Many years ago I received some of the best advice I’ve ever received. I remember, as clear as day, hearing my mom and dad saying “Gregg, just let it go.” Man were they wise.  When it came to exactly what I needed to let go, the actual subject matter didn’t matter since that advice covers a lot of territory! We could be letting go of a grudge we’ve held for a long time, some sad feelings we’ve allowed to stay with us for too long, standing up to fear instead of allowing fear to rule our lives  or any of a million other things that we’re holding onto that aren’t healthy for us.  I remember when I asked my dad one time how I was supposed to let go, he told me that sometimes it’s not so much letting go but just not holding on.  My dad once asked if I was holding onto the bumper of a moving car that was headed off a cliff, would I let go and maybe get a little scratched up but still alive or hold on and go over the cliff? (Yeah, there’s really only one answer here that makes any sense, isn’t there?) So how do we remind ourselves and others to let it go? I’ve always found that for me the most effective thing to do is to verbalize it. Say it out loud… Let It Go.  When you hear yourself saying it, it might seem to carry more weight. When you find yourself mad about something or at someone or yourself, tell yourself to let it go and then take a big breath. Repeat as many times as you need to. If you’re telling someone else, be specific about what should be let go and then ask them if they think that makes sense.  We hold on to way too much stuff that just gets heavier and heavier over time. The time has come to give yourself a break. Give yourself an opportunity. Both of those things will happen as soon as you can both say and do these three little words.  Let It Go Peace       ……Gregg

I was asked to sit in on a meeting the other day when, after an interminable period of time listening to some others drone on, this phrase came popping out of my mouth, “You are not furthering this conversation, so until we figure out how to do that, it’s pointless to keep going.” The silence in the room was deafening and then someone chuckled and said “ I’ll second that” and we moved on.  After that meeting it dawned on me that maybe we should all ask that question more often in our lives.    Are you furthering the conversation? Are they furthering the conversation? And most importantly, Am I Furthering The Conversation? I’m not just talking about our spoken conversations but all the different types of conversations we have in our lives.  •Are we furthering the conversation or are we sitting back wishing we were?   •Are we furthering the conversation or just chiming in to add something in the hopes of being noticed?  •Are we furthering the conversation or continually interrupting it to prove how smart we are or to prove how others aren’t as smart as they think they are.   So how exactly do we further the conversation? There are many ways, the most effective being through our actions. The least effective is almost always by only using your words. The worst is by just walking away from it altogether. Show others, allow them to feel instead of think. Allow them to listen with their heart and soul instead of their ears. Allow them to see through your eyes instead of being blinded by their own closed mindedness. Live your life today in a way that not only allows them, but makes them want to live their lives like that tomorrow! Constantly ask yourself if you’re furthering the conversation with your family, at your job, as you meditate or while you’re all alone but frustrated or upset. Start there and once you’re confident, find other categories and ways to incorporate this incredibly powerful concept into your life. Pretty soon it will leak into other areas of your life and the lives of others around you.  Congratulations on talking the next step to doing that! By simply considering the things we’ve talked about here, YOU’VE ALREADY FURTHERED THE CONVERSATION! You should be very proud of yourself and excited about the amazing possibilities you’ve just unlocked.  Peace      ……Gregg

We all want friends and admirers, right? I guess the question is, as we’re busily putting our puzzle pieces together for all to see, what are we willing to do to get these friends and more? Lie? Steal? Cheat? Misinform? As much as we hate to admit it, going through the various stages of life, the answer is more than likely yes. As young kids we might have tried to stretched the truth in order to get a friend or to fit in with a particular group. Maybe we did it to catch the eye of somebody we wanted to go out with. Later, maybe a truth or two (or three) was breached in order to get that job we wanted. Right now in the United States Congress an elected Congressman, George Santos seems to have lied and misinformed (at the very least) in order to get that post. The hope is that in time, most of us will grow out of this kind of behavior. That’s the hope but sadly, not the reality. Almost all of us hide bits and pieces of ourselves in the dark and sometimes deep caves within us. Look, there will always be things that we want kept private and that is completely acceptable. What I’m talking about is purposely and blatantly putting up a facade for others to see that isn’t the truth. We have different reasons for doing this. Most of those reasons we end up justifying or even outright making up an alternate reality. In the end, we end up showing a false self to our friends, family, coworkers and even ourselves. Why is that so bad? Well, let’s say we end up making a friend after showing them our false self, a good friend. It turns out that your new friend isn’t really your new friend at all. They have become friends with a made up caricature that you’ve conjured up. In other words, they’re not really your friend, your lover, etc… they’re involved with someone else. They’re involved with a substitute you that you fooled them with. What’s the antidote for all of this? It’s pretty simple. Tell me who you are. Tell me who you really are. Don’t worry, you can still hold some things close, but tell me who the essence of you is. There’s an old saying that talks about how wonderful it would be if we could just see a person’s soul instead of a face when we looked at them. I guess that’s what I’m asking both myself and you to do. As you’re putting your puzzle pieces together, show me your soul and let the two of us decide how we should go forth instead of hiding who you really are. Tell me, show me who you are. Peace       …..Gregg P.S. We need to pay more attention. We need to be more aware of ourselves and of those around us. Do we care who we surround ourselves with? Do we care […]