Accept NOW

​Iceland felt like home to me despite all that looked so very different, the drama of her volcanos and lava fields, mountains and icy glaciers, deep blue ice caves, black sand beaches and crashing waves, erupting geysers, sulphur-scented steam vents like the breath of Mother Earth, bubbling mud pits, spectacular waterfalls, crystal ice berg littered beaches, sturdy Icelandic horses everywhere, their long manes and tails blown in the ever-present island winds, wild reindeer grazing at the roadside, all of it felt like home.

This trip created a new beginning for me.  Twenty-two adventurers with our heart-centered guide and driver on a large bus, traveling winding roads from one riveting landscape to the next. Our guide and driver became integral parts of our group, each of the now twenty-four finding healing, release and a new beginning.

My new beginning blossomed almost immediately with an internal acceptance of each present moment. Our group traveled the ring road all around the coastline of Iceland. Each day brought new experiences and challenges to be surmounted, both physical and emotional. I settled into a rhythm of acceptance of each NOW, trusting that where I was, who I was with and how I was responding, all were exactly right. I focused in and relaxed into that present.

That is not to say that each moment was bliss. Traveling with twenty-four people offers very little, if any, time to oneself. Yet ours was a remarkable group of caring and compassionate people, led by three spiritually self-aware and loving souls.

I feel blessed by the gift of this journey.


Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash  
Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash 
Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash 

Your Spiritual Toolbox

​Acceptance of Now is more than appreciation of what is. It is trusting that in this present moment you are exactly where and with whom you are meant to be. It means trusting that you are inspired to feel and respond how you need to right now. For this moment, there is nothing else for you to be thinking about or focusing upon. As you are able to accept and trust this more and more, you are more clearly able to perceive inspiration for each moment in which you find yourself.

In this moment, right NOW, breathe deeply. Feel yourself in your body. Feel and acknowledge what is around you, who you are with, how you are feeling, even if who you are with is yourself. Be fully here, for this is exactly where you are meant to be right now.

Drink in this present moment with your breath. Breathe deeply and feel this moment move through your body.

Allow yourself to fully focus your attention here. Resist the temptation to move your thoughts to the next thing to do, the meeting this afternoon, plans for dinner tonight. Accept that right here is the most important place you can be, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

If you are having a conversation with someone, focus all your attention on this conversation. Really hear what the other person is saying. Release the need to listen just so that you can say something back. Take the time to deeply listen to what the other person is communicating. Feel the feelings that this brings up for you. When you respond, if you do, speak with authenticity and caring, for yourself and for the other. 

​Listen and feel for the inspiration that is always available to you here in the magic of your present moment.