What I want to leave behind:

The power of SURVIVAL:

You know, if you yourself have survived some major $hit in your life, and are still breathing, give yourself a long moment to appreciate that fact.. Go ahead. Celebrate that success. Think about all the ‘I almost died when…’ moments. Good, bad; you’re alive. You made it.

 

You hate celebrating yourself, don’t you? You rarely do it. You are here. You are now. You survived. I survived. Let’s appreciate that. If you’ve ever had those hurtful thoughts that scare you, that make you shake with fear and the words don’t seem like you to the You that you thought you knew…and you asked for help or maybe not, but you definitely didn’t get the help you thought you wanted, but you kept going anyway, celebrate that fact.

 

If you ever had the sharp object in your hand, but didn’t cut yourself, celebrate that fact right now.

 

Thank you for not killing yourself. I wanted someone to say that to me but they never did so I say it to you now in case you need to hear it. Thank you for being that strong. You are strong.

 

Believe it or not, by sharing your incredibly valuable story, you can help others be strong now. Not only can you help others, but you can heal yourself by owning your story. By sharing your story, you can also live in abundance.

 

This is my legacy. What I want to leave behind is the fact that right now, you can have joy if you want it. It’s not hard, it’s easy to choose it. It’s easy to reject anything that is not joyful, because you can easily recognize it by how $hitty it makes you feel when it’s not JOY.

 

 

A legacy of love:

 

The power of TOUCH:

 

I will never understand why humans reject touch, and then create a sub-culture of ‘perverts’ who require loving touch. Hugs feel good and they are good for you. We should have more of them. Pats on the back and shoulder or arm touches too.

 

The power of MORE:

How can we make this moment even MORE awesome? How can we make MORE of an impact? How many MORE markets can we attract (global marginal social groups, up or down economic levels, alternative applications)? What has MORE of an impact (greatest possible profit, most people reached)?
Life Moment Example: Add MORE joy with a smile. Now add music. Now add cool lighting. Now add background dancers. Add a fragrance. Add an awesome person to do it with. Add something humorous. Add the sound of authentic, joyful laughter.

Business Example: Add MORE education to a product. Add MORE caring messages to product. Add MORE emotion to advertising. Add an uplifting message in Braille to product packaging. Add MORE marginal social groups to product research. What MORE can we give our customers that costs little/nothing that will ad value?

 

The power of NOW:

Other than this moment, nothing else matters – don Miguel Ruiz. You are not your body. You are not your mind. You are not your future, nor your past. You are not your suffering. You are energy, represented right now as matter. Before you were born? After you die? All that continues beyond this body is energy, love, spirit, life, force, God.

 

The power of your WORD:

“In from God, out for God.” – Artie Lookinghawk

With every breath, word, and movement we are creating something that has never been created before. We are dancers and artists. We are unique as a snowflake and as un-unique as a carbon atom.

“You aren’t doing ballet, you ARE ballet” – Dr. Allen Harrison

Being kind is a choice. If you don’t choose kind words and actions, limit yourself to breathing until you can stop ruining it for the rest of us.

Being peaceful in response to unkind words is a choice. I am not good at choosing to be peaceful in response to unkind words. This is the sad reality of my anxiety, depression, PTSD, and trichotillomania. I am hard-wired to sense threats and meanness in others and I cannot avoid mean people. I try to feel love toward them, but the only choice I can make toward them is to feel pity that they didn’t choose differently. I also cannot be mean in return, so I turn my anger inward, hurting myself-esteem and avoiding standing up for myself.

 

The power of your STORY:

I am not a whiny baby.
I have a 4.0 master’s degree and have managed over 30 employees for a Fortune 500 company.
I have managed teams through a facility closure and the accidental shooting death of a direct report.

I lived on a sailboat for a year.
I lived in Saudi Arabia and have travelled to 19 countries.

I am a highly-functioning mental health, medical cannabis patient.

I am thrice-ordained and highly spiritual.

I am artistic, foresighted, deeply insightful, and emotionally intelligent.

I have an amazing smile and shocking blue eyes that people can’t help but stare at.

I love all people.

I am an abuse, harassment and rape survivor.

I reinvent myself daily.

I am moving beyond my own past and the $hit of my genetic lineage.

 

“The last judgment is the last time we judge ourselves.” – don Miguel Ruiz

 

The power of LEGACY:

A legacy isn’t, ‘When I die I want to be remembered for…” your legacy is in your actions and words right now and the effect you have on others. You can decide to smile. Even if you don’t mean it. You can decide to give love to yourself and others. You can decide to have joy in your heart right now. Why choose otherwise? Love these words you are receiving within your heart. Love your heart for receiving joy right now. Let that joy exit your body as creative energy sent in connection to another human.

 

An unconventional Christian just wants to hug you and tell you that Jesus/God/Holy Spirit/the son of man is just fine with however you live. He just wants you to try to cause joy to happen as much as possible; for everyone you know, and especially for yourself. Now go and do that.

 

 

Thank you for ‘listening.’

 

Teresa (Tree) Profiri

 

 

A prayer for those who need to hear these words, and everyone needs to hear one or more of these sentences right now:

 

I’m sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.

 

 

 

 

The power of STORY Extra Credit:
From the film Harvey (1950), directed by Henry Koster, based on the Pulitzer play by Mary Chase.

 

Scene:

Having just exited a bar via the alley, Mr. Dowd, a suspected psychiatric patient with ‘hallucinations’ is quickly pursued by psychiatric Doctor Sanderson and nurse Miss Kelly who ask him to come back inside. He is reluctant to come in because he never seems to have any time anymore.
Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart): I have so many things to do.

Psychiatric nurse Miss Kelly (Peggy Dow): What is it you do, Mr. Dowd?

Mr. Dowd: Oh Harvey and I sit in the bars, and have a drink or two, play the juke box. And soon the faces of all, all the other people they, turn toward mine, and they smile. And they’re saying, we, we don’t know your name, Mister, but you’re, a very nice fellow. Harvey and I, warm ourselves in all these golden moments. We’ve entered as strangers. Soon we have friends, and they come over, they sit with us, they drink with us, they talk to us.

 

They tell about the big terrible things they’ve done, and the big wonderful things they’ll do. Their hopes, their regrets, their loves, and their hates, all very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. And then, I introduce them to Harvey. And he’s bigger and grander than anything they offer me. And when they leave, they leave impressed. The same people seldom come back but, that’s, that’s envy, my dear. There’s a little bit of envy in the best of us. That’s too bad, isn’t it?”

 

Scene:

Later, at the sanitarium, director Dr. Chumley who now knows that the hallucination is not a hallucination asks to speak to Mr. Dowd in his office alone and informs Elwood that he has no friends among his family members and that his Aunt Veta Louise Simmons tried to have him committed.

 

Elwood P. Dowd: Veta certainly is a whirlwind isn’t she?

 

Dr. Chumley: Good heavens man, haven’t you any righteous indignation?

 

Mr. Dowd: Oh, Doctor, I, I don’t, you know years ago, my mother used to say to me, she’d say, in this world Elwood, you must, you, she always called me Elwood. In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant. Well for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.