Today the fund-raising group was the Irish Deaf Community.  Hmm....how do you even say 'thank you' or 'thanks, but no thanks' , that I don't need anyone to pack my groceries, because 'I'm grumpy, broke and feel awkward?'    Then i connected to the breath and just paused....I remembered how grateful I was to hear the clerk ask me for my Dunnes value card and how the fund-raiser grocery packer fellow  might not hear her say that or be able to hear at all. I looked at his face, which was peaceful and focused on what he was doing. After he packed up my popcorn and I dropped a two euro into the bucket,  I gave him the sign for hi, the only sign I know beside how to spell my name. Once he realized what I was doing ( I must be a bad signer) he lit up. We connected! We didn't have to speak to share the connection of communication because we were connecting from our hearts. I felt radiant and felt my crappy mood disappear.  I made an effort to connect with someone above how I was feeling, I moved beyond my ego and instead into a basic human level of communication, our eyes and our energy.  He signed thank you (i hope that's what it was!) and we both smiled big smiles.

This led me to ponder as I walked out of the store, as I was feeling so uplifted and thanking him for his energy, how often do we miss the boat? How often are we shown opportunities to connect with someone and instead we avert our eyes because we don't want to be bothered? How often in our yoga class do we not even say hi to our neighbor? While our practice is our own, there is a level of basic human connection that we forget to honor, a simple greeting. Can we make a difference in our own lives by taking a risk and smiling more? saying hi to our neighbors and saying thank you (and meaning it) with more regularity. We always have a choice in how to make a positive difference in each moment and each day.

Every moment of our lives is an opportunity to live fully and from our hearts. Please take the time to smile more from the heart and let the world see your radiant energy. As Ghandi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world!"

With Love,