Category: Living My Inspired Life

Don’t You Love the DMV – Part 1

Don’t you love the DMV? If this acronym is confusing you, in the US we are referring to the Department of Motor Vehicles. We get our driver’s license, plus the title, registration and tags for our cars.

Last week I completed all these tasks, even received my North Carolina Real ID. Never heard of that? Me neither until I began my due diligence toward changing my resident status.

The Real ID is a new form of U.S. government identification. In the near future, airport security will require either a valid passport or a Real ID to board commercial flights.

Getting Back to My DMV Experience

As I headed to my local DMV appointment with my packet of required documents, I felt confident everything was in order. In addition to reading the 101 page driver handbook, I had studied the dizzying laws regarding every form of infraction imaginable. Rather than a onerous task, I was surprised I learned new, helpful information.

As I confidently walked up to the door, the first obstacle appeared. The door was locked. A neatly typed sign indicated every applicant must be accompanied by a DMV employee. Sadly, there was no phone number to call and reach them. I calmly walked back to my car in the 40°F weather and started searching for a solution on my cell phone.

Within minutes a man exited the building, headed toward his car.

“How do I get in?” I asked.
“There’s the guy you need,” He replied, pointing toward the building.

A young man was standing in the sun, smoking a cigarette. Hurriedly, I gathered my packet and purse and made my way toward him. Just as I got there, he extinguished his fag. I inhaled the familiar aroma.

“I never smoked, but in my younger years, everyone I cared about in my life did. Occasionally I really enjoy the aroma of cigarette smoke.”

The DMV employee looked at me with confusion as he held the door open for me.

”Thank you,” I replied.

Yes… this is a classic humorous cliffhanger. Stay tuned for the conclusion next week or signup for my newsletter where you receive additional information reserved for readers of my newsletter.

Starting Over is Bittersweet

Starting over is bittersweet. Sometimes we don’t even realize we stopped. For a Perfectionist like me, the not knowing has a bigger punch.

Let’s Get Specific

Using the 10 Percent Happier app, it overjoyed me to see the check mark each day and then the tabulation of my daily streak. Three days missedImagine the kick in the gut when I realized I’d missed not one, but two days. Perhaps like you, my reaction was anger camouflaged as disappointment in myself.

A more calm and collected reaction would have been to immediately click on the daily meditation icon as I had so many times before. As a matter of fact, I had accumulated almost 250 straight days of meditation practice.

Rather, the self-disgust resulted in my clicking away to email, then social media surfing. At that moment, anything was better than starting over.

What Brought Me Back?

As an avid seeker of the nirvana of achieving my life purpose, I focused on other self-care pursuits. Specifically, I threw myself into Connie Chapman’s embodiment program, Reclaim Your Radiance.

Still I felt off-balance. Something was missing. In fact, something inside my head said, “What’s different?” My meditation practice. All the teachers on my app talk about how meditation changes all aspects of life. Still, experience is the best teacher.

More About the Sweet

If starting over is bittersweet, where was the sweetest moment? 4th restartFor me it was the celebration of digital confetti raining down my iPhone screen today as I celebrated my third straight day of meditation. Even the knowledge this was the 4th time I had restarted didn’t dampen the joy of celebration.

Yes, we all need to celebrate our achievements, no matter how small.

How Small Celebrations Spread

Looking for the exact number of my highest meditation streak, led me to one of my forgotten posts. There it sat in Drafts… Immediately, I checked all the bells and whistles… yes, I forgot to click Publish. Now there is another post today, including a powerful exercise in delving deeper.

Did You Know You are Worthy?

Did you know you are worthy? Absolutely. Rather, you knew when you were born. Some of us maintained that knowledge for awhile. In contrast, many of us had life experiences that dimmed our knowledge of self worth.

This past week, I made steps toward acceptance of my worthiness. How? Through the investment of beautiful wooden knitting needles and replacement of the inexpensive Walmart needles I was using. These Lykke Driftwood needles allow an ease of knitting that amplifies the calmness knitting brings me.

How Do You Restore Worthiness?

Truly, you have never been without it. Rather, it’s uncovering your inner knowing of your worthiness. This is not an easy, 1-2-3 you’re done, process. In the short list below, I’m linking to my earlier blogs with deeper exploration on some avenues to answer the question, “Did you know you are worthy?”

Let’s Delve a Little Deeper

I’m not going to kid you. This is a process that takes time and commitment. In fact, I suggest you pick only one of the links above to explore. How do you know which one is the best place to start?

  1. Sit comfortably in a place you feel safe
  2. Direct your gaze downward or close your eyes
  3. Breathe in deeply through your nose
  4. Relax your lips and allow the exhale to slowly leave your body
  5. Read the list above, slowly and pause on each one as you connect with the feeling in your body; tingling, warmth, coolness, any other change

Where you felt different in your body while reading one of the linked bullet items is the place to start.

Be Gentle With Yourself

When we have lost the feeling of worthiness we were born with, it can be a slow process to find it again. Remember that each day is a new start. Today you can start a short, 5-minute meditation. Tomorrow you can repeat the same meditation… and then… before you know it… 200 days straight.