Amy Collette

Audacity is my new favorite word. It implies a sassines – an outrageous willingness to try. It even hints of a daredevil attitude.

I recently attempted a physical feat I wasn’t sure I could handle. My friends and my husband have done it for years, but I had lots of excuses why I couldn’t. My fitness isn’t good enough, I don’t have the right bike, etc. what I really had was plenty of fear that I just wasn’t capable. There’s also some ego fear thrown in there – what would everybody think if I “wimped out?”

But I tried it- a 150-mile bike ride over two days. At the end of the first day, I had a crisis. The anxiety took over and convinced me that I couldn’t finish. I actually felt fine physically – I was just tired and couldn’t imagine doing it all over the next day.

A wise voice (my husband’s) finally said, “it’ll look different in the morning – get some sleep and decide then.” Fortunately, that advice got me through the night and the next day, I got on my bike again with fresh hope.

Finishing that ride taught me a lot. Mostly that if I had the audacity to try it, I just might make it. Here we are at the finish line:

Audacity is the instant answer to whatever you fear. I invite you to try something that stretches your idea of yourself. What if you try it? What if you fail? What if – gasp – you succeed? Either way, you’ll learn something.

Please share your story of audacity in the comments.

My heart is bursting with the unconditional love I get from my kid friends. With no kids of my own, I am blessed with friends who share the joy of their kids with me. Last night I got to watch Lily (9) and Lana (3) dance at their recital.  What I got from that performance surprised me, leading to my list of reasons to hang out with kids:

• It brings back happy memories of yourself as a kid
  As they danced, I was shocked to feel in my body just the way I used to move in the same way, with the same joy. Dance was my special place to be myself.  To be graceful and strong and creative. To feel that shy pride of shining onstage.

• Unrestrained love
  They make no secret of how much they love me. That simple fact is humbling. As adults, we learn restraint.  You learn that you “might embarrass her” if you’re enthusiastic about your feelings. You worry that his feelings aren’t the same for you, so you dial it down. But the kids have no such filter. They hugged and kissed me, and wanted me to stay. In an unprecedented move, they even followed me out the front door! I was overcome and cried with gratitude most of the way home.

• Simple acceptance
  How could I receive that much goodness at once? Being around these kids in their loving home shows me that the girls simply expect to be loved. It makes me wonder where I lost that expectation, that feeling that it was natural and I didn’t need to “deserve” it. It doesn’t matter when or how that was lost, but how I got it back.
• Unexpected gifts
  I usually plan out my time with the kids. I’ll have a craft or baking project or a movie to watch. And they usually have other ideas. They want to draw and color (and give the artwork to me), or make up a game where I’m a dragon or something. One night, I brought a small craft project, which they lost interest in after about 5 minutes. Then I pulled out a package of glow light sticks from the dollar store – and they went crazy! Screaming with delight, Lily ran around the house and turned out all the lights. We fastened the sticks together to form bracelets, neckaces and magic wands.  They danced around, made up songs and I joined right in. It was the most simple fun I had had in years.

I was just listening to an old song from the ’70′s and a line that hit me was “I sense … something divine in you.”
It’s just a pick-up line in the song, but it made me smile and think that if I could see the divine in everyone, life would be a lot more fun.

A life coach told me that to change a habit, you have to replace it with something. That makes sense to me – it’s hard to just tell yourself to stop doing something. It’s easier to shift that energy into something else.

And, like everything, it has to start with me. Like when I make a mistake, instead of spending 10 minutes calling myself an idiot, I can see the humor in it, laugh, and forgive myself for the goof-up. Then maybe I can do the same with the people I love…

(Written on paper last week as I was “unwired” at the beach…)

In a sea kayak for the first time, and the dolphins were all around us! Joan was whooping with joy, and even David, who is usually reserved, was grinning from ear to ear and talking to the dolphins. I didn’t really get it until a dolphin swam right next to boat – so close I could touch it! Then I was whooping, too – I have no idea what was coming out of my mouth, but I was so excited I got a little short of breath, I feltso overwhelmed. Never did I expect myself to react that way – I’m usually quiet and calm around animals, but the dolphins’ energy was unlike anything I have ever encountered. They emanate a high vibration of joy. What can you do but join in?

As we paddled around, my friends insisted they were playing with us, but I wasn’t convinced at first.  But after a while, I realized that they were weaving between our three kayaks, sometimes surfing on our bows when we were moving fast. They were having fun with us having fun.

This course helps you discover that deep connection with nature that you’ve always felt. We explore the animal traditions of different cultures and discuss what meaning they bring to our modern lives. Through relaxing breath and visualization exercises, you’ll uncover the intuitive within and meet the animal totem that has a message for you today.

I decided to take a bike ride yesterday – I just got on my bike before I thought about where I was going. It turned out to be a garden tour of my beautiful hometown. While I was riding around looking at the flowers, I noticed some animals peeking out. Not real animals, but statues. In just a few blocks I spotted owls, dogs, lions, even a flying pig.

Most of the houses also had pets – so why the “fake” animals, too? I think the ones we buy to decorate the lawn represent some part of ourselves. I have numerous inanimate critters in my yard – a turtle, a dog, a squirrel, a fish and a snail. Some have a special significance – as a totem animal (turtle), as a sign of abundance (fish), or just because they’re cute.

Now all I need to complete the collection is a flying pig!

My husband Tom brought home a movie last night – Yes Man. It’s a Jim Carrey movie, so it had to be fun, right? It was – but it was a lot more.

Although it never mentioned the law of attraction, that’s really what it was about. When the main character changed his attitude of being shut down and closed of to being open, to saying “YES!” to everything, the world shifted in his favor. Even though his change was reluctant, you could sense that he was no longer in “victim” mode. He was excited to see what would happen next.

At then end, he even talked about how we think we’re not enough – for ourselves or the ones we love. But when you say yes, you not only give whatever people ask, you also say “yes” to receiving. I was inspired to see the message in this movie – it’s light hearted and fun, and gives you the “good stuff.”

Definitely worth a night of sitting on the couch with your honey and a big bowl of popcorn.