I can only imagine

This morning I took a different route into work. C.C. was flying out to Vancouver to attend his nephew's memorial service and I opted to drive him to the airport. It was going to be a tough day and I wanted to share my hope, strength and encouragement with him as long as possible. And, I wanted to be there tonight when he steps off the plane and needs a warm, loving smile to greet him.

As we drove north towards the airport, traffic streamed, in rush hour fashion with bumper to bumper intensity down the highway in the opposite direction. We sailed through to the north.

It was a different story coming south again.

My drive is generally a ten minute journey along not too clogged up avenues. What a difference traffic makes. I could feel my calmness evaporating. My 'centredness' escaping.

I took a breath.

So often we forget the value of breathing. Forget the importance of focusing on the one thing we can do that brings us peace of mind. Breathing.

Slow. In. Out. Measured breathing.

On the weekend while coaching at Choices, I worked with a first time coach. She was very nervous as we entered into the process of working with trainees to develop their 'purpose' statement.

"Breathe," I suggested. "Breathe in and with each breath in, imagine the air being transformed into energy infusing your body with spirit. As you breathe out, imagine each exhalation carrying your love and passion for life out into the world. Where ever you go, you are creating a force field around you filled with love and passion. Breathe."

Later, one of the women in our small group couldn't stop crying. Not because of the process we were engaged in, but rather because of some memories that had flooded in on the words of the pastor giving the sermon at the spiritual service earlier that morning.

"I can't stop crying," she wailed.

"What if you didn't think about stopping your tears, but rather, thought of your tears as the pain running out of your body. As the pain flows out, it flows into the river of love that supports you, lifts you and carries you through your day. What if the pain just flows into the river and is washed away by the limitless love of the river that is your life?"

It's all in our perspectives. It's all in what we imagine. In what we allow ourselves to imagine.

So often I think -- I can't stop myself.

Truth is, if I can think I can't, I can think, I can.

So often I tell myself, it's not my fault.

What if I could imagine I am 100% accountable for my experience. What if I allowed myself to imagine I was powerful beyond belief, rather than powerless in my belief to change my life?

What if whatever I can imagine is a possibility?

The question is: Where do you imagine yourself locked in, locked up, locked out of experiencing all that life has to offer? Where do you limit your life by imagining you can't do whatever you can that will make a difference in your life today?