{"id":3457,"date":"2012-07-09T09:10:47","date_gmt":"2012-07-09T13:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/?p=3457"},"modified":"2012-07-09T09:10:47","modified_gmt":"2012-07-09T13:10:47","slug":"the-first-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/07\/the-first-step.html","title":{"rendered":"The First Step"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. “-Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the weekend, I spent time in the presence of people who collectively have been in my life for eons; some are a group of women with whom I have shared Goddess Gatherings, others part of an\u00a0interfaith spiritual community, called Circle of Miracles, and still others at a house concert I hosted for my friend Heidi Cooper and her daughter, Deanna. One thing we have in common is that we are all ardent cheerleaders who encourage each other to live the lives of our dreams and desires. Is there a much higher calling than that?<\/p>\n

I hear people talking about having naysayers who tell them that they can’t accomplish what they set out to do, that their dreams are just too big and impossible to achieve. It boggles my mind, since my parents told me that I could do anything I set my mind and heart to, as long as I was willing to put the work into it. I have been watching commercials for the upcoming London Olympics while at the gym (other athletes inspire me to put all I’ve got into my workout:), the trials for swimming events. Vicariously standing with them on the starting blocks, heart racing in anticipation, I could smell the chlorine and feel the heat wafting up from the surface of the still water that momentarily would be churning from the combined efforts of the swimmers about to plunge in and make their mark. I was right there with them, most especially during the freestyle and butterfly events, because once upon a time (ages 11-18), I was in the pool for hours a day, with Olympic aspirations. Boxes of ribbons filled my closet and some adorned my walls in the bedroom of my childhood home. My dreams were big enough, alright, my parents’ and coaches’ support solid, but my discipline and commitment weren’t sufficient to have me move aside other interests and so, watching the Games is as close as I got. I wasn’t willing at the time to move forward into that life. Not that the life I had was one I wanted to leave anyway, but you get the picture.<\/p>\n

Fast forward several decades and I have just taken a pool depth plunge\u00a0into a new life, a few weeks ago, \u00a0leaving a full time job I went to for 11 years. Yesterday I drove past the grounds of the psychiatric hospital in which I served folks with mental health diagnoses, as well as their families and blew kisses in greeting and gratitude for what I learned there and the co-workers who are still so much in my heart, \u00a0in order to live the life of my dreams and desires as a writer and motivational speaker. A bit of\u00a0uh-oh-what-next-scary feelings arise from time to time, but I am seeing the fruits of that decision blossom, as every day since then, I have been invited to speak, teach, write, interview, be interviewed, and co-create events that are meant to help others move from where they are to where they want to be. Some of these requests for my presence have come from seed planting I have done over the past years, and others, I sense from the energy of surrender of what no longer served me. When we let go of what doesn’t work, we make room for what does, always.<\/p>\n

Where is your growing edge?\u00a0 What are you willing to surrender in order to embrace the life of your deepest dreams and most treasured desires? Transform ‘impossible dreams into I’m possible’ realities.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/qzScfQzclEE<\/a>\u00a0George Bailey by Jana Stanfield<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. “-Martin Luther King, Jr. Over the weekend, I spent time in the presence of people who collectively have been in my life for eons; some are a group of women with whom I have shared Goddess…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[355,1954,977,1449,1956,1639,1690,1955],"class_list":["post-3457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attracting-what-you-desire","tag-circle-of-miracles","tag-george-bailey","tag-jana-stanfield","tag-jr","tag-karen-salmansohn","tag-london","tag-martin-luther-king","tag-olympics"],"yoast_head":"\nThe First Step - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2012\/07\/the-first-step.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The First Step - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“Take the first step in faith. 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She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. 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