Getting Clear about Relationships

You’ve probably heard it said – , “If you want the perfect partner be the perfect partner.” This is the crux of it: we must have the willingness to be that which we want,to live in integrity with it, and to live as though we already have it. And, we must be unwilling to have something less, while maintaining that paradoxical position of release–being poised to receive and yet not willing things to be different. It’s a delicate balance..

Settling for anything less than your deepest desire means that the universe has no reason to give you what your heart truly desires. The question to ask is: Are you really willing to have it, to live up to it by not being available to something less? Are you ready to live in integrity with your hearts deepest longings? If you are–and when you are–the universe will correspond accordingly.
Let me read a letter I read in Essence magazine – written to Iyanla Vanzant –

DEARIYANLA,
At 46 I’ve got three kids and four grandchildren. I also have three ex-husbands.Looking back, I realize I wasn’t in love with any of these men. After my third divorce, many self-help books and some therapy, I now live by the motto, To thine own self be true. When I meet a new man, I review my list of qualities I’d like in a mate: Is he honest? Does he have a good relationship with his mother? Is he spiritual? Loyal? A good provider? I’m not interested in looks or money, but in where he’s coming from. I don’t have time to waste, and I don’ twant to grow old alone. What can I do to attract the love I desire and deserve?

BELOVED,
It is possible that, like many sisters, you are putting too much energy into not being alone. I suspect you went into three relationships running from what you did not want, rather than claiming and creating what you desired. In the process, you may have fueled your fears–and proved them right. Whether you told yourself, I’ll never experience love, or wondered. Will I ever experience love? your words may have locked you in to the very thing you desperately wanted to avoid. This is the easiest part of your dilemma to correct: Speak words of faith, not fear!

However,other issues you bring up will require deeper healing: It is bad medicine for a woman to pursue a man with a list of credentials in her head. Yes, you should have expectations. But rather than an ink-and-paper list, create a vision that keeps you clear about what you want to experience in a relationship and what you are willing to give. Even though you may have a picture of the attributes you desire in a mate, when you meet a new man, these do not become the topic of dinner conversation. Never measure a man based on what he says. Open your heart, and observe your inner responses to him and his outer responses to you.When something is right for you, your heart will let you know. If, however,your internal landscape is littered with land mines of fear, doubt and specifications, no brother will measure up. Expectations always equal results.

The other challenge I see is that you expect to find love in a relationship. This,too, is bad medicine. Relationships are not the breeding ground of love. They are experiences that allow us to share the love we have within. In other words,lowing yourself is the key to experiencing love with another person. What will attract your mate is the level and quality of love you exude to the world. Love is a state of being. It’s not a reward for being a good girl or for becoming spiritually adept. Love is who and what you are, whether or not you have a mate.

I encourage you to put your search on hold and take some time to grow into the experience of your own love. It may be time for you to give yourself all the things you are looking for in a relationship: Spend time with you. Have long,endearing conversations with yourself. Send yourself cards and love letters.Get dressed in your finest, compliment yourself, and take yourself for a night on the town. Affirm and encourage yourself daily. As you begin to love, cherish and adore yourself, the universe will multiply your energy. In that process,men who love themselves will be attracted to your loving energy. In the meantime, I will hold you in the light of love. Be blessed!

Peter Drucker – 10 Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life

Ten Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life
by Peter F. Drucker as reported by Bob Buford, author of Finishing Well

Thousands of successful business people reach middle age—and get the surprise of their life. They look around and instead of savoring their success, they wonder what it all means. While their and grandparents expected to live only about fifty years, these men and women realize they have a whole “second life” ahead of them. But what should they
do with it? Most have little idea. To research his new book, Finishing Well:
What People Who REALLY Live Do Differently, author Bob Buford
interviewed 120 highly successful people who are redefining what it means to be 50 and beyond. He specifically focused on what they are doing to find meaning in this “second life.”

In this first of an eight-part series adapted from the book, management guru Peter Drucker—author of 35 books, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, and still a leading voice in the business
world—offers ten principles for finding significance in the second half of life. Continue reading “Peter Drucker – 10 Principles for Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life”