by Belinda Lams

You've been drinking the same water for years. It tastes fine.... 
Until one day, you are handed a glass of pure, crystal clear water. 

You sip. 

This is amazing!  Unbelievable! You wonder what you've been drinking all these years. Was it even water? 

So it is with love. When you experience a love that penetrates to your depth—love that knows, accepts, prefers, envelops, bestows, heals—then all that is not love is now perceptible.

We live in a murky realm. We attempt to give love. We long to receive love. But there are so many guards blocking the way. 

Vulnerability would surely reveal the shame, insecurity, unworthiness that is buried deep within. 

We spend precious energy protecting old wounds—energy that, if released, could nurture the love we crave.

But we don't notice, and instead tolerate the familiar landscape. We drink the water we know.

Then love cracks open the door and shines its pure light, offering a glimpse of the truth we secretly hoped was there. We recognize the impurity and resignation of our lives. We now know what is possible. 

by Belinda Lams

Alright. Step up on the scale. Let's see how you're doing. Feel a bit nervous?  You're not alone. 

Accurate assessments of your current condition can be like a cold splash of water in the face.  You can't lie to yourself. You can't pretend. The facts are there staring back at you.

If the scale doesn't lie, and you don't like what it says, then what are your options?  Certainly, you can dismiss the findings as impossible. You can feel shocked and bewildered. You can become depressed and despairing. Or you can find some kind of inner resolve to change your life. 
 
          To change your life requires willingness and trust to let go.

Willingness to let go of the habits, the clutter, the thought patterns, the ideology...anything that prevents you from achieving your "ideal weight."  And trust to believe that when you leave a space, it will be better than holding onto what you have right now. 

What is weighing you down?  What is in that bag of rocks you're dragging behind you everywhere you go?

Perhaps there is a relationship you need to release, a commitment you need to re-negotiate, a space you need to clear, a resentment you need to drop.

Whatever you discover when you step on that scale, let it incentivize you to release anything that is between you and where you want to be.

by Belinda Lams

You finally admitted that you're stuck and you really need to change your life. You are in angst and frustration and it's not getting better. You've prayed, cried, begged for something to change, but it hasn't happened...yet.

Reminds me of this old joke.   

A man is sitting on his porch when flood waters begin to rise. A woman floats by in a boat and offers him help. He says, "No, I'm waiting for God to help me."  

Flood waters get higher. The man moves upstairs. A rescue boat comes to his house and the officer tells him to get in. He says, "No. I'm OK. God will provide."  

Flood waters rise even higher and now he's up on the roof. A helicopter flies overhead and lowers a ladder. The man shouts, "No thanks!  The Lord will save me!"  And with that, he is overtaken by the flood waters to his death.  

Appearing before the Almighty, he asks why God didn't save him after he pleaded for help and had faith that could move mountains.  God says, "I sent you 2 boats and a helicopter.  What more did you want?" (p'dum pum)

Sometimes we don't recognize the very obvious thing that could answer our prayers. We get so used to our well-worn path of pain and can't imagine that making a even a slight shift could put us on the road to freedom. 

Remember the Bible story of the Israelites enslaved in Egypt?  When the long-awaited opportunity came to spring, not all of them left. Some of them opted to stay and complain rather than risk the unknown trek into freedom. Perhaps the pain of staying has to be greater than the fear of leaving.  

The road to true freedom is the road less traveled. Will you take it?