Last week I wrote about the transition from conception to becoming a living being. Although a couple of weeks have passed; I am still left with the impression I got after I had accidentally caught the retirement speech of Brett Favre while I was doing cardio at the gym. Even without, and maybe especially because, I did not have any sound on the tele, just the teleprompter, I saw the experience of putting to rest a seventeen year career to rest weigh heavily on a man’s emotional content. As it unfolded before my very eyes; it was like a wave of emotion that really only he felt completely. What it must feel like to retire from your first love after very successfully participating in the sport, the profession, and the passion of football.

Playing at the level and position he played at took extreme concentration, dedication and responsibility. He was a team captain, a MVP for many years. He set many records for all-time most passing yards, most touchdown in all-time, most completions in all-time, most interceptions and 2nd in the all-time record for most consistent starters. *

How doesn’t one cry when they lay their accomplished career to rest after you make such an impact on the game? As sports figures are idols and icons on which many people put their trust, faith, respect towards as inspiration for their own life. As I grew up, I couldn’t help notice the people who begin from an early age to begin to dedicate and commit most of their life to the craft of something (in particular football). The game is physically very demanding and engaging, emotionally it requires a large part of your spirit if you play it with skill and culturally it becomes a lifestyle and identity.

Interestingly, I went back to YouTube to watch this speech with volume. I heard his voice crack, change in tone, saw the tears stream down his face. I thought it was beautiful and moving! A man’s man unable to hold back his true feelings to be revealed to all the world. How intimate a moment in time we were able to be a part of that day. Is that the gratitude of a blessed life that followed his commitment and talent to give all he could to the socio culture of football? When does the well dry up or diminish to a point he felt he could,” no longer give what it takes”? Is giving that much to someone or something become detrimental to your state of mind or being? **

For whatever reasons Brett Favre felt his commitment, impact, energy to the sport and culture could no longer adequately represent the level in which he felt he previously presented to himself or us.

I looked up adequately and it said, ” sufficient to satisfy a requirement or meet a need.” I bet Brett, who accomplished most of his records this last season, felt he couldn’t progress further in margin than that which he did last year and that it might be time to let one thing recede while another gain in force, much like a wave.***

So, what do you do when you must let something that is such a big force in your life go because it no longer makes sense in the grander picture? The pain, the vulnerability and openness you must experience. The void or emptiness and loneliness must be super scary!

Doesn’t seem to me there would be any easy way to escape that transition. How not to make it a negative impact; but an opportunity for growth, connection and joy? Probably keeping it moving, fully engaging in other activities and surrounding yourself with the people and things that bring you comfort.

Changes and transitions are a fundamental part of living this life; I can better navigate myself through my transitory experiences with the help of my Eastern training. Setting my mind, body and spirit to the intention I wish to follow to make it through the inevitable changes that come upon me. The deep breath that settles your mind, feeds your body and assures your soul you are ready to roll..

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80706c20&template=without-video&confirm=true

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQLEk6QsVs&feature=relate

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=adequately

On so many levels they got it “right”. Their characterization of each person was dead on. The writer really knew her characters. The sets made you feel you were either at your house or a neighbor or friend’s home. The music ,like the way they narrated the story, created another layer of combining what is modern with vintage. The way the story was told flowed so smoothly the movie never dragged and in fact quickly flew by. I found myself wanting to stay in Juno’s world!

The story revolves around a young girl who got pregnant the first time she ever became intimate with a guy. Bad luck? Well, she turned whatever her fate was into a blessing. A way of saying life’s tone is all in your perspective. She wanted to have an abortion; but on the way to the clinic ran into a classmate that was picketing in front for pro-life. Immediately, Juno decided to have the baby and then give it to a less fortunate couple.

I was struck by her unnerving strength and single-mindedness in what must be a very hard life decision. I kept thinking she is thirteen and she knows without question what she wants to do and never rethinks or questions her decision.

I thought back to a lot of times in my life where I did not trust my instinct or did not feel secure in my own mind what the correct path to take was at that time. In watching the film I recognized how I got this feeling of calm that is the result of being resolved in your own judgment.

How to trust your inner voice, your instinct is something you are either aware of or not. You either practice or not in life. I have found that as I analyze my life and some of the decisions that shaped my life’s path there were times when my spirit or soul was “talking” to me and I was not listening. My inner voice had a message and I ignored it or went directly against it brushing aside “that feeling”. Being unsettled internally and/or externally is usually the cause.

So, how does a girl who is thirteen know exactly what is best for her and thinks beyond just herself in making her decision. She appeared to have a strong foundation, a good spirit, and a rationale mind. These are all great qualities to have in a person and help you stay balanced in life.

Personally, I find that if you have veered off the path of conscious living or being “right” minde self   all you have to do is decide where you are going and keep walking down that path. Following the “right” way, with no questions or detours, will move you in the “right” direction as expeditiously as possible. This takes self-discipline and practice. It is something only you can implement and monitor for yourself. But, you will know the difference once you experience that feeling of being in harmony with the world within you and around you. It’s not a matter of haste but being at peace in your own mind, body and spirit.

I recently returned from the Being Yoga Conference organized by the Omega Institute. I experienced such great things I knew that the experience would remain important to me; but, is it embedded in my being so as to be eternally different from that moment on in time?

I attended the Closing Ceremony at the conference. Cyndi Lee from Om Yoga spoke of, “not hoarding our experiences”; but “internalizing them & letting them go. ”Interestingly, that topic of experiences effecting people was made in two of the workshops I had attended at Being Yoga.  

Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa from Golden Bridge had spoken of un-programming all of the perceptions, consciousnesses of other people in your own self. Linda Devi spoke about mother & unborn child beginning the process in gestation of “being effected positive or negative.”

What both masters did agree upon is the emotional quality that human cells carry & store within your body as a real occurrence. So, I was “checking in” on the residual effects of my time at Being Yoga. Am I truly different or was it just hype? Do I exist in my own self as a slightly altered being? The answer was yes; I deducted when a person’s intention is to change the mind, body & spirit – the soul will follow the intention.

It doesn’t hurt to spend an intensive few days learning from accomplished people & concentrating on the shifts you want to integrate into your being! My intention was to become more mindful of what I am creating & to have & offer more love in my heart. I believe I am being successful in my intention.But, that lasting effect, no matter how small, carried forward into the infinite future & built upon as time goes by begins to create a significant change in more than just one being. The affect will effect many people on the road of life.

This is why the consciousness you bring forth into each & every situation, each & every day is not insignificant.  We have a responsibility to ourselves & them to others to feel the difference our words, attitude & behaviors affect the world we live in daily.