Category Archives: inspiration

That miraculous moment

Posted on by under inspiration, lessons, life, realization

How do you treat You?

Where have you learned about self-love?

Do you still practice self-love to this day?

This past weekend, I volunteered in the spelling bee competition.  It was the practice round for the volunteers and the participants.

In the section I volunteered, the participants were grade 1 and grade 2 children, courageous children.

One by one, they went on stage when they were called and, spelled the word that was given to them.  Some of them tried to but were unsuccessful.

As I watched one little boy, in particular, who did not succeed in spelling the given word, my heart broke.  It was hard to see that little boy running to his mom and crying.  It was hard for me to experience this moment.  And as I was trying to keep the tears from running down my cheeks, one of the mothers said to me: “It is heart-wrenching!”  I nodded and ran out.

Yes, it is heart-wrenching!

My friend who was also volunteering, when she saw me, asked me what happened.

What happened is that I always break down when I see little children putting themselves out there whether it’s singing, dancing, acting, and apparently spelling…whatever the activity, they touch me so deeply.

As I watched that little boy running in his mom’s arms, I wondered what she would tell him. I wondered how she will uplift this little soul.  Would she say: “Great job, little one, I am very proud of you. You are a very courageous boy for participating in that competition. You are great!”?

Would she build him up?  Would she nurture his soul?  Would she impart blessings in his life in that very moment?

I also wondered if she would allow him to understand the bigness of that first step or, would she be only caught in the spirit of the competition and allow comparison to take over?

Would this little boy be given permission to be  who he is and to know that whatever the outcome, he has already succeeded just because he tried.

That moment, if understood properly, would be a teaching moment for everyone involved: for the mom, for the boy, for everyone who was blessed enough to experience it. That moment came bearing gifts. That moment was a lesson in love, a lesson in teaching, a lesson in demonstrating. This was a big moment because this moment will determine how with the example of his mother, this little boy will understand how to treat himself in the future.

That moment was a momentous moment because the ordinary made place to the extra-ordinary. If we are open to see it, the miraculous replaces the mundane…if only, we. are. open. to. see. it.

That moment was beautiful and pure to me. That’s why it touched me and that’s what happened when we see with our spiritual eye because in that moment, a veil was lifted and the mundane is no more.

I was thankful to have been part of that moment.

As usual, in every competition, there was a winner. My hope is that all participants learned something from that practice round whether, it is to be proud of their accomplishments or, to win with humility or, to lose with grace or, that it takes courage to do what most people will not do or, to be better prepared.

Whatever the lesson, I hope in that moment, they learned to be who they are meant to be.

The art of being focus – Daily Practice and exercise

Posted on by under inspiration, transformation

I have a plant.

I should say I have a plant I inherited from work.  I have a plant that I care for in my day job.  This plant is now full of leaves, beautiful, green vibrant leaves.

Last year, when I inherited that plant, it was not so full.  It was on my desk when I first started to work there.  I did not care so much for it.  I seriously thought that someone was taking care of it.  After all, I was paid for the work I do, not to care for a plant.  It was not part of my job.  That’s what I thought…seriously.

So when I came back to work after a weekend, and I saw the leaves spread on my desk, I thought the plant had died.  I said “they ” did not water the plant. I was told that it was my responsibility to care for it.

I was not thrilled.  I am not a “plant person”, they usually die in my presence.  I was not happy. I had two choices: I could be miserable or, I could learn a lesson in the opportunity I was given. So, I thought that I needed to learn to care for that plant.

How did I do that?

1.  I became intentional – I made a decision that I was going to care for the plant that I was entrusted with.  I looked around me and noticed the best looking plant in the office.  I decided that my plant was going to look like that one.  I paid attention to the owner of the beautiful plant, and noticed and studied how he cared for his plant.  I copied what he did for his plant, and I did the same for mine.

2.  I took action – I started to talk to my plant.  I gave it some tea from time to time.  I water it two times a week.  I touch the soil in order to make sure that it is well hydrated.  I clipped the branches that turned yellow.  Occasionally, I clean the leaves.

3. I became committed – I paid attention to the leaves: the color, the fullness or the lack of.  I paid attention to the texture of the leaves, to the soil and the pot.  I was committed to have a plant that was full of life.

What does this story have to do with you, my loved ones?  Well, everything.  The steps taken to care for my plant are the same needed to care for yourself.

1.  Make a decision that you are going to take care of yourself.  Everything starts with a decision.

2.  Commit to work on yourself.  If you need to lose weight, you need to commit to doing the work.  If you need to change, you need to commit to transform yourself.  If you want to have more money, you need to commit to making better choices in regards to your financial situation.  It’s that simple.  It is not easy but it is simple.

3.  Be intentional about caring for yourself, about nurturing yourself.

4.  Become conscious of your choices.

5.  Allow yourself to BE.  Give yourself some love, give yourself permission to make mistakes, forgive yourself and others often.  No judgment allowed.

6.  Develop a daily practice.  For example, the morning could be for stretching, moving, exercising.   At lunch time, You could pray, meditate, write in a gratitude journal after you finish eating.  In the evening, prepare to let go, make peace with yourself, forgive yourself and be thankful.

I invite you to pay attention to what is happening inside of you.  Hear what’s going on.  Feel what’s going on.  Feel your feelings but don’t act on them.

Call to action:  Start this exercise & practice daily for 21 days.  Notice how you are being changed.

Parting quote:  “Be thankful for everything.

Lessons and Confessions

Posted on by under inspiration, lessons, life, realization, transformation

Hello loved ones,

I feel the need to let you into my world.

Believe it or not, people approach me all the time: in the shopping malls, in the stores, at church, in the train station, in restaurants, etc.  They tell me their story… and I am thankful for that.  They come with a story, they usually leave with a question.  I usually tell them they don’t need to answer the question. I advise them to let the question unfolds, and the answers will reveal themselves in time.

I question what they see in me, that they feel compelled to talk, to reveal their most intimate stories? I am truly humbled by that.

I see myself as a fun loving kind of woman, intelligent, deeply spiritual, sensitive more than I like to admit.  I like to learn.  I have an inquiring mind.  I practice the art of being present.  What does that mean, you may ask?  Well, it means I practice observing what is going on inside of me, outside of me, and around me so that I can quickly adjust what is happening in the present.  I call it an art because it takes practice, and I am not there yet.

MY GREATEST FEAR

My greatest fear is that when I stand before my maker, I will regret not having lived the life that He has purposed for me because I was too scared.

I sincerely believe that God has planted a seed in my heart.  That seed sprouted when I was about 7 or 8 years old.  I believe that every time I felt that seed grow inside of me, I managed to push it back down because of fear: “Fear of not being good enough, fear of what will people think, fear of what if I fail, fear of what if I succeed”, insecurities, doubts, “Who do you think you are?”  ENOUGH!!! It’s enough to drive someone mad.

LAST YEAR

Last year, I almost bled to death.  I was loosing my energy little by little.  It felt like parts of me were shutting down one after the other. My hemoglobin count was going down (53), and down (36).  It was a year of total transformation.  As I was losing blood, I was gaining insight of who I am in Christ.  I journaled a lot. I learned all the “I AMs” that are part of my incarnation.  I am now free!!!

WHY AM I BLOGGING?

I don’t know about you, but when I was younger, my friends had the tendency to write “I was here” everywhere: on trees, on bathroom stalls, on doors, in the sand, any place they could find.  Well, blogging provides me with my “I was here” moment.

I also blog:

  • To inspire you
  • To uplift you
  • To enlighten
  • To empower you to take action
  • To propel you forward

I am feeling better now.  I had to learn to take care of myself, to love and accept myself UNCONDITIONALLY, to set up boundaries so I can protect myself.  I learned to live fully present in the present moment.

I am thankful for everything that God has allowed me to go through.  I am grateful for the lessons.

On my blog, I will provide tools to enlighten and empower you, my loved ones, to move forward.  I will teach you what I have learned: to love and accept yourself unconditionally.  I will bring back the focus on you because if you don’t learn to take care of yourself first, you will not be able to take care of anyone else.  It starts with YOU.

 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” Matthew 22:39

I AM NOW FULLY AWAKE

Last year was a wake-up call.  That was not the only one that I experienced in my life.  What made this one different? I guess it is the realization that I live on borrowed times; that in a single moment, everything can change.  I can no longer afford to keep pressing on the snooze button.  CAN YOU?

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Glorious Life Unfolding! Say it again: Glorious Life Unfolding! Say it with a smile this time: Glorious Life Unfolding!!! Yes, it is indeed – a glorious life unfolding.

This name was carefully chosen after my reflections on everything that happened last year: 2013.  As I felt depleted on a physical and emotional level: energy loss, hemoglobin at 53 then, 36, I also realized that I was being filled on a psychological and spiritual level: I was going through a spiritual awakening.  I understood that my life was unfolding and is unfolding gloriously…SO IS YOURS.

Enough about myself.  I would like to hear about you.

I welcome you to join me in these wonderful, thought-provoking conversations.

I invite you to sign up to receive updates.  Please let me know how I can better serve you.

Call to action:  Sit 10 minutes in silence – every day.

Parting quote:  “Everything starts in the mind.  Pay attention to your mind.”

My little story

Posted on by under inspiration, realization, transformation

Glorious Life Unfolding is the name of my life coaching business. It came from years of searching to know who I am to a path of spiritual awakening.  It  also stems from the song Glorious Unfolding from Curtis Chapman.

What brought me on this path?

My marriage ended, I separated from my then-husband, moved out, worked on myself, lost the weight that I was carrying for a long time, felt lighter, was attracted to many people who sucked the life out of me, got depressed, was compromised.  All this time saying: “why is this happening to me again?

Please understand that this was not the beginning of my search.  It usually starts with a whisper.  Perhaps you have heard or even felt in your heart that the path you were on was not serving you, nor your circle of influence (family, friends, significant other) but you dismissed it and continued on.  Pretty soon, the whisper turned into a word, then a sentence, then a cry, then a scream…  SLOW DOWN, BE STILL, GET CENTERED!!!

What happened?

I worked on myself while getting a life coach certification.  What a GLORIOUS discovery that was!!! I learned who I was.  I learned about the beliefs that were holding me back, I learned about the underlying beliefs, the unconscious beliefs, the ones that were continually driving me to do the same things over, and over, and over again without having a clue that I was doing that.

I was continually putting the blame on other people without taking any ownership in how I was creating the same patterns therefore, having the same experiences, the same endings, the same of everything… I needed to PAUSE and BREATHE.

Voila, I have said it:  I needed to pause, and pausing for me meant getting to know who I am.  What I learned has brought me to a glorious spiritual awakening.  First and foremost, I KNOW that God is always with me, which means that I can call on His name at any moment of the day and night.  I also know that whatever I did, I am already forgiven.  Furthermore, I know that I am in constant transformation because He is modeling me into the woman that He has created.

Why am I blogging? I can no longer stay silent.  Who am I blogging for? For me. For you who have asked the same questions, who have gone through similar challenges even though, the forms may be different.

I have a message: LIFE IS GLORIOUS!!! And your life is unfolding gloriously.

If my story resonated with you, drop me a line.

Guerdah – with love and gratitude.