Feeling Stuck?

Living in an urban environment like Los Angeles can take its toll.  Five years is the estimated average of how long a person needs to live here before L.A. can feel like home.  That's true of most places.  So what do you do if you're feeling stuck here?

When I'm feeling stuck, I love to get out and be in nature.  Sometimes I walk, sometimes I hike, sometimes I drive or fly to a place that makes me happy.  When I'm in nature, I'm not so overwhelmed by the everyday things that are eating at me.  I stop obsessing about this and that and simply breathe.

If you're not an outdoorsy type, I would suggest turning off all the electronics in your home and either sitting on your bed or the floor in a quiet place, closing your eyes, and noticing all of the sounds you hear (not to change them, just notice them).  Then you can try for all the aromas you smell.   And if you're feeling rather adventurous, keep your eyes closed, stay on the floor, and slowly explore your space.  Do not move quickly enough that you might hurt yourself.

If that doesn't work, hug therapy might be an ideal option.  Or a massage or healing session!  Every try attending a crystal sound bath?  Touch and sound heals!

After your mini get-a-way, check in with yourself and see how you feel now.  Better?  I thought so!

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?  I always knew I wanted to be an actress - but I did fantasize about being a farmer or a veterinarian.  I've always liked digging in the earth and animals.   It was in my wildest dreams that my life as I know it evolved.  I constantly think about what makes me happy and what I want to make of my life and augment my life to match.

The problem with happiness, sometimes, is you have to give yourself the time and stillness to be able to hear those yearnings inside you.  Simultaneously, concentration is required to quiet the judges or nay-sayers in your mind long enough to avoid talking yourself out of your dreams.  In other words, you don't always have to have all of the answers to every moment, you just have to know the answers for today and how to proceed TODAY.  Tomorrow will come whether you're ready for it or not.

Another thing to keep in mind is that what you want will not always make sense to you immediately, you just want it like that.  Sometimes this happens because you may have smothered some prior impulses that are now surfacing, or you may simply have changed.  You can take a little time to contemplate that decision, but those thoughts can sometimes be your greatest gifts.  Don't just chuck them because they might seem odd.

In short, grab your life by the throat and make of it what you will.  You only have one shot, make it a good one!

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

Life Happens

I swear I'm not going to go on about my cat in this blog.  I am, however, going to share with you that life and work can intermingle.  I was up for a gig testing a skin care product that I really believe in, and I couldn't make it to the audition because of the things going on with my cat.  I prepared myself for ridicule from the casting director and was pleasantly surprised to find support.

You see, we all have lives that keep going whether or not we pursue careers.  This CD had, in fact, lost a dear creature not that long ago and could appreciate my situation.  Plus, my puffy eyes would not make for a good skin care representative. 

The bottom line is I learned I can be honest about my life and still have support.  I realize this, too, was a gift from my fuzzy love - his parting gift.  Loving is not something to apologize for, it's something to celebrate.

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

To Vent or NOT to Vent, That is the Question

Do you ever find yourself sharing everything on your mind, when you know some thoughts might better be saved for your journal? I'm not saying you should bottle up frustration until you blow up at someone, I'm saying there are healthy and easy ways to get out your thoughts that do not require another person being your continual sounding - or more accurately battering - board.

The operative word in the last sentence is "continual." Of course you're going to need to share your thoughts and ideas from your day with your friend or honey! If you find you continually bitch rather than share, you may want to shift your focus.

Bitching is examining an experience with severe judgment that is not usually healthy. Excessive bitching can lead to a shift of focus in your daily life to the negative experiences thereby relegating the positive experiences. Note: Bitching is fine if it's not your habit.

Ways to vent that will give voice to your frustrations include:

• journaling
  
• writing a letter to the person (if it's about another person) and never sending it to them
• dancing
• singing
• putting the imaginary person into a chair and speaking to that person as if they were there

So next time you're thinking of extolling the idiocy of the thing that is driving you crazy, stop and think: is this how I want to be spending my energy?

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

Mary Oliver is an Inspiration to Me

Mary Oliver has a gift with words. This Pulitzer Prize winner and her dog are captured in a quiet moment to the right.

Following is a great poem of Ms. Oliver's:

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

~Mary Oliver

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin