Open Your Eyes
Soak up creation
Fill the depths of your soul
with the evening light
Become one with the earth
and be fully at home with the amazing person you are.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
When tragedy finds its way into our lives, we need to mourn, and to reconnect to LOVE.
In the midst of sorrow
I breathe,
I take a breath,
I open myself
and receive gratitude that moves within me
for Life,
Life that I live,
for all Life
I breathe
trusting in the ability for redemption
for a newness
a gentle awakening,
that surfaces within me,
and within the deeper parts of individual souls,
believing,
having faith,
that LOVE is
still the greater force,
that prayer is heard and answered
that no one is truly alone in this world,
and that healing is always possible
even when brokenness seems to be king.
For it is in breathing in
this faith,
this trust in LOVE:
that what is good will conquer,
and that when there is pain,
that the LOVE and prayers of many
will be the powerful force, and energy
throughout Life
that transforms hurt into healing
always,
every time,
somehow.
Grief and healing are an every day journey…there is no set date and time that they have to be completed. Take all the time you need.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
You have purpose. Your life is meaningful. You were created to be here at this time in history for a reason. You are a miracle. You are a living inspiration. You are a created wonder of the world. You are beautifully and wonderfully made.
I purchased a new Campanula Plant, a.k.a. the Blue Bell, the other day. As I wandered around the nursery the Blue Bell in particular caught my eye. As I looked at it I remembered it did something special, something I was interested in, but I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly. So I picked one out, one that needed some extra nurturing, and brought it home.
And after a web search, I remembered: the Blue Bell attracts Hummingbirds. It creates the nectar inside its flower that the Hummingbird enjoys. The Blue Bell has purpose. It was created for its beauty, but also as a source of food for the survival of the Hummingbird. I’d Love to see a hummingbird visit my yard. How amazing would that be?!
It is profoundly interesting how the created natural world teaches us about ourselves. The earth and all that dwells in it and from it, has purpose. Each living creature and organism, has a purpose. They create balance in the world that allows for our earth to survive; as well as, provide resources for our survival.
If you take this image of the Blue Bell, as being created to provide balance in the ecosystem, and apply this to your own life, you too can begin to understand how you provide balance in the created world.
Sometimes we look too hard to discover what our purpose is. Sometimes we try to fill ourselves with words, and activities that we hope will give us some some idea of why we are here. By doing these things we often get in the way of ourselves: We are trying so hard, that we forget how to just be-How to just be YOU. Exactly as you are.
Remember by just being YOU, you already have transformed life, and have purpose just as YOU are.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
Sometimes we need to be like a little child
and soak up the world with a silent wonder
in our hearts
the kind of wonder
that makes us pause long enough
to receive life with a feeling of awe
of how deeply connected
we are to this immense and powerfully soothing natural world
with every ounce of our very being.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved
It’s inevitable that love and pain will dance together in our lives, no matter how hard we try to keep them apart.
A really beautiful woman, who I have been blessed to have in my life, now has Stage 4 Cancer. She is a woman “full of grace” and absolutely amazing. She is a warrior queen who rages against her battle with a softness and love for life, that breaks all boundaries of the kingdom of the “Big C,” and day by day she gently and powerfully conquers with another day of living life. She often dresses up with a colorful scarf atop her head, that draws out the beautiful colors of her eyes, that sparkle every time she smiles. She reminds me that every day life is worth smiling about, even when it really sucks. And even more importantly, she has taught me: that even when life seems like it is trying to close its door on you, keep reaching out in open arms and gently say to it, “I’m still here. And I’m ready to receive you and accept you, even if what you are placing in front of me is not what I want because I WANT TO LIVE.”
And this is why Love and pain will always dance together. They dance together in this deeply real image of my beautiful friend (our beautiful friends) moving in perfect rhythm to the music of life, while death keeps stepping on her toes and throwing her off balance every once in a while until it wins [in the literal sense]. It’s the deeper reality for those of us watching this happen: that at times Love Really Hurts.
Loving my friend brings with it a deep hurt: I know deep down inside that she is going to die: there will be an emptiness inside me when she is gone, and it hurts right now because her inevitable death seems so unfair because she is so good and she wants to keep LIVING.
And because I love her, deep down inside my heart is that painful question of,”WHY?”
“Why if she is soooo good, and sooo loved, does she need to suffer? Why did she have to get sick? Why does she have to die at such a young age? Why….and the questions keep coming.
I know that I can answer these questions in a very spiritual manner…and connect to an understanding of spiritual, emotional and bodily suffering as a part of life, and a Creator and the Beloved who suffers with me, with her… and at times brings me great comfort…
But…that’s an answer that may only fulfill me, or still may not be enough…
And so I look deep inside myself and I feel it…and I listen to it. The sadness deep in my heart. The part of me that feels the grief. The inevitable knowing that one day, she won’t be here. The anticipatory awareness that others too are going to hurt. In other words, the parts of me that Love her. The parts of me that are LOVE.
And then the tears come slowly, but deeply. And then the quiet sobs, that make you hold your breath, because your body just hurts too much.
Then you get yourself back together. And you put your feet back down on the solid ground below you, and you move forward again.
And you remind yourself. She’s not dead yet. She’s still here. And that she’s living life. And you’ve got to do the exact same thing: LIVE.
And the question is no longer Why, but HOW.
As I return to Love as a powerful force for living rather than for pain, I am able to learn from my friend. She is teaching me how to live my life by the way she shares her love and welcomes and receives my love; and she teaches me to love life more fully by the way that she lives…
LIVING:
What would you add?
And Living and Loving is what makes you more fully YOU: When you LOVE: and allow all that is LOVE to touch your life, then you LIVE, and by LIVING a deeper more meaningful life—one that doesn’t stop loving because of fear of the pain—you become more fully who you truly are: you become more fully and deeply human.
—This is what I realize now that I have been able to step back from the pain, and going forward can embrace the beautiful reality of how my friend celebrates life through her ability to Love Life and all that it is.
Below is the message I wrote to my beautiful friend, that I want to share with you.
*
May you always be blessed to know LOVE and to become more fully yourself each and every day by giving yourself the gift of Living life.
Blessings Always, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
* If any of you would ever like me to write something for someone you love, or even for yourself with one of my images, I would always be honored.
So one of the formulas for living Healthy:
Live in the Moment: In the Here and Now and
1.) Let wisdom guide you:
2.) Lead your life with your heart and mind:
If we are not able to be healthy within ourselves then no diet, doctor, medicine etc. will be able to really help us.
And thus, the challenge is to really deeply love yourself,
and by doing so, nothing else at any given moment, will have the power to take You away from Who you are.
Look at yourself in the mirror today and know that you are BELOVED.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health and Inspiration for Your Life ™ All Rights Reserved.
*Post originally published March 2012
As you take the time to let this blessing dance within you, may you also soak up the hues of green and blue.
Green naturally seeks healing and creates a restful feeling.
Blue creates a balance between mind and body.
Continued Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.
Your face holds the stories of who you are, and where you’ve been. They are the stories that lie deep within your bones, your cells, your very being. These stories might not be visible to the eye with a look or a glance; those who see you may be completely unaware of how much you hold inside. Of course your whole body holds your story, but there is something extremely tender about how your face holds your pain,your joy, your excitement, your fear, and so on. When you cry, the tears fall down your cheeks. When you laugh the sound comes from your voice, but your smile lights up your face. When you give and receive love, so often your face is a deep part of that connection.
Do you truly take time to notice yourself and tenderly care for your body?
I see myself in the mirror every day. I comb my hair, brush my teeth, wash my face, put on my make-up and go about my day. And I think very little about my body, nor how much better I feel after I care for myself, because doing these things are a normal part of the day and often done in a rush. But today, I paused for a moment as I dabbed the face-soap onto my hand and looked at my face, and said to myself,”Hey, there.” As if it was the first time I’d seen myself in a long time. And I thought,wait a minute why does this feel so strange?
I looked down again at my hand with the soap, and came back to reality: the task at hand: Washing my face. I had to think for a second though, 
how do I do this, wash my face? Usually I turn the water on first, rinse my face off, and then put the soap on my fingers. But not this time. Maybe I was being more intentional about connecting with myself because of my glance in the mirror; or maybe it was the sensation of splashing water on my face with one hand. Whatever it was, I paused, gently began to rub the soap along my cheeks, and suddenly became profoundly aware of the connection between my fingers touching my cheeks and my face receiving the tenderness of my touch.
As I stood there with my eyes closed and moved my hands around my face I began to have a knowing of my face through my finger tips: my cheek bones, my brow, the softness of my skin. The touch of my fingers awakened me to understanding why my glance in the mirror stuck me. I so often forget to take care of myself, and offer myself gentleness and love. Touching my face with this love, intentionality and awareness connected me to my life, my story, who I am right now. This is the face people look at, and see through their eyes. My face quite often is how people remember me and make sense of who I am at first glance. But as I washed my face, I realized this wasn’t what was speaking to me. Touching my face with this gentle love, became less about how I was going to look to the outside world, and more about the deeper parts of me.
Love and connection.
I’m learning and working on loving myself better every day. Sometimes I’m not so good at it, other times I get a gold star for effort. Today, I learned something important for me. To release the pain, the stress, tension I need to touch my face with intentionality and compassion. I need to hold my face in my hands and focus my heart and my thoughts towards self-love and reverence.
Usually, washing my face is a daily task, but I am going to be better at being mindful to practice it as a ritual. (I’ve included washing my face as part of the ritual to help me sleep at night, but never with the intentionality and mindfulness I am starting with today). Not only will washing my face be a ritual of letting go of the things that I want to wash away, so that I can find peace, but it will also be a symbolic action and mindfulness towards self-love.
Ahhh…I am already beginning to feel better.
How about you?
What do you do to offer yourself self-love: loving your mind, body and spirit?
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.
Today I was in need of filling my soul with something good, something that would nourish me and calm me. So I took my son with me to the Nursery and filled our senses with the gift of flowers. I realize more and more that nature fills gaps of emptiness in my spirit. I don’t know if any of you feel empty at times, even if your life may be full in so many other ways, or if emptiness is only a part of the deep lining of depression that likes to surface unexpectedly in my life? Whatever it is, thankfully, nature is here for us.
As my son and I walked around the gardens, I was being pulled towards the roses. I’ve been wanting a rose bush for some time. I love their fragrance and how they calm your body when they fill your senses with their scent. I had no intentions of buying a bush today, and then I saw this wonderful plant, and decided I would give-in and bring this rose home with me today. I walked all around the roses, and this was the one that spoke to me. It is called a Day Breaker Rose.
After I brought the rose home, I kept looking at it, over and over again. I know it is beautiful, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it…why I am I so taken by this plant? And as the evening light began to transcend, I suddenly became aware of why this flower was soothing my soul. It reminds me of a sunset. The kind of sunset that fills the sky with it’s yellows, pinks, reds and oranges. I LOVE sunsets. The evening sky is my favorite part of the day. I have always loved twilight. It is the time of day when I feel like the light of the sky and the Divine are embracing creation with a warm peaceful love. And as the earth is embraced, I too am being hugged by this beauty and peaceful Love. And of course my spirit is being calmed. During sunsets I also discover a serenity that transcends me beyond myself and the emptiness I feel seems to disappear as I my body and spirit are filled with this beautiful light and color.
Now I get to see my sunset every day as my rose bush blooms. And my sunset will not just be something I wait for in the evening, but will fill me throughout the day. I imagine my spirit will be well nourished.
How about you? What fills your empty spirit or nourishes your deeper longing? I’d love to hear what helps heal your soul.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.
It was one of those days. The kind of day when everyone needs you, kind of day. All you hear from the ends of every corner you try to hide in: “I need you, Mama!” And every time you get a moment of “alone-time” (which really is a figment of you imagination) the dog or cat come find you–and of course need to be pet or taken outside. So you literally want to scream! and of course catch the first plane to a secluded island of paradise, but you regain your senses and you grab a hold of the reins of your life: and you patiently respond: “Here I am. What do you need? How can I help you?”
I’m sure we’ve all had days and moments when it seems like no matter where we turn someone needs us or life is making us wait for something we hope will be better. Whatever these moments are like they require our patience. Patience: that ‘wonderful’ virtue that life tells us to work at each day…well that is if we want to.
“Patience (or forbearing) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.” —Wikipedia
So as the day went on I did try and work at not being negative: I smiled, let my son climb all over me while I tried to type, played games, made dinner and all the usual housewife stuff with out getting angry at all…
Well, I guess I did show some frustration and raised my voice, a couple times. But I did wait it out until I got to boiling point—(which totally defeats the logic behind being patient). And then as quickly as I let it out, I put all those feelings of negativity and frustration aside and smiled again.
How are you with patience? Is it something easy or challenging for you?
When I used to go to work daily, I was really good at patience. I believed patience was defining of my character and I had to be flawless. No matter how rough or intense the situation was at work, I remained calm and serene. I credited myself for this virtue. And people affirmed my ability to be patient.
But the problem was, I was so patient at work, i.e., I had a really high endurance for staying positive and calm even when I was frustrated or overwhelmed, that I didn’t release any of these feelings (frustration, etc.) during the day. So the negative feelings would show up at home when I felt annoyed about a house chore or responsibility; and these feelings would be released in the communication between my husband and I. Which of course did not do wonders for our relationship.
Now that I have been away from my work environment for 8 months, I realize that although being patient at work was a virtue I prided myself on…I was not good at taking care of myself because I didn’t have a healthy outlet to release my exhaustion, frustration, or negativity that sometimes was welling up inside me while I was being patient. And I am reminded that I am still not really taking care of myself because I experience these negative feelings when I’m at home from time to time, and I’m still not always good at creating an outlet to release them.
Do you have a way to take care of yourself when you feel exhausted from being patient?
Today I’ve come to realize that I can offer patience over and over, and continue to put on my smile for everyone, but if I am not taking care of myself while being patient, then I am doing no one a service. When I start feeling frustrated or I get impatient: wanting things to change right then and there, I get down on myself. For example, I often get the idea that I should be able to be all these things: a patient worker, a patient mother, a patient wife, a patient caregiver, a patient believer, a patient follower, etc.
But as I’ve been writing this I realize I’m doing the best I can, right? So if I have the patience for other people to be imperfect and I have the patience to wait for them to figure things out shouldn’t I offer the same kind of patience to myself? WHY OF COURSE I SHOULD. So there’s a bit of wisdom I’ve discovered. Now I just need to act on it.
What about you? Are you good at being patient with yourself when life isn’t going exactly the way you want it to, or when you just can’t seem to get life right? Are you able to provide yourself with compassion and patience while you are working on healing or recovery? I’m going to work on all these things starting today.
We all deserve to love ourselves and one of the ways to do this is to offer ourselves the gift of patience. A gift of patience that says: “I’m not perfect, and there’s no way I can be. I am always healing, always learning, always growing…Learning to love myself and my life is an ongoing process every day.”
I truly believe that when we are patient with each other, and patient with ourselves: by allowing healing to take the time it needs to, by allowing ourselves to feel different emotions, and by allowing ourselves to take as much time to grow and develop as we need to, we will all be happier, healthier people. And Life in general will be a much more pleasant experience for us all.
So offer yourself the gift of patience. And be well.
…and as I finish this post my son is running around the house and playing his drums…breathe…”Patience is a Virtue.” Breathe again. Smile. Amen.
He finally went to sleep. Now I get to edit. And the house is quiet. I really worked at being patient with myself and my son today, and it seems to be paying off. And my husband was patient with me tonight too, and said, “Go ahead and work on your post” while I clean up after dinner. Wow! What a gift. I guess being patient does pay off sometimes!
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
Related articles:
Be Patient with Yourself by Steve Pavlina
How to be Patient
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.
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