Birthing My Life's Work

I am in the throes of a birthing process!  Who would have thought, at my age, I would be going through this!  I am birthing my dreams into an awakened state, into reality, and it is at once, sometimes uncomfortable, and periodically, downright painful, while at the same time I am feeling a HUGE sense of relief, excitement and exhilaration.   Up until now I have been a midwife to the dreams of others.  A wet nurse to struggling dreams that were birthed to reality, often times in ignorance and without awareness.  I have been left for long periods of time with the dreams of others to care for, as the parent who birthed them chose other diversions, not realizing how precious a thing they had brought into the world and how healing this process was to themselves, to those around them, and to the world at large.  The process of dreams to reality is a miraculous transition of the ephemeral to the real.

So let me speak to what it is like.  This is an "in the moment process" where I move into each new phase trying to offer as little resistance as possible.  There is a force here at work that is out of my control, even though there are things that I do to "prepare" for the next phase.  The good news is, I have done this with enough people in the past, as their midwife, that I know what is needed.  I know all parents believe that their "child idea" is special, and they all are, each in their own way.  This Life's Work that I am now birthing is singularly unique in that it is fathered by an altruistic commitment that spans a life time and that is framed in a prayer and spiritual practice that has been my touch stone for 25 years:

For all of the peoples and the nations of the earth, may not even the names disease, famine, war, and suffering be heard, but rather, may their moral conduct, wealth, and prosperity, increase, and may supreme good fortune and well being always arise for them.

With this prayer as the genesis of this dream, the "child idea" is blessed with a breadth and depth of capacity for human connectivity and compassion that goes beyond the ordinary.  This is a "child idea" whose heart is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE; whose mind is COMPASSIONATE THOUGHT AND UNDERSTANDING; and whose speach is the expression of all of these qualities.

This birthing process is a powerful event.  For the human mind and spirit, this is the life blood of feeling connected to the world:  being truly heard and understood, having a voice that moves the world in positive ways, seeing dreams walk the earth, all of this is our spirit connecting to matter in dynamic and powerful ways.  In today's world where disconnect is the given rather than the exception, my LOVE WISH, for this dream I am in the throes of birthing, is that it help to heal, to connect, to honor, and to enrich the human condition.  This dream that I am birthing right now was conceived in the pure light of the spirit.  I am reminded of a quote by Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

For all of the peoples and the nations of the earth, I see your GREATNESS.  I dedicate the life of this dream towards fully realizing that GREATNESS with hearts of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE; and minds of COMPASSIONATE THOUGHT AND UNDERSTANDING; and with speach that is an expression of all of these qualities.

Chop Wood, Carry Water, or Simply Shovel Snow

There is something to be said for physical work, like shoveling.  When I first started shoveling snow this morning, it was about the process.  I am, by nature, systematic in how I do things.  I am a planner and a thinker and then I ask myself, "if I'm to put one foot in front of the other to get where I want to go, what does the next step look like?"  This week was absolutely chock full of pivotal moments:  An owner of a business that we work with, died unexpectedly at the age of 64.  Then, I taught a class in the Culture of Service.  Finally, I had my review at work from my leadership.

As I'm shoveling snow, I'm considering that the death of Mr. Masters, at the age of 64, was TIME giving me a "shake" to wake me up and do what I'm going to do - to live my dreams and build the world I want to wake up to.  I turn 60 this year.  I have worked my whole life to build others to greatness, and I have been asking, for quite some time, when it would be my turn.  My trip to Canada was another "shake", this time with love and words and examples of women who are committed to living their dreams and to creating the world THEY want to wake up to.  As I'm resting on the handle of my snow shovel and contemplate the deep snow on the driveway, and I consider, as Robert Frost put it, the miles I have to go before I sleep, I realize that there are two key questions I need to be asking myself in the light of Mr. Master's demise and my reflections: the first question is, "If I were to die tomorrow, where would I want to be?"  Then I had to laugh at myself, because shoveling this amount of snow at the age of 60 might just put me in the ground in the dead of winter in cold ass Wisconsin.  The second question I had to ask myself was, "If I'm going to live my dreams and wake up to the world I want to build, where would I do that?"  Again, as I started back to shoveling the seemingly endless mounds of white punishment, I realized, very definitively, that it wasn't in cold ass Wisconsin.  Strike two.  I want to die with the sound of the ocean on a beach, and warm temperatures, and seabirds.  I want to be surrounded  by people who don't measure my worth in terms of whether I am an asset or a liability, but who truly value me as a blessing and an irreplaceable part of their world just as they are of mine.

Then there is the Culture of Service class that I taught.  It was a great class, and I love the people and the material because it speaks to my heart and to the core of my being.  At the end of the class I wrote a LOVE letter to the class.  Here is what I wrote:

I want to live in a world where service to each other is like breathing.  Where we DO understand that the world IS round - and that what goes around comes around, and we INTENTIONALLY plant the seeds of service KNOWING that, like the pebble in the pond, our actions will send ripples out, reverberating through our world, and around the world.  I'm tired of and saddened by people who are fearful:  fearful of being taken advantage of, fearful of being made a fool of, fearful of ending up on the short end of the stick, or being "found out" in some way. I want you to connect with others in meaningful ways and to come to understand how AMAZINGLY important you are; how IRREPLACEABLE you are in the lives of those you touch, even though, for many of those lives, you will never know the impact you have made, and I want you to know how important THEY are to you, the shoulders upon which you stand today are those who CHOSE to serve you. So, I facilitate this class with the intention of being a part of this EXTRAORDINARY opportunity to help you help us. It's about caring and moving us, collectively towards a heart of service that truly honors our humanity and enriches the interdependent world THAT LIES AT THE HEART of what we have built, as individuals, as families, as communities, as cultures, as HUMANITY. For you, it all begins with the realization that ANYONE becomes your customer the moment you have the opportunity to serve, and that SERVICE is meeting the needs of someone else. You can change lives through your opportunities to serve - you have the potential for GREATNESS.

Finally, I had my review this week.  It was a good review, even a great review, but it clearly outlined to me my asset and liability value and it left me feeling empty and void of any sense of there being anything that even remotely looks or feels like my dreams or the world I want to wake up to.  At the end of a year I'm a number...an assessment of an asset.  As I'm chipping away at the mound of hard, iced snow at the foot of the driveway that the plows had left, I thought, "Is this how I really want to live my life?...to end my life?...in cold ass Wisconsin...a number?...Really?...Really? 

The piles of snow at the foot of the driveway are so tall, that I find that I have to walk shovels of snow and ice from the bottom of the driveway up to the top of the driveway in order to be able to toss the snow over the ever increasing piles that frame the drive.  Sometimes life is like that, it gets so piled up around you that you can't see over the piles to what lies beyond.  I'm in the process of making it possible to see the future and to have a sense of a path forward.  I look forward to what the future holds and to what lies ahead, and I am absolutely sure that, if I die unexpectedly at the age of 64, I will die in a place where I want to be, doing what I want to do, valued by people who LOVE me unconditionally and who understand how important we are to each other.

 

ALEXANDRA THE GREAT!

OK, so it's a pretty loud title and, some might think, hard to live up to.

NOT!!!!!

If you want to give yourself the most loving, positive, mind blowing kick-in-the-pants that you could possibly give yourself, sign up for a WRITE YOURSELF INTO MOTION weekend with Alexandra Franzen. I just spent an AMAZING long weekend, in Athabasca, Canada, with some women who are truly GIANTS in the world of realizing dreams and seeking highest good.

Can you hear that?

It's a standing ovation...a MAJOR celebration and recognition for these women and for Alexandra. WOW ladies! Simply WOW!

So what did I come away with? Well let me tell you!

Who am I?

I'm a heart song coach. I listen to the heart notes of others and facilitate unique life compositions for which they are the melody line. But really, I love listening to and honoring the music of the lives of those around me. So, tell me, what are the songs that life has written on your heart?

I am a creative life collaborator. I immerse myself in the creative juices of others and then engage with them in shaping life and realizing dreams. But really, I love to play in the realm of the potential and unleash that which is so much bigger than any one of us. So, what's waiting in you to be unleashed?

I am a dream maker. I listen to what is in the hearts of others and then I help them to see that realizing their dreams is simply about waking up. But really, I am a "waking up" work in progress, and I could really use your help. So, as a collaborator in the waking up process, what are your dreams, and when do you feel the most awake?

How's that for a trumpet toot!?!

You know what is EVEN COOLER? YOU ARE BRILLIANT TOO! For me, when I wrote it down, and put it into words, I was shaken awake to what I was depriving myself of by living "less than". Well, no more! As Alecia Keys says, "This girl is on fire!"

But really?

I believe that you deserve to truly understand your potential and how possible it is to build a life where your dreams come true. I'm so tired of people moving through their lives with diminished purpose, or people feeling that they have to accept "less than" because they believe that is all they deserve. What I dream for you is a rich and fulfilling life, full to overflowing of things you have dreamed of, and those things that have yet to dream. I have created an experience that I guarantee will wake you up to the brilliance of your true self, and I will connect you with a network of like minded people who will be there for you to celebrate and SHOUT OUT! in delight as you light up the world with YOUR AWESOMENESS!

So what's next?

I'M THROWING A PJ WAKE-UP CALL PARTY FOR A FEW OF MY FRIENDS AND A FEW OF THEIR FRIENDS!

And here's a promise for my friends in Canada. I will be throwing one in your neck of the woods in the not too distant future, and you will DEFINATELY BE INVITED!

Alex, you are the best! Thank you for waking me up. I am committed to paying it forward, and my heart song now includes your praises! YOU ROCKED IT!!

XO to all.