Ruby Slippers

Those who know me well know I have a small but funky shoe collection which has been rapidly growing over the past several months.  The current item on my 'must have' list is a pair of red pumps (or ruby slippers if you happen to be a fan of The Wizard of Oz).   For me there's just something about wearing flashly shoes that not only gives my spirits a lift but also boosts my confidence.   While I know confidence and power come from within, it is nice to have something external as a reminder and that's what shoes are to me; an external reminder of my internal power. 

As a society, we have created all sorts of tailsmans to represent 'power'.  Who hasn't heard of 'the power suit'?  Or bought items like cars, jewellery, or clothes because at both a conscious and unconscious level they represent image, confidence, power and sucess?  A tailman also includes 'lucky' items, religious symbols, and even routines (rituals).  The power isn't within wearing or carrying the item or following a specific routine, but in the faith the person holds in their belief that by doing so they are protected or increasing their chance of success.

The point is, the external item only holds the energy and power you put into it; it's your power.  We always have the power within us, we just don't always see it within ourselves.  We have a tendency to attach our power to an external item and after a while we associate confidence or good fortune with the item.  When we give our power away to an external item we run into trouble because we believe the power is in the item and if anything happens to the item we unconsciously feel lost and unlucky.   Remember the old adage "Clothes don't make the man" it's true.   The character and confidence of the man (or woman) wearing the clothes is what makes others take notice of the person.  You can wear a designer suit and yet if you don't feel confident and comfortable in it, you're going to appear awkward, uncertain and uncomfortable; the power is not in the suit, it's in your ability to wear it with confidence.

So even though I know I can't click the heels of my new ruby slippers together and transport myself to where I want to go, I do know when I look at them I see them as bright, daring, a little bold and definitely making a positive statement which reminds me to be the same.  If that isn't enough, they also make me smile every time I look at them which gives me a boost too because when I'm smiling and happy I'm even more confident.

 Remember the power is within you ~ the tailsman, no matter what it is, is merely an external reminder of how powerful you truly are.

Balancing Change

Considering we humans are supposed to be logical thinkers, it's amazing how we can be logical one moment, and totally illogical the next.


For example, think about how we perceive "change" for instance.  Just about everyone has something in their life they'd like to change whether it's something big or small there's a something; and for the record, there really aren't any 'small' changes.  Yet so many people procrastinate about actually taking the steps needed to create the change they say they desire.  Why?


This is where the logical and illogical come into play.  Logically people know when there's something in their life that needs to change because it's not serving a positive purpose in their life.  When change is desired it's because we don't like the way things are, we want something else ~ we want something better.  Think about it, do you ever hear anyone say, "my health is great, I wish it was worse"?  Not a chance, it's always a change to the positive "I'd love to be healthier".  Whether the change is related to their health, relationship, job, or even their spirituality, everyone knows when change is needed to improve some aspect of their life.


Now if a person knows they need to make a change (or changes) more often than not they know what needs to be done or at least they have a good idea about what steps they need to take to create change, yet they don't act on the knowledge.  Why? The fear of change holds them in limbo creating the tug of war between the logical and the illogical thoughts and patterns which run both consciously and unconsciously.

We've all been there, we've all said (or at least thought) these things:  "I really want to do this, but if I do, things will be different"; "What if by changing this one thing, everything else changes for the worse?"; "What if this changes who I am?" "I want to change this in my life but I don't want my life to change".  Any of these sound familiar?

When you think about it logically, then really how can changing a negative thing in your life into a positive thing ruin the other positive aspects in your life?  Think about it, if for example you're unhappy at work, then that unhappiness affects your relationships, and affects your health and well being.  So, realistically, making a change for the better in your work life will only improve your relationships because you will be happier and want to be around people more; your health and well being will improve as well because you won't be stressed, angry or worried about work related stuff.

Since you always have choice, you get to choose what form the change takes.  Perhaps you need to change how you interact with your colleagues so there are fewer misunderstandings, perhaps you need to upgrade your skills so you can apply for a different or better position in the company, perhaps you want to go into another line of work completely.  Whatever you need to do for you to change things for better is going to also improve other aspects of your life.  If you're happy at work, then it's likely you're going to be happy when you get home from work, you're going to feel better, less stressed more interested in being active and involved. 

The same applies for any area of life.  Positve change creates more positive change.

A lot of people get stuck by trying to "keep everything balanced the same way it used to be" while trying to only change the one thing which needs changing.  They create a lot of unnecessary stress and angst simply because they are trying to keep things the same and at the same time change things.  The logical and illogical tug of war.  You can't change something and expect things to stay the same; and why would you want to?  Afterall, the purpose of introducing change is to improve your life. 

When you introduce positive change, know that it is going to ripple POSITIVELY through all areas of your life.  You may feel a little off balance or even confused and that's normal because you have introduced new positive dynamics which require a rebalancing of energies.  What you used to think of as balanced and centered has shifted slightly to accommodate the positive change, so you simply need to get used to your new center of balance. 

Think of it like trying something new.  There's a learning curve involved, a sense of newness and excitement, potential and possibilities, and it takes a little getting used to.  After a short while, it becomes comfortable and familiar, and you're much happier and healthier.  It makes you wonder why you were afraid to change in the first place.   

Change is simply the tool used to align and balance your life as you continue to learn and grow throughout your lifetime.  Rather than fearing what change will bring, embrace it with joy, knowing it will improve your life in ways you have yet to imagine.