to be truly having fun?  Do I deserve to have fun?”

“Have I worked hard enough for this?”

“Am I wasting time doing this when I could be spending it in more useful ways?“

Those were the main voices that piped up every time I thought of going on an artist date.  I’m slowly letting the voices quiet down.  It’s been self-revealing, sometimes annoyingly so!

The other day I began my day with the intention of keeping open to the possibility of being more playful.  I felt a tiny spring in my step and a sense of openness in the moment.   I  walked into a store to purchase a birthday card and it was as though the store owner sprinkled magic dust on me.  I asked for a pen to sign the card and she handed me 20 colourful, thin markers, and a bundle of stamps and stickers to decorate the card.  I couldn’t help but grin widely.   I left feeling great.  Feeling loved.  Feeling excited about creativity.   Feeling happy in myself.  Feeling like serendipity caught me in her wave-length.   Hasta la vista silly grown-up resistance to the artist date!!

Entering Week 9, I recently read about how much artists fear.  We fear success.  We fear failure.  We procrastinate.  Julia Cameron says we need to call procrastination by its rightful name:  Fear.  So often we call it laziness.  It is not this.   To remember this is to remember kindness for ourselves.

I think this chapter really stood out for me because for the last ten years I’ve been overcoming fear during the creation, and impending eventual launch, of the songs coming out in February on my upcoming album, Take Me As I Am.  Yup, 10 years of creation, resistance and more creation.    I’ve moved, and breathed, through a lot of fear and self-doubt.    I’ve still got fear (does fear ever truly go away for good?) but I’m thrilled to say that, finally, tomorrow (Nov. 13) I am releasing the feature single from this album, “Stop, Drop & Roll” (The Fireman Song).  (You can get a copy of this song for free if you sign up here:  AynsleySaxe.com (hint, hint)).  :)

I’m ridiculously excited (and nervous) about releasing this song into the world.  But it seems that overcoming the butterflies is easier when I focus on the intense joy I feel when I think about sharing my music.  Lately that’s been outweighing the fear.

Making these songs, and the album, has been a long, beautiful, challenging  and exhilarating climb.    I’d love to tell you more about the journey if you’re interested.  I’ve also included in the same link the opportunity to get your name immortalized in the album art (and make my day).

Thanks as always for reading!

xo Aynsley

Morning Pages, Affirmations and My Artist’s Prayer

For the last three weeks I have been plugging away at “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron.  I’m now at Week 4 of a 12 Week Journey.  I’ve been learning that the pen is not only mightier than the sword, but also is a sword itself, and can easily cut through deadwood in our minds and hearts.  How do I know this?

I’ve been faithfully writing my morning pages nearly ever morning and tagging on daily positive affirmations at the end of them too if I have time.  I’ve only skipped my morning pages one day in the last four weeks which I’m pretty surprised about actually!  (I started them a week before officially starting Week 1 in case you’re counting).  When I first learned about what was involved with Morning Pages I thought I would detest getting up earlier to write them.  I thought I would be yawning, tired, bored, listless, incoherent.   I like my precious shut-eye and getting up a 1/2 hour earlier seemed like it was going to rob me of my beautiful sleep and for what purpose?  Stream of consciousness writing?  “Blah!!” I thought.     But after about day 5 I admit I was almost looking forward to getting out of bed knowing the first half hour of the day was entirely my own.  I wasn’t rushing around trying to get anywhere.   The first half hour of my day was all for me and my own personal surprising and daunting psyche.

The trick about writing Morning Pages, Julia Cameron says, is to just let your consciousness stream out of you.  Don’t worry about what you’re writing – and don’t even read what you wrote – ever again (unless you really really want to).  Just let it all out.  Write anything that comes up.  Everyday my writing is a little different depending on my mood and what’s going on in my life.  Some days there is a lot of emotion, some days less so.  But every day that I write them I feel a little more connected to myself.  I feel like I know what’s going on inside me.  It’s not always pleasant.  In fact, it’s almost always unpleasant!  It’s amazing what can pour out of our minds and hearts when we let it flow unobstructed.    With these morning pages I’ve got my eyes wide open looking inward.  It’s a little scary seeing what’s going on in all the parts of my life that bubble up.  But also very empowering.

I feel like I’m recovering a sense of power inside myself when I’m connected to the page.  They’re like little miracle pages, shaping my consciousness, showing me the truth of what I want.  What’s not working.  What is working.  What needs to change in my life.  I highly recommend them to anyone wanting a little more power in their lives and in themselves.   Use them wisely though because you may start making positive changes in your life you always wanted to make!

This week I also have been mulling over the Artist’s Prayer.  Julia Cameron wrote a beautiful prayer in her book, and prompted us readers to write our own prayer.  I wasn’t brought up in a religious family but do believe in a Higher Power, a Loving Force, whatever you want to call it, that resides inside of us and surrounds us continually.   While I often feel strongly connected to the Great Creator and Angels while practicing Reiki, praying and meditating, I’ve been feeling tinges of spiritual loneliness lately.   Perhaps because I haven’t made a lot of time for those activities lately, or perhaps because I am feeling like I’m missing a part of myself that I am slowly recovering through this creative journey of self-exploration.   I’ve been reminded by Julia Cameron that before we feel new light emerging within us, we go through periods of darkness.

When my artist’s prayer bubbled up, it was very personal for me.  And I think that’s where the power lies.  It was me coming clear with me.  I was willing to declare my wishes out there and ask for help from an all-loving, all-encompassing force.  I rewrote the prayer four times, and this is what I came up with:

________

Dear Great Spirit, Great Creator and angels who watch over me,

Thank you for being with me and helping me know I am not alone.

Thank you for helping me trust in the divine power inside me and that surrounds me.

Please help me courageously share my music and express myself.

Please help me feel safe and secure as I open to my creativity.

Please nurture me and help me nurture myself from a place of compassion and gentleness.

Please help me ask for and accept support emotionally, financially and spiritually.

Please help me give from a place of love, integrity and inner-strength.

Please help me know I am worthy and deserving of receiving prosperity.

Please help me honour myself in all ways.

Please help me trust in you, and trust in myself.

Please help me have confidence, true strength and positive expectations.

Thank you for helping me know I am a powerful, magnificent being of radiant light.

I welcome and give huge thanks for your guidance, wisdom and inspiration.

I give huge thanks for your complete and unwavering love and support.

_____

Perhaps my request got instant attention because right after I wrote the prayer I got the inclination to write affirmations from my Artist’s Prayer.  I rewrote every line of the prayer as an  affirmation and felt the power of the phrases start to flow.

For the Prayer Line:  Please help me courageously share my music and express myself.

I wrote the Affirmation:  I courageously share my music and express myself.

For the Prayer Line:  Please help me feel safe and secure as I open to my creativity.

I wrote the Affirmation:  I am safe and secure as I open to my creativity.

(and so on)

Writing these prayer lines with an affirmation feels like a double whammy.  I’m calling for extra support from a Higher Power and also nurturing myself instantly with an affirmation tied to it.   I’m going to keep my Artist’s Prayer & Affirmations From My Artist’s Prayer in view for daily reading and integration.   I also am going to pick two affirmations to write daily (15-20 times each or so) and stick to them each week instead of tackling a variety of affirmations the way I’ve been doing.  I’m hoping that will help my mind and heart integrate on one or two beliefs fully before I move on to the next.  Write is Right after all… and change starts on the inside.

Sacred Alone Time and My Pre-Artist Date

I’ve recently begun The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.   Many fellow songwriters have recommended this book to me in the past but it never felt like the right time.  With fresh autumn air now circling, and with sunny summer days winding down, I feel the time is ripe and I’m settling into it.

I’m only on Week (Chapter) 1 but I have to tell you, so far the book feels like a warm hug.  Julia Cameron is a gentle coach, coaxing me to look at my fears, my beliefs, my doubts – essentially anything that might be obstructing my path as an artist.  Every morning I’ve been stunned at the brutal and uncensored “blurts” that come up to tear apart my positive affirmations.  But transforming the blurts has been empowering.  Here’s an example:

My affirmation:

I am a talented songwriter and I deserve to make a fantastic living with my music.

Blurt:

Yeah right. You know you’ll never do it. You’re not that talented. And even if you were, no one pays for music anymore.

Blurt Transformed:

I am strong, talented and resourceful.  People love and respect my music and are happy to pay for it.  I have all I need within me to create a successful, fulfilling career and the universe is behind me all the way. 

Sometimes I feel like a fraud because the blurt seems more true than the positive affirmation.  But the more I repeat the good stuff the easier it gets to start to believe it.  Take that, Blurt!!

The Artist Date has also been interesting this week.  The challenge was to book off time to spend with your inner artist-child, the part of you that loves to play and create.  You’re not allowed to do anything serious or monotonous.   You’re only allowed to play, enjoy, have fun and play some more.

Well, I struggled and struggled trying to think of what I could do to just play.  Forget songwriting – my inner-critic has been centre stage too often recently while finalizing the songs on my upcoming album that I couldn’t even imagine writing a song without her popping up furiously.   Forget baking – didn’t feel like grocery shopping.  Wasn’t into finger painting.  No poems, no photography, no stick-men drawing.  No doodles, no bopping, no dancing, no rapping, no sculpting, no drumming.

Nothing was compelling me toward a creative, fun event.  I didn’t feel like going to a play, to hear live music, to a museum, to the movies or to stand up comedy.  I  shuddered realizing that I may have forgotten how to have creative fun.  What was going on?  I love the arts!  Someone please throw me a life jacket.

I decided to tell myself that it doesn’t matter if I’m creative – I just need to do something I enjoy and see what happens.  I’ve been so busy lately and craving sacred alone time.  That’s really the only thing I really wanted.  To just breathe and be.  Solo.  No internet. No phone.  No knock on the door.  Then the idea of playing The Transformation Game surfaced and I smiled.  There it was.  My Pre-Artist Date.

So I turned off the phone and started to play.  It’s an amazing game (seriously, check it out if you are at all intrigued) and although it’s not really a 1-person game, I played alone anyway.  During the game you can pick a focus to explore, and ultimately “transform”.  I picked “How Can I Help My Inner Artist-Child?”

During the game you explore your focus on every level of your being:  physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.  In a nutshell, I was told in a gentle, loving way that I need to be more compassionate with myself.   The warm hug resurfaced, but this time from me to me.

Perhaps creativity is always there but if we haven’t been taking care of ourselves, it’s not easily accessed.  Maybe we just need to feed the well, feed the core of our being, and then the creativity will naturally overflow.  We need to receive in order to give.  Nurturing ourselves, in whatever way we can, is a magical ingredient to allow the playful part of ourselves to emerge.

So now I’m going to go have a nap, listen to a guided meditation and hug the little inner-child within me that likes to be listened to and cared for.  And you never know, she may just feel like writing a poem later.

Inspired by the Full Spectrum – August 2012 Thought of the Month

I know I’m not alone when I say I’ve been mesmerized by the past week’s dazzling display of intensity, passion, fury and talent by the world’s Olympic athletes.  I’ve gasped at soccer, I’ve sprinted (or at least tried to!) on the Eliptical during the 10,000m dash and  I’ve held my breath during synchronized diving.  I’ve been on board sighing, yelling and cheering during the final seconds.  They feel fantastic and devastating.  But I guess the highs and, inevitably the lows, are why I’m along for the ride.

These athletes have given their whole lives to their sport.  Not many of us can even hope to comprehend what that really looks like or feels like.   I can’t even begin to imagine what they must experience with a win.  Webster’s may need to come up with a new definition for elated because it doesn’t seem to cut it.  And what many endure with a shattering loss is unfathomable.

That’s why Olympic trampolinist Jason Burnett’s words hit me so hard.  In 2008 he won Silver in Beijing and then crashed in London 2012.  The National Post caught his words:

“... in Beijing I had an incredible experience, and I came out on top…now I’ve got to experience the complete opposite of that.  I’ve failed — miserably, some might say — but I get to experience both ends of the spectrum, and I think just the experience in itself is a good one to have.”

If only we could all treat our own disappointments with as much perspective.  It’s not an easy task when we are caught up in the wins and losses of our own lives.  We urge each other onward to outperform our best, and then ask ourselves to do better.  We are inspired by the momentum of athletes’ discipline and passion.    But to also inspire when we crash “miserably” – to declare to the world, or even just to ourselves, “Hey, I’m wide open to this whole life experience thing: the highs, the lows, the devastation and the glory.”

Now that for me is coming out on top.