MONTHLY MESSAGE from TRACY, KATE & MEG

May/June 2010 Message - Living From the Heart

Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. ~ Rumi

Living from the heart means taking the time to listen to yourself about the things that make your heart sing, and then making time for those things in your life in a planned and predictable way. We are all walking around in a world where it is easy to feel somber and discouraged over the happenings of the last few years. In times like these when the economy contracts there is a natural tendency to become less optimistic about the future and more focused on the fundamentals of keeping yourself and your family safe. While this is a natural response to all the external uncertainty, it can have the unintended effect of closing off our hearts and contracting our ability to create and cultivate joy and play in our lives. This contraction is another way to get ourselves out of balance and over time it takes its toll on our hearts, our relationships and our families.

In her work as a marriage and family therapist Meg often asks her clients to think about what they do for fun and play: What do your want to do for yourself? What do you want to do with your spouse? What do you want to do with your children or family members? What do you want to do with your friends? Once they have identified what they love she challenges them to make concrete plans to make sure it happens. She invites her clients to see that it is easy to get in the habit of just focusing on the problems in our lives without taking the time to grow and cultivate new behaviors or connections that really feed our hearts and souls.

As we begin the short season that is summer in Minnesota, it’s the perfect time to make some plans for fun. At Meg’s urging we all started making plans. Meg challenged all of us to think about what we would feel disappointed about if we didn’t get to do it this summer? Kate was all over this assignment. As a principal in the inner city working with under-resourced kids she has learned that she has to recharge what she calls her “joy-meter” over her break in the summer to be ready in the fall for another year in service to kids. So as sisters we decided we wanted to get away together for a really good retreat or conference that would feed the work we get to do with others. In our marriages we all set in motion some plans for intentional playtime with our partners. In my family we are asking each of our kids to think of one thing they want to do this summer. Just the conversation changed the way we were all connecting with each other and started to build some excitement and energy as we begin making plans to invite some joy into our busy and sometimes stressful lives.

I am grateful to Meg for the invitation to start planning. Yesterday I got to play some tennis for a fundraising event and had so much fun that I signed up for a summer league before I got lulled back into the monotony and routine of my regular schedule. I am aware that it takes attention and intention to focus on what you really want rather than complaining about what you don’t want. So if it feels like its time to recharge your “joy-meter,” ask yourself what you would feel disappointed about if you didn’t do it before the chill of fall hits the air. Quit waiting for someone to deliver your joy in a neatly wrapped box on your front step—start today to cultivate joy as you actively choose the things you love.

We wish you the energy to live and love from your heart this summer as you make choices to create the life you imagine.

Blessings from the Sisters,
Tracy, Kate and Meg

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