Day 1 - Saying Yes

Saying yes to life is saying yes to who we are. How could we be ourselves without accepting the totality of who we are? It is like a mirror choosing who and what to reflect. A mirror is unconditional. We have to accept that part of who we are is that mirror-like awareness, saying yes to whatever is.

The great musical artist and teacher Bob Marley said in his song “Wake Up And Live,” We have got to face the day, come what may.”This is the spirit of yes. We live in a time when bias has taken the place of truth. If we meet an individual more committed to their values than we are to our own we will find ourselves taking up the values of the antagonist.  Two people fighting in the street may appear to have different values, but they actually have the same perception, self vs other.

Choosing to  have more of a yes is being open to the challenges of life. Aging, illness, world conflict, no matter what, if we accept the authenticity of what is we manifests self mastery. If you need to drive from Minneapolis to Chicago it does no good  to convince yourself you are in Madison. When I sank to the bottom of the pool as a child, acknowledging that fact saved my life, pushing off and finding my way out. 

Gandalf from the Lord Of The Rings said, ``A Wizard is never late or early.” We are right on time, and this is the time we were born for. Saying yes does not mean not saying no. When we are pressed and feel the pressure to agree to a request, sometimes saying no is saying yes to ourselves and our own needs. 

Frame life so that you feel you are winning. One way to describe life is all that happens on the journey from birth to life. It is all you. Loving yourself means loving your life. It is a joy that does not always mean happiness, because this magical acceptance includes the acceptance of grief and loss. But when would you need love more? Say yes!