Happy Friday beautiful hearts!  Friday is all about love on Sweetly Seeking.  I LOVE music and the gorgeous tales that songwriters weave together.  One of my biggest musical flames right now is the work of Trevor Hall.  Trevor delivers another heart smattering interview about his song Wish Man.  The entire album, Chapter of the Forest is laced with kindness and steeped in meaning.   It is simply yummy and definitely on repeat on my iPod!!

In this video, Trevor shares his musings for the song-Wish Man.  This song is a dazzling tribute to the unknown angels we entertain throughout our lives.  The stranger that you randomly run into has been so cleverly choreographed to be placed in your midst.  If anything, life teaches us to be devoted to the unknown miracles of everyday encounters.  

I hope this piece speaks to you and to your heart.  May it open up a treasury of connections in your life.  If you closed your eyes, what's your wish?

May You Sweetly Seek:)
In Gratitude, 
Sarah 

Happy Thursday loves!  As I was watching this YouTube video, I felt immensely inspired to embrace the self imposed limitations of my creativity.  Phil Hansen inspires viewers to view limitations as a source of creativity.  

What are you passionate about in your life?  Do you view your creativity as limited or limitless?  Is your creativity in a neatly organized box?  Do your creations liberate you?  Do you feel refreshed after you devote yourself to making art- to in essence animating your life?  What sparks of genius stimulate you?

By committing to the process of creation, Phil inspires his audience to let go of outcomes and judgements.  What if you were to attack your life with the same tenacity that you pursue your passions?  How can you make more art in your everyday life?

May you be inspired by the canvas of your life.  May gratitude be the backdrop of liberation.  Seize your limitations and embrace your "shake."

May you Sweetly Seek, 
In Gratitude:)
Sarah 

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."

Don't know what you're passionate about? No problem. Pick something interesting. Pick something financially viable--something people will pay you to do or provide.

Then work hard. Improve your skills, whether at managing, selling, creating, implementing...whatever expertise your business requires. The satisfaction and fulfillment of small victories will give you the motivation to keep working hard. Small victories will motivate you to further develop your skills.

The satisfaction of achieving one level of success will spur you on to gain the skills to reach the next level, and the next, and the next.

And one day, you will wake up feeling incredibly fulfilled--because you're doing great work, work you've grown to love.
~Steve Jobs

Happy Tuesday beautiful hearts!!  As you go about your day today it is my hope that you tap into the sense of community that surrounds you, that resides within you.  The dictionary defines community as: a feeling or fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals.  

If you were to curiously gaze at the company you keep, are you a member of a community that strengthens and supports you?  Life ebbs and flows and we move in and out of communities.  As our lives shift, it becomes essential to actively participate in the creation of our circles.   

Do you feel others reaching out to receive you- the authentic you? Without filters and sensors, does your community see the transparency of your life? Maybe you are at a crossroads in a relationship and you are struggling with the next step.  As you feel your way around, maybe you notice that your heart is truly longing for freedom- the freedom to genuinely be YOU.  Can you feel the strength of your community- arms outstretched for the tender moments when you experience loss and arms of celebration when joy returns.  Are you congruent in your self expression- Do you extend the same kindness towards self that you would towards a member of your community?  

The brilliant part of life is that we ask ourselves these varied questions and then sit with the truth of the answers.  The truth might very well reveal itself in our physical bodies, in our dreams, in our waking moments of conscious awareness.  We store such somatic brilliance in our DNA. 

On this day, may you be surrounded by a community of support.  May this community nourish you with words of kindness.  May they hold intentions for your highest and best good.  May you realize that community begins with self.

May You Sweetly Seek:)
In gratitude, 
Sarah 

Happy Thursday gorgeous hearts!!  This magnificent horse gathered all of my attention yesterday.  As I was winding down a country rode, I could feel the energy of the Universe pouring in through my sunroof.  I had spent most of the day trapped in my thinking mind, so the spaciousness of the open road was a balm of welcomed relief.  The warm breeze of summer rustled the blanket of leaves overhead.  The lush green colors sparkled from the rays of the sun.  

A smile perched itself on my lips.  I drew in a breath as generous as the ocean.  The crisp fresh air gladdened my spirit.  As I came up around the bend, I spotted this horse settled in amongst the Earth and sky.  I rolled down my window and our eyes locked.  He stood there switching his tale, posing amongst the landscape.  I let out a squeal of gratitude.  His magnificence was spellbinding.  The sleek lines of his body, the ease of his footing, the sheer grace of being rooted to the Earth.  I snapped a few pictures with my phone and then thanked him for being such a dazzling reminder of grace and strength.  

I meandered down the road and almost as soon as I did, I had an urge to go back and snap more pictures.  I turned around in a driveway and headed back towards this towering subject.  As soon as I crested the hill I scanned the landscape for him, and he was no where to be found.  My heart sank a little as I searched for him.  I spotted him further away from the barn and down in the pasture.  The second photo shoot revealed a different stance and posture.  

"Hmmmm...."  I let out a sigh.  I again paused along the side of the road.  He stopped his grazing and our eyes locked again.  His physical stature so lean and graceful.  I sat there a few moments longer, soaking in the essence of our second meeting.  Gratitude.  Grace.  Joy.  Beauty.  Power.  Inspiration.   When was the last time you connected with nature?  Nature offers such powerful connection- such grace.  

As I reflect on this chance occurrence from yesterday, I am again reminded that life offers us opportunities in which to take action.  The split second in which we overthink or doubt ourselves often times becomes the window of missed opportunity.  If you feel a stirring in your heart, a soft breeze against your back, a flutter of excitement in your tummy- trust that the Universe/Spirit is having a conversation with you.  We often hit the pause button thinking we don't have time, we're not ready, we don't know enough, but in essence- the time is now.  We don't often get a chance to go back and capture the same shot twice.  There is magic in our present moment awareness.  

May this day encourage you to re-connect with nature and the eternal conversation that the Universe/Spirit is having with you.  There is so much beauty waiting for you to behold!!!!  

May you Sweetly Seek:)
In Gratitude, 
Sarah 

LOST
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree of a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest know
Where you are. You must let it find you.

-David Wagoner

Happy Tuesday beautiful hearts...I was in Yoga this morning when the teacher encouraged us to create a space for freedom.  In this space, she encouraged that we let go.  She shared the tale of our collective community dumping our problems into a pile and then struggling to remember what it was that we had dumped.  As I moved through the practice I couldn't help but chuckle at this sentiment.  How often do we hold onto the weight of the world?  Clinging and grasping profoundly effect our accessibility to the present moment. 

Throughout the class Judy encouraged us to take child's pose as often as we needed to.  As I dropped to my knees several times, it was humbling to pause and attend to the present moment.   As I moved out of child's pose and back into downward facing dog, her words echoed off the walls of the Yoga room.  "Let go, or be dragged." 

This practice of Yoga- this practice of living systematically encourages exploration and inner discovering.  Even if you are not a Yogi, the inner discovering is available to all.  How would your life change today if you were to let something go?  As we allow judgements, likes and dislikes to fall away, we are able to more freely co-create our reality.  We are more awake for the journey ahead. 

As I laid in Savasana, a song entitled,  I Was Here by Beyonce echoed from the speakers.  The practice of Yoga, the practice of living is remarkable.  As we let go, as we expand, we become radiant with options.  We begin functioning at higher levels.  We attract gratitude.  We encourage peace.  Our lives begin to cultivate a friendliness towards living.  At the end of it all, we can say- "I lived...I loved...I was here."
May you Sweetly Seek:)
In Gratitude,
Sarah

I WAS HERE.....by Beyonce
I wanna leave my footprint on the sands of time
Know there was something that, and something that I left behind
When I leave this world, I'll leave no regrets,
Leave something to remember, so they won't forget

I was here
I lived, I loved
I was here
I did, I've done, everything that I wanted
And it was more than I thought it would be
I will leave my mark so everyone will know
I was here

I want to say I lived each day, until I die
And know that I meant something in somebody's life
The hearts I have touched will be the proof that I leave
That I made a difference, and this world will see

I was here
I lived, I loved
I was here
I did, I've done, everything that I wanted
And it was more than I thought it would be
I will leave my mark so everyone will know

I was here
I lived, I loved
I was here
I did, I've done, everything that I wanted
And it was more than I thought it would be
I will leave my mark so everyone will know
I was here

I just want them to know
That I gave my all, did my best
Brought someone to happiness
Left this world a little better just because

I was here

I was here
I lived, I loved
I was here
I did, I've done, everything that I wanted
And it was more than I thought it would be
I will leave my mark so everyone will know
I was here.

(I lived), I lived
(I loved), I was here
(I did), I did
(I've done), I was here
(I lived), I lived
(I loved)
I was here

(I did), I did
(I've done)

I was here

"You think in your idle hours that there is literature, history, science, behind you so accumulated as to exhaust thought & prescribe your own future & the future. In your sane hour you shall see that not a line has yet been written; that for all the poetry that is in the world your first sensation on entering a wood or standing on the shore of a lake has not been chartered yet. It remains for you, so does all thought, all object, all life remain unwritten still."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Monday beautiful hearts!  As I reflect on the words of Emerson, I can't help but open my eyes for the first time.  This is the beginning of a new week, the dawn of a new day.  Can you allow yourself to be present for all that remains unwritten in your life and your heart?  We have words and expressions that attempt to capture the glory and rapture of being alive, but what if you simply allowed yourself to be still in the magnificence of it all?  The voyage of our hearts begins in the quiet recesses of gratitude.  May you delight in this eternal nature.   
May You Sweetly Seek:)
In Gratitude,
Sarah

Happy Friday beautiful hearts....may this video inspire you to re-member that you are golden!  You are mythic.  You are legendary.  Your story matters.  You are on your own hero's journey.  Enjoy the adventure.  Journey onward.
As Joseph Campbell so beautifully surmised, “People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

May You Sweetly Seek:)
In Gratitude,
Sarah

Happy Thankful Thursday!  Today on the blog I am so excited to introduce my sweet, snuggly, perfect, delicious, cute as a button, and adorable niece!  So many darling adjectives to describe her perfection!  There's nothing like a new baby in the family.  She has brought such love and joy!  We are all excited for the adventure of loving Stella.  Stella Kate joined our family 3 weeks ago today.  Her presence in our lives has been a total game changer.  I somehow can't remember what it was like before she arrived.  

It has been such a remarkable gift to watch her parents, my sister in law Katie and my brother Ben so easily slide into the roll of parents.  As a couple they are fun, easy going and fierce in generosity.  I watch them scoop her up with love.  I watch them calm her with their voices.  I watch them rely on one another with such tenderness and compassion. Their interactions with her make my heart melt.

It is my hope that as Stella grows she will feel the warmth and love of her family.  As she climbs to new heights and reaches for her dreams, I hope she will always feel the community of love in her midst.  She's such a beautiful reminder to seek love. 

On this day, may you tap into the power of gratitude and melt into the simplicity of grace.  This journey really is all about love sweet love!

From my heart to yours,
May You Sweetly Seek:)
In gratitude,
Sarah