… to arrive at a place where the soul is calm and at peace with the storms its walked through,
…to hold no anger or regret,
… to carry a deep love and gratitude for the ones who have shared the journey, even if what was shared was painful,
…to love and be loved authentically,
…to sit in silence with the messiness of the world beside me and still be okay.
Ah yes, this is where I’m going…
Toni O’KEEFFE ~🌹 ❤️
A moment will arrive when you realize it’s time to tread beyond your comfort zone, escape your fears and everything weighing you down.
In this moment you will know with great clarity, it’s time to move beyond the obstacles blocking your path and allow the things calling you from beyond the veil of fear, doubt and judgment, to be born. Let them be born.
The fear you face may appear larger than it actually is, because it’s standing right in front of you. This fear may merely be the voices of others who have constantly told you what you should or shouldn’t be. Tune the voices out and walk, ride, skip, jump, sail or fly forward. Once you do, the fear will be gone, the fog will lift and you will clearly see the path towards the things you’ve been wanting to do, see, say, and become.
Be brave and muster your courage.
We never know exactly when our journey here will end, but we know it will end.
So, those dreams, goals, aspirations, creations ~ is it time?🌟
Toni O’Keeffe ~🌹❤️
Let’s dance ~
You may be sent into the lives of others to help them find a way through the heaviness of their pain or the turmoil in their life.
They may not understand or appreciate the meaning of your presence, help them anyway.
Plant seeds of kindness, compassion and wisdom all around them and hope the seeds take root and grow.
No matter how strong, brave, smart or tough we think we are, none of us can do this alone. We’re not supposed to.
We’re at our best when we show up for each other to offer comfort, create laughter, provide light, offer healing and love. In fact, when we’re helping others, we realize, we’re really helping ourselves.
And maybe that’s what this human journey is all about, just showing up for each other, without expectation, because it feels so good when our messy, yet amazing little souls are entangled in this colourful cosmic dance.
Toni O’KEEFFE ~🌹❤️
We’ll all look back one day.
Will you like what you see?
Will you see yourself meeting others
along their path and offering them
kindness, compassion, positivity and love?
Will you feel content knowing you used the gifts you were given to live your best life?
Were you able to conquer your fears, negative emotions and your own stubbornness before your happiness and the happiness of others was sabotaged?
Did you say the words you wanted to say,
see the oceans, deserts, mountain tops and other marvels your heart hoped it would?
Did you take care of yourself so you were able to travel the highways and take the adventures that had been calling out to you?
Did you learn to appreciate how absolutely amazing you are?
Did you thank the ones who brought comfort to your journey?
Did you offer forgiveness to others and more importantly, to yourself?
Did you let love in when it was offered?
Did you release the people, judgment, opinions and things that poisoned your journey, so you could grow into the masterpiece you were meant to be?
Are you settled and at peace with the memories you’ve left in the hearts and minds of those who loved and cared for you?
Can you look back on all of it with a grateful heart, and understand what it was you were here to do?
If you answered no to any of the above, the good news is, you’ve still got time.
We’ll all look back one day.
Will you like what you see?
I hope you do❤️
Toni O’KEEFFE ~🌹❤️
After every life storm, look for what’s left behind.
Don’t dismiss the experiences or relationships you’ve had with anyone who’s come in-and-out of your life. Even if these relationships or experiences were brief or messy, they contained messages, learning, gems of wisdom and personal growth meant just for you.
Sometimes the greatest treasure is found amongst the rubble.
Toni O’KEEFFE ~ 🌹❤️
One day, she felt a shift. She ripped open her wounds, released the weight of her tears, and cleared a path for the pain, heartache, grief, disappointment, and sadness to leave.
As the anguish flowed away, she gave thanks, as she knew without the ache of it all, she would never have found the path to her place, her peace, her light or, herself.
Her pain had come with a purpose and, she was grateful. She exhaled, smiled, made coffee, booked a trip to Italy, then picked up her notebook, went to the beach and life began again.
~ Your pain and discomfort has a purpose. Its pointing you towards healing, new opportunities and new ways of “being.”
Its helping you see who and what really matters. And sweet, darling soul, it’s you, you’re what matters.
Toni O’KEEFFE ~🌹❤️
~ Toni O’KEEFFE
Today, try stepping into your life as a curious student.
For just a day, consider parking your solutions, opinions, advice, judgment and “your way of doing things” and focus your attention towards, listening, learning, observing, being patient, being present, and aware of what’s going on around you.
Let your intellectual walls down and let others teach you. Be a curious and humble student.
If you are the resident problem solver at home or work, or you’re a teacher, coach, boss or an expert in your field, you can practice being a curious student by;
~ asking others for their opinion
~ asking for advice
~ asking others how they might do something differently.
~ letting someone else lead a meeting or lead a class, while you observe.
~ ask others questions on topics they know well, then listen.
None of us know it all.
It’s often the quiet observer who sees and learns the most. These wise souls know we build stronger relationships, learn more about our world, each other and ourselves when we practice observation, stillness and humble curiosity.
Toni O’KEEFFE ~🌹❤️
~Toni O’KEEFFE
Step into this day, knowing every step and every choice, leads you closer to, or further from, the life you want to live.
Stop wasting time on what doesn’t matter.
Do what you love, with whom you love.
Walk towards the life you want to live, not away from it.
Lace up those boots, slip on those flip flops, and run, (ride, fly or sail) into this day and make it count.
If what you do today does not lead you towards who you want to be, and who you want to be with, why are you doing it?
Toni O’KEEFFE ~🌹❤️
~Toni O’KEEFFE
It’s those who are different than us, that might make the biggest difference in our lives.
While it might be easier and feel safer, to be around those who are similar, its the ones who think, live, look and believe differently than we do, that provide the best opportunities to learn, grow and deepen our understanding of the world and ourselves.
Spending time with those who’ve had different life experiences, are older or younger, have different educational, cultural and religious backgrounds, lead us to be more open minded, tolerant, accepting and generally better, kinder, well-rounded individuals.
During my professional career, I always tried to hire people who were different than me and thought differently than me. I learnt more from those individuals than I’m sure they ever learnt from me. The more diverse the team was, the better our collective outcomes were.
Being open to building personal and even romantic relationships with those who are different than us, might help us grow and succeed in ways we had never imagined and, may lead us to living more interesting lives.
It’s usually our fear of what’s different that causes conflict. When we take the time to learn about the things that make us different, and accept the fact that we do not know it all, the fear fades and is replaced by tolerance, appreciation, personal growth, new knowledge and healthier relationships in all aspects of our lives.
Your ideas, and your ways of knowing, being and doing, might be exactly what I need to grow and move my life forward. Likewise, I might possess qualities or knowledge that help you grow into your best self.
The strength and support we can offer each other does not always come from our similarities, but from the unique, and interesting, things that make us different.
Toni O’KEEFFE ~🌹❤️
~ Toni O’KEEFFE
As I strolled through the forest and along Englishman River today, it struck me how much life is like a forest.
Depending what storms have blown through our lives, where the light is shining, where we’re planted, who’s planted beside us, how solid our foundation is, how deeply our roots grow or what nutrients are in the soil, we will either flourish and grow strong or struggle to survive.
Like the forest, life is filled with twists and turns and unfamiliar pathways or paths that are blocked.
When we meet another soul, we don’t know what foundation they’re built upon, how sturdy their root and support system is, what storms they’ve walked through, what change has blown through their lives, what twists and turns they’ve had to endure or, what might be blocking their light or blocking their path.
Imagine if we were all be bit more understanding, patient, kind and gentle with each other, how much stronger we all could grow.
Toni O’KEEFFE ~🌹❤️
The Whimsey Angel 