Just Say YES!

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” ~ Joseph Campbell Of all the places you could be right now and of all the things you could be doing in this very moment, you are here, with me, reading this little message I wrote you.

Lucky us, that we get to spend this time together ;)

You may have clicked here by mistake. If that’s the case and you’re still reading, thank you. Maybe it was what I like to call a “happy accident.” Or maybe someone sent this to you because they thought you might get something from it. Or maybe we’re well acquainted and you read my blogs often. In that case, BIG hugs and love to you!

Or maybe it’s just a coincidence…although I highly doubt it.

Now that we’re here, you’re probably wondering what exactly we are talking about.

Well, I come as the bearer of a simple but powerful message:

Just… say… YES!

Seriously, give that button a try, out loud and just see how it feels.

Yes… Yes…Yes.

Maybe there’s an opportunity that’s recently come your way, or an invitation, or perhaps even a proposal that deep down you want to say YES to, but there’s a lot of fear coming up. Or maybe there’s something you’ve been wanting to do for a very long time, a project or business you want to launch, a class you want to take, someone you want to ask out on a date or something new you want to try out. But again, there’s all those rational reasons why you shouldn’t, why you can’t, why it’s just not the right time.

Well, guess what? I’m here to call BULL SH*T. Lovingly, of course.

Now before we go on, I want to be clear that there’s a huge difference between something your soul is calling for that you are fearing or hesitating to act on and something your intuition is saying “NO” to. Your intuition knows what’s up so if that’s where the “No” is coming from, just chill where you’re at and definitely DO NOT accept the proposal…lol.

But aside from that, say YES. The life experiences you want but are not having live in the YES. The fulfilling career, the feeling of being fully self-expressed creatively, the love and connection, even the deep peace, all that treasure lives in the realm of experience that we so often and instinctively resist.

Earlier this week, a sweet friend of mine invited me to go for a sunrise paddle boarding experience at 6am on Thursday. My immediate internal response was “HELL NO!” For one, 6am is a just little early for me, especially on a day where I have an action-packed schedule that I want to be fresh for. And even deeper than that, the last time I tried a new water activity involving a board, I came dangerously close to drowning. It doesn’t matter that it was in the ocean and this was the lake, my mind still went there instantly. After a long pause of me listening to WHYNOT.FM in my head, my friend said “So, are you in?”

And despite all the resistance, I answered from a place of deeper knowing and spontaneously said: “Every part of me wants to say NO, so…I guess that means I’m in!” Perhaps seeing and reflecting on that Joe Campbell quote so many times finally made its way to the front lines of my decision making.

So this morning, I woke up at 5am, did my fifteen-minute Oprah & Deepak Chopra meditation, put my board shorts on and headed down to the lake. As soon as my feet touched the sand and I took a deep breath in front of the still, quiet lake, I knew I had made the right choice. The whole experience was beautiful, invigorating and calming. I went with four friends and we all had an amazing morning and a one-of-a-kind start to what has already been a full and magical day.

Or… I could have listened to the knee-jerk voice of resistance, slept in a little later and had a more ordinary Thursday.

The juiciness of life, the magical moments, the everlasting memories, the transformational insights, the big breakthroughs, the groundbreaking ideas, the soul-deep connections, all that goodness, lives in the experiences behind the door that says Y-E-S on it. The other door is wide open and we know what’s behind it so sometimes it seems more appealing, more comfortable and safer.

But don’t be fooled.

Say YES.

Say YES to your innermost wishes and yearnings.

Say YES to your heart.

Say YES to love.

Say YES to passion.

Say YES to your soul.

Say YES to adventure.

Say YES to your dreams.

Say YES to new friends.

Say YES to expansive opportunities.

Say YES to creative expression.

Say YES to the little things that make you smile.

Say YES to the big things that will make a lasting difference.

Say YES to a good challenge.

Say YES to your biggest fears.

The treasure of life lives in the experiences you fear most. The treasure of life lives in the YES.

Just say YES!

Much love,

CA

Published by The Daily Love (Aug. 25th, 2013)