Truth, if you let yourself know it, is the thing that sings in your blood. It is knowing what is resonant, and the compassion to use it. Truth is not blind following, nor static, nor even always just. But it is, it exists, and you know it. The job is to stay in its light.

There is a song of truth, beyond ideas; the melody is a simple one. As more voices and instruments are added, it becomes the symphony of life.

Now it is true there are falsehoods, also, and these can mute the sound. You know the false note when it rings out, and you know – if you investigate – whether or not it had cause. Sometimes a thing is false by omission, or ignorance not yet healed. Sometimes a falsehood behaves like truth when further information has yet to be revealed. But truth in its naked glory, a sobering sight to behold, will have acres of space and light abounding and cannot be misunderstood.

It’s OK if you told a lie sometimes, but don’t pretend it is true. Everyone is false now and then, out of fear, or hunger, or trying to survive. But be truthful with yourself. Do not try to hide. Lying to yourself is the fast way down to destruction of body/mind/heart. You know, do you not, when you lie to yourself, you become the least trustworthy being around?

You deserve wholeness, you deserve love. You can only receive what you’ve made space for. When you lie it blocks your receptors, and then the world starts to shrivel and twist. After a while you are lost to yourself, and to others, a miserable way to exist.

You are, in fact, a beacon. You shine the light of your essence out into the world. There is truth in your existence that you may be unaware of, but that does not mean it is false. Ignorance, in this case, is no joy.

Consider this: a young child, a small animal, a bird – are they not true in the world? Do they not deserve pleasure, not pain? Do they deserve safety and love? The truth is that everyone here has a purpose, and everyone is trying to get by. There is much to contend with in the material world, and it can never be wholly understood.

But here you are, like everything else, a being of light and love, of damage and pain, of reality. Here you are, truth be told, spirit in material form, doing the best you can in an impossible situation. But you persist.

Respect your truth. Be resonant with truth. Seek truth at every turn. And know this: Truth is the path to everywhere, this path forever yours. ❀

What we mean by this is to include your whole self in your regard. Include others’ whole selves as well, the parts you agree with and the parts you do not. The parts that annoy you and the parts that attract. The parts you find acceptable and the parts that repel. Include it all.

You are more than the sum of your parts, but without the entirety of your self, you will never be all of yourself. Making particular demands on yourself in order to include aspects in your regard is called conditional love, and believe us – It Does Not Work.

Nobody responds well to rejection, which is exactly what exclusion is. When you decide to only love your body at a certain weight or fitness level or functionality or behavior on command, that is excluding entire huge swaths of your own very human condition. It is unreasonable and unnecessary and it does not get positive results.

Have some curiosity about aspects of yourself you have rejected. What if it is included, in the package of you, to have warts? What if it is included to sometimes belch? Are you allowed to get older and wrinkled? Are you allowed to have folds in your skin at all? There is no stretching and growing and becoming without those folds, so you might want to include them in your inventory of things you cannot live without.

To include the whole kit and kaboodle, of yourself and of others, is to accept a cosmic invitation to a mysterious and intriguing joy ride. You can be prickly and sweet. You can be intelligent and also not bright. You might mean well and do poorly by someone.

Each human is a walking box of paradox, and the sooner you can accept all your bits and pieces, the sooner they will seem to fit together. And that makes you whole. And that makes you greater than the sum of all your parts. Even the ones you dislike. They have something to offer as well, you know.

Some people feel that anger is a distasteful thing. Now to be angry all the time for no reason and to take it out on others, that is an annoying habit that will not get you anywhere. But mostly this kind of thing happens when a person rejects their own anger, vowing that it has no home, it is bad, it is wrong.

When anyone is excluded like that, they are liable to bang on the door. Anger does have a place in the world, and in the human experience. There are plenty of times it is called for and it brings, ultimately, protection. So it requires inclusion for any human to be whole

Bring your whole self with you, wherever you go. ❀

To rest is to draw into yourself all the resources and energy you have been expressing out into the world. It is to take a period of time out of time, and space out of place, and withdraw what is generally given out.

When the body or the mind or the spirit fatigues, some people try to push on. Which is an interesting thing if you think about it. Like trying to drive a car without power or fuel. Even getting out to push the beast to the final destination, instead of crawling into the back seat for a nap, or waiting for the day to break so you can see what you’re doing, or waiting for help to arrive.

It is not necessary at every moment of every day to be moving forward. It is not a requirement that all the action you take be under your own steam. Sometimes it’s the better part of valor to ask for help, and then accept it when it arrives.

If you don’t know where to seek help, that is a useful meditation to have with yourself. Maybe write a list of ten places and people from whom you could seek assistance. If you don’t know how to receive help, this is as good a time as any to begin to learn. It is a skill, after all. It is a skill everyone needs. Nothing gets done in pure solitude, not really. So, resting in your efforts is mandatory.

Confront your fear of being lazy. There is a false equivalency between resting and lazing. Also, there is nothing wrong with lazing. But resting is purposeful in the accomplishment of your life. (OK, lazing is, too. Everything has a place.) You will not get as far as you think without resting. It is the reconstitution of the dried-out tissues of your soul. It is the rejuvenation of the skin of your being and the organs deep within, which keep you going. Is your fear of laziness and judgment greater than your longing for health and well-being?

Nobody ever exhausted themselves into better health. May we say, while we’re at it, that of course effort is called for in living your life, doing your work, loving yourself and others? May we say that at times great effort is required, to meet a deadline or launch a task, or even just to get through a day? Effort is not an objective measure; therefore, neither is rest. Both are required for function. Ask yourself, perhaps, why would you skimp on or sacrifice half of this equation? ❀