Each month, I find myself in the same position—trying to write my letter at the last moment and with nothing in my head to write about. For a couple of days I have made notes and searched for something valuable to put on paper but have come up completely blank.  So I thought, why not use a few quotes and definitions from my deck of Wisdom Cards?

When I looked over at my 81 Chun Bu Kyung deck of Daily Meditations, the card on top just happened to be headlined:  Honesty, Integrity,  Responsibility, with this meditation or wisdom note — “No matter how great your enlightenment, no matter how lofty your wisdom, you cannot live a good life without honesty, integrity, and responsibility.” The after comment on the card goes continues with “The soul grows in the midst of real human relationships.” What timing! When I read this I wasn’t thinking about Valentine’s Day being just around the corner, or that this issue of Natural Awakenings is about relationships. But that seems to be how life works. Things come together as they should.

Another deck I use is called Well Being Cards by Esther and Jerry Hicks. It opened to this quote “My joy doesn’t depend upon the approval of others.” As I thought about these two powerful meditations I remembered  how my life changed when I began to understand that the first responsibility I have in a relationship is to build a relationship with myself. Learning to love myself was not easy; it took a long time. But as the wisdom cards point out everything in life evolves to become as it is.

When I first heard the concept “I have nothing to give you if I don’t have me,” I didn’t understand it at all. What the hell did that mean? Well, over time teachers, guides and circumstances all just seemed to appear, and so it came to be that I started to look inside to understand my honesty, my integrity, and my relationships. I found that the foundation of a relationship is within me, and that it is definitely my responsibility. Speaking for myself, relationships don’t come easy. I still have that ego that pops up, that self-centered voice of selfishness that wants to win a pointless argument (even when I know I’m wrong). I have to check blame, to push aside criticizing, and to stop judging. I have to keep the focus on my behavior, my honesty, and my integrity.

Most of all I have to love myself in order to love you. I am so grateful to be able to say I love my wife, children, family, friends, and business relationships. As the shirt I’m currently wearing states —“Life is good.”

Thanks for picking up Natural Awakenings we love being in a relationship with you.

With peace, love and laughter,

Joe Dunne, Publisher