Lead With Love
It’s difficult to know how to help, how to lead, support, give back, and do what fuels me in the face of all the discomfort, pain, and loss we have experienced recently and over the past few years. Whenever I’m nervous about teaching a class, worry about how I can support social injustice, or wonder how I can help someone in pain, I go back to what has brought me to this place of healing.
Love.
When I lead with love, I always know what to say. It comes from my heart center. If I’m still for long enough, I can feel it shimmering and glowing like an eternal flame. I can be in the discomfort of uncertainty because I’m loved. I’m loved by my family, my friends, my community.
Most importantly, I love myself.
When I Lead with Love, whether teaching, writing or in conversation, I come from a place where ego doesn’t get the front seat. It’s not even on the ride. I let love flow through me and speak from a place of kindness, empathy, and acceptance, creating a safe and sacred space where others can do the same and not be ridiculed or judged.
I recently watched the Disney movie, Moana, which I think may be my favorite. Moana follows her heart. (Spoiler Alert!) She feels this need to save her island and her people because of the love she feels for them. The demigod Maui tries to kill the lava monster Te Ka but fails. When he travels with Moana, he breaks his fish hook because once again, he’s trying to overpower Te Ka (earth, nature) by force and violence.
Throughout the movie, we see Moana’s acts of kindness and empathy–helping the baby turtle get safely into the ocean, protecting her pig and chicken. When she tells the ocean to let Te Ka come, she doesn’t smite the fiery monster with her oar, she leans in close and looks her directly in the eyes. She sees the monster’s pain and shows love. Te Ka transforms back to Te Fiti, and nature is restored.
How refreshing to not have a Disney movie end with violence but instead creates new life and beginnings by leading with love.
Every day we have the opportunity to speak from our hearts, to show acts of kindness, to take steps to help someone who may be misunderstood or in pain.
Guided Meditation
Come to a comfortable seated position or lie on your back. Place your hands on your heart. Take a deep breath in, expanding your chest and belly. Feel the rise of your heart center, the holder of your emotions. Feel a warmth in your chest.
As you release your breath, become aware of any discomfort, uneasiness, or fear. When you breathe in again, imagine you’re inhaling warm, green light. It’s the positive energy of the world around you, filling you with love.
As you breathe out, the green light surrounds you and holds you as you sit with those feelings.
You are cocooned in love.
Your heart center expands outward and illuminates how you want to show up for yourself, the world and how you want to lead. This is a space that you can always come back to in order to connect with your love of self. Stay with your breath as long as you need.
When you are ready, with your next intake of breath, lift your arms over your heart, exhale, and give yourself a hug.
Journal Prompts
Journal about the fears, uncertainties, doubts, or discomfort that came up for you.
Where do you feel that emotion in your body? Describe it.
What are the sources of those feelings?
If writing about it brings back the feeling, sit with the discomfort. Breathe in love, joy, the freshness of life. Breathe out any fear, toxins, hate, negative emotions.
Does acknowledging those feelings help you feel complete or do you need to take action to work through them? This can be talking to a person connected to those feelings, doing something for yourself, asking for help.
What emotion do you want to lead your day with? This is like setting an intention of how you want to show up.
What kindness can you share today for yourself and for others?
No matter what, we can follow our hearts, create change through kindness, and Lead with Love.