Allowing

When I was singing at the wedding a few weeks back up in Mill Valley,

I had the pleasure of rooming with a student of Transpersonal Psychology.

We were supposed to stay with the blushing bride, but she felt so comfy at her Pa's house that she left the whole gorgeous suite to us in Napa: what a gift!!

That night the two of us girls sat up late talking with increased

animation and wonder:

there was so much in common, so much to say!!!

Could anything be more wonderful than those instant understanding connections?

I chalk it up to being of the same tribe.

The one thing among many that stuck out in my memory of the evening was the discussion we had about perception - that it must be ok to let people perceive you

just as they decide to without trying to influence them into more positivity than they naturally feel.

That's a tough thing to process:

the grace of allowing others to have their own sense of you,

to write you as either hero or villain in the movie of their life should it serve them...

no pleading your case

not needing to be right or accepted

(or even liked) no matter how 'good' you know yourself to be

no matter the outcome

content to let life happen around you without the need to be understood...

Can you imagine the freshness of doing the best you can in every way without wondering

how it's taken?

The crisp cleanliness of a day well-lived in which neither detraction nor praise affected your

opinion that it was good to be breathing?

I think that may be one of the cornerstones of a solid, powerful and purposeful life,

especially in this day and age where everyone has the freedom to voice their opinion

publicly and without name:

perception is key here on these interwebs we've woven.

I am collecting these tidbits of wisdom I glean from good conversation

not just for myself,

but to give to a young boy when he begins to form a relationship with the greater world:

I want to give him a sense of allowing the world its own stage

so that he can focus on bigger things than being liked or seen as he sees himself:

I want to help him find keys to purpose and plenty.

xo,

A