Dear Friends: Do you trust yourself when …?

I keep thinking that I’m learning to trust myself. And I really am. It’s a process. I get the lesson on a deeper level, or in a different scenario. And the more I get it, the more I liberate myself. And more free is more real, more true … and more happy.

Sometimes I pay dearly for the lesson, but it is always worth it. The lesson is commensurate with the price. When it seems like I paid too much, it’s because I haven’t learned the lesson yet.

I commissioned an artist to make a piece of stained glass for me. I wanted to trust him. I wanted to give him artistic freedom. I wanted to give him the deposit he asked for; and I wanted to give him the balance due on completion. But, I was surprised by his starting the piece–and finishing it–without keeping me in the loop. I was taken aback by his dramatic deviation from the array of colors I asked for to tie all of my art glass together. And I was disappointed by his staunchly defending his actions, rather than wanting to work toward a satisfactory solution.

Yesterday, I shipped the piece back. But before I did, I realized that during the process, I yielded too much to accommodate somebody else. Without realizing it, I strayed from my intuition. In the face of wanting to do the right thing and give somebody else the benefit of the doubt, I fell short of honoring my own truth. While I know that sounds simple and familiar, I had to get the lesson in a new context, with new players. I got it. It was worth it.

When something doesn’t feel good to us, let’s ship it back, regardless of what we paid for it. Let’s trust our own truth enough to align with it. Let’s choose happy and free.

Love smiles on you,