Liane Benedict

“Just when the caterpillar thought his life was over, he turned into a beautiful butterfly!”

I know its a bit cliche but butterflies hold meaning for me…  they spend the early part of their life inching their way through the world, taking it all in with no understanding of what is possible, no idea the capacity within for beauty and freedom to explore and see the world from new heights! Eventually, by instinct it knows its time to seek silence and stillness.  Guided by a greater force, it wraps itself within a cocoon and goes deep within to contemplate its growth and discover its beauty. It begins to realize there is something greater within that has yet to be seen by the world – its true beauty. By now it is ready to break free! Yet this is a process far  more difficult than anticipated.  The cocoon slowly begins to crack open and the butterfly pushes against it. Why is it so hard? It’s ready! It finds itself needing to rest often before trying again, struggling to spread its wings wide seemingly to no avail.

So it must learn patience with the process and learn to trust in the reason for the struggle.

Then the moment arrives when the final stretch of the wings brings forth a beautiful butterfly, with brilliant colors and lightness of being! It now realizes the reason for the struggle – for without it, it’s wings would never have filled with the fluids that fill them out and allow them to unfold freely.  It is the struggle that provides the wings their strength to fly.

This is how I have viewed my journey. It is also how I view others, which has helped me to learn patience in their journey…we cannot peel away someone else’s cocoon for them. The struggle to spread their wings is their own.  We can be there to celebrate the beauty when its time to fly!

Still cold…, originally uploaded by lianebenedict.

Wishing Spring would get here…

Back to the Grind…, originally uploaded by lianebenedict.

A few weeks ago we went to the MOST (Museum of Science & Technology) in Syracuse. Lots of interesting things to play with there….

interesting journey, originally uploaded by lianebenedict.

Sometimes this is how the journey feels….many twists and turns.
But when you step back you notice the beautiful flow.

Jack’s Geochache, originally uploaded by lianebenedict.

We went geocaching yesterday at Mexico Point Park. Jack was thrilled to find this one. Can’t wait until it is warmer so we can find some more!

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Someone very special to me shared the notion of a relationship being “holistic”.  With your soul mate you find a holistic connection that is simply beyond words. Nothing is missing. No gaps, no barriers. In each other you have everything. With each other you help the other become whole. How incredible is that?!? I have been told before that wanting this and nothing less was idealistic, not possible and if I continued to seek this I would always be disappointed. I beg to differ…

And so a friend posted a quote today that is quite simple in presentation, yet the challenge is realizing this in our journey…

If you become whole, everything will come to you.

Tao Te Ching.

How does one become whole? First you must recognize that nothing outside of you will make you whole…then your real journey  begins…

So I am really excited to have this website! I have tons of ideas about what to write about. I have a story to tell. I have been on a journey and have learned many things along the way – about myself and about others. My problem is – I have tons of ideas of what to write about!!  I am at a loss as to where to begin… Do I go back in time and share the travels that have brought me to this place (which happens to be a really good place) or do I simply begin where I am and let bits and pieces trickle out as I continue to move forward. Does this even make sense what I am pondering?  I suppose for now I will share random thoughts as they pop into my head and eventually the story will come together.

So for now I am going to share something someone close to me shared recently. I am keeping it anonymous. I do share it though because it reminded me of myself and some of the very same questions I have asked along the way. So it was like a look in the mirror. I realized even more than I already believed that in my personal and my professional life part of who I am is not only navigating my own journey but helping others navigate their journey as well. That is meaningful work…Here are those words exactly as shared with me.

“I am trying to think about what is going to work best for me in my life right now, this very moment. What do I want? What truly matters? And why do I care about doing what is right or expected of me?? And . . . I also feel like I need to get away-mentally, everything. Not because my life is bad or anything is really wrong but because I need clarification. Yeah, I need to clarify some things!! I think that is it. I am just thinking . . . am I getting the most out of my life or am I thinking/worrying too much about how to get the most out of my life????? I think I need to do what works for now, not for two years ago or two years from now, but now. I guess this is all very abstract . . . . . ..

There are always very contradicting messages about what is important in life, what you should have or do, blah blah blah. . . . and overall I know these things. Maybe we think too much???”

If  you have felt this very same thing also – welcome to your awareness of the journey. By the way, you might want to read Power of Now by Eckhardt Tolle.

I recently caved and did one of those Facebook Notes that people tag you in. One of the questions was about songs that represent you.  So I though I would share them with you.  Now I have not yet attempted to upload videos to my blog from YouTube so I do not know if this will work – and my tech support is not here…

“KT Tunstall \”Someday Soon\

The cool thing is my Someday Soon is right here, right now!  Much progress has been made this past year! Not that I don’t still need to put myself away sometimes…seek out a little silence.

“KT Tunstall \”Hold On\”

Underneath, I felt the fire of a burning question…and now I see…

Christina Aguilera \”Here To Stay\

This one speaks for itself. 

The videos for these songs were not exceptional…but listen and enjoy!!