Jan14
Posted on Jan 14 by Ruth Davis
I used to think that, in order to work with clients, I had to live in a big city and work one-on-one. I used to think I couldn’t be an author because I loathed the idea that I would have to fly city to city for book tours. I used to think I couldn’t drive across the country without a traveling partner. For more than a year after I lost my dog Laddy, I didn’t think I’d ever get another one. These limiting beliefs kept me stuck. They prevented me from doing what I love. As I recognized and challenged and, ultimately let go of these beliefs, I opened up to other ways, and new possibilities appeared. And now, I have published my first book and my new-to-me 7 year old dog Cody and I are going on a solo Road Tour in my motorhome, at my own pace, in great comfort. Never in my wildest dreams…. Sure I have moments when I wonder how I’m going to pull this off, and how will I be able...
Jan07
Posted on Jan 7 by Ruth Davis
Every year I choose a single word as a compass, a guide, a solid reminder of what I want to manifest for myself. The word serves as a touchstone for me as I make choices through the year. I post the word in my bathroom and acknowledge it daily, asking myself “how can I be that today?” The first year I chose the word BE. Because I was always planning, dreaming and imagining the future, I was rarely present where I was. BE-ing was very uncomfortable. It made me slow down and experience where I was, not where I wanted to be NEXT. It made me sit still and feel my emotions. I began a yoga practice and discovered that the simple act of breathing can calm me and bring me back to the here and now. The next year my word was VULNERABILITY. I wanted to let go of control and open to things that I didn’t have the answers to. I was ready to feel what was uncomfortable and go even deeper. I had so many opportunities...
Dec31
Posted on Dec 31 by Ruth Davis
It’s the last Saturday of the year and it is such a blessing to be here. It’s cold and crisp, and then the sun rises over the hills and everything warms up. The hills all around me are bursting with so much green from the big rains we’ve had and the beach sand has shifted from the very high tides. Cody and I walk on the beach at least once every day, sometimes twice if we can time it with the tides. At high tide there is very little walkable sand. These pictures were taken yesterday at low tide on our beach. It is officially Estero Bay, at the north the end of the six miles of sandy coastline that connects Morro Bay to Cayucos. Most of the time Cody and I are the only ones here. I’ve seen warblers hopping on the sea kelp and a kingfisher regularly perches on the rocks above the surf. There are lots of shorebirds and gulls and vultures and a variety of hawks that sit on the telephone poles along the street just above...
Dec10
Posted on Dec 10 by Ruth Davis
So many people I talk with say they are living in a world of overwhelm. They have so much going on, so many things on their to do lists that they don’t know where to begin. Their lives are happening all around them and they have resigned themselves to the idea that this is just how life is going to be. But really, we get to choose. Imagine a hurricane. There is wind, and noise, and chaos. Anything and everything is flying and blowing all around and, no matter how hard you try, there is nothing you can do. And yet, in the center of that crazy storm it is calm, quiet, still. This is the eye of the hurricane. Life is often like a hurricane. So many things are happening all around us, we can’t hold on, we can’t keep up. We can barely run for cover. But if we breathe into the eye, the I, of our lives, we can find calm. We can find peace. We can experience stillness. When we come back to our own...
Dec03
Posted on Dec 3 by Ruth Davis
As we enter the last month of the year, there is a tendency to rush forward, to make plans for next year, to set new goals, vision new dreams. But there are still 28 days left of this year to savor, unwind, and reflect on this past year. These last weeks can be a time to celebrate where you are, what you’ve done, who you are becoming. It can be a time to grieve what you have lost, what you were ready to let go of and leave behind. It can be a time to feel and notice and say thank you for all that has happened, and all that is. As I look back, I am so grateful to be back at the beach, after a year of not knowing. How two months in Arizona became eight, including the dreaded summer. And how I used that time being flat on my back to lean into the pain of sciatica and learn so much from it, to grieve some very old losses, and to finally write and publish my...
Nov27
Posted on Nov 27 by Ruth Davis
reprinted from my book, Heart Sparks: 7 Practices For Loving Your Life People will tell you that, if you’re feeling sad, depressed, hopeless, the best thing to do is make a gratitude list. To find simple things that you are grateful for, to shift your attention to what you do have, to what is working in your life. But often, when we are in this dark place, it’s hard to conjure a list. And when we do, the things we come up with seem too simple and silly. Like a roof over our heads, a perfect cup of coffee, that our phone didn’t fall in the toilet. We make these lists, but we don’t often feel great waves of gratitude. And that’s OK. Because just thinking about some positive things in your life will create a shift. Because suddenly you are aware that not everything in your world is horrible. Eventually you’ll be able to really feel the simple joys of saying thank you. You’ll realize that having a roof over your head keeps you dry and cool...
