I want to share a poem that has deep meaning for me.

"What is this light that dances at the centre of my life?
This golden light that dances upon the leaves;
These idle clouds sailing under the sky;
This passing breeze leaving it's coolness upon my forehead.
The sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth.
Butterflies spread their sails in the sea of light.
Lillies and jasmines surge upon the crests of the waves of light.
The light is shattered into gold on every cloud and it scatters gems in profusion.
Mirth and laughter spread from leaf to leaf and there is gladness without measure.
Heaven's river has devoured its banks and the flood of joy is abroad.
The flood of joy must indeed be love.
For love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment.
It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of all creation."

Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali, Nobel Prize winning poet, who wrote these words a century ago. They touched my heart.

They speak my truth, almost as well as if I stood in front of someone and spoke plainly, without all the butterflies and lillies and jasmines to "pretty it up."

Almost 4 years ago, I gave this poem as a gift to someone who means the world to me. I wanted to give the gift of joy, laughter and hope.

Poems like great wine and great love stories, only become more potent, more rich and more beautiful with time.

Share this poem with someone who's heart needs a smile...again and again and again.

I read a lot of inspiring, illuminating books. The most common theme for the "00's" is how to find happiness, fulfillment and personal power.

We all search for happiness. That's the goal...to be happy, happy, happy.

I was wearing a pair of black skinny pants today that make me look slim and make me feel sexy. They made me happy. I got a new haircut yesterday. When I gave permission to Anna, my barber (yes, a girl barber) to get a little creative, she gave me flippy, pointy, layered little curls. Looking at my cute haircut makes me happy. I mixed a Friday night cocktail a little earlier and settled down for a good gab with one of my best girlfriends. As all you women can attest, this is a very happy pastime.

Happiness is everywhere when you think about it. Even when you're miserable, there are things that happen or things you see that can drag you into happiness whether you like it or not. You can be stumbling along the sidewalk, head down, immersed in woe and pass by a cute kid. Before you know it, the sides of your mouth are lifting in a smile. Pass by a flowering tree a little while later, inhale the fragrance and like magic, the smile deepens. For a couple of minutes you're whisked away to a happy place.

Happiness is the goal. That's what drives people...that's what makes them spend like mad, set a maniacal social pace, work like fiends to get the work done just to be able to play and spend.....only to find out that work never ends, social events are merely a diversion and your credit card has a limit.

This thing we're all striving for, like a credit card, has a limit. Happiness is momentary, elusive and in the end a disappointment, because it cannot last.

That's why I set my goals higher than happiness. I reach for joy.

A beloved friend stopped by on the way to work early this morning to drop off a belated Easter present. It was only the latest in a long line of selfless acts of generosity and kindness that this person has bestowed upon me. The gift itself made me happy...but the act of going out of their way...the thought behind it...the devotion to my well-being and their unwavering esteem....fill me with joy.

Happiness is to be experienced.
Joy is felt. Joy is strength. Joy is ever-lasting.

The next time you mindlessly and frivilously search for happiness.....search your heart for joy instead. Until your heart stops beating, joy will be with you.

I got home yesterday at 3:30 after shopping for a few groceries. Checked my email. Up popped an announcement from Robin Sharma's website. He is Canada's premier leadership expert. Now, I heard from his own lips he does not want to be known as a guru....but how can you not ascribe such a venerated title to such a worthy recipient? Guru denotes an "influential teacher, a revered mentor" according to the Oxford English Reference Dictionary. Robin Sharma was a lawyer who gave it all up to follow his heart's calling; and that was to teach individuals how to be great. He touches people's hearts and minds and makes them believe in their own power.

I read on the email that Robin was going to be at Indigo at Bay and Bloor from 7:00 'til 9:00 to talk about his new book, "The Greatness Guide". AND the first 20 people would receive a complimentary CD called "Extraordinary Leadership." I was determined to be one of those 20 people. So, I rushed around like a maniac and was out the door by 4:30, downtown by 5:20, and FIRST in line at the bookstore. I felt like a bit of a moron hanging around while they set up the chairs, but the events planner for Indigo thought it was a hoot and went out of his way to hand me my CD.

Robin arrived promptly at 7:00 to a round of applause, and proceeded to impress and inspire for the next hour. He took some questions afterwards and then graciously agreed to sign our copies of his book. The front row got to meet him first and when it was my turn we shook hands. I took the opportunity to tell him of my own public speaking aspirations and he was very enthusiastic. I then thanked him. I said, "Thank you for being a hero." He straightened up and vehemently said, "I am no hero. " I quietly replied, "To me you are. " I looked into his eyes and saw that he was extremely touched. As we shook hands in farewell he thanked me "for my kindness."

I was just telling it like it is.

If someone is kind.
If someone goes out of their way.
If someone shows compassion.
If someone lifts you up when you're down.
If someone is your hero.

Tell them.
And thank them.

I was in a cab yesterday, laden down with leftovers from Easter at my parents. The driver was a nice looking middle-aged man. Very polite. He took a call on his cell and after he hung up I asked what language he was speaking, as it had been musical and not one I recognized. He told me it was Farsi....the official language of Iran. And after spending 17 years studying and working in Italy, he was fluent in Italian as well. I discovered that I was in the cab with a highly trained architect.

As I always do in situations like these....where my eyes are popping out of my head....I asked what on earth made him leave a good life and a career he loved to come to Canada. He explained he wanted to give his daughters a better chance at a better life. Their accomplishments since moving here, which he proudly cited, have made him very happy. But I heard a deep sadness in his voice as well. As he explained, how many opportunities are there for Iranian, Italian speaking, middle-aged architects in a new country?

As we approached my apartment building my eyes were already welling up with tears. I paid him quickly, way over-tipped, wished him good luck, threw my bags out of the car and before I was ten steps away started sobbing. From there to the elevator I repeated the same litany over and over....broken dreams, broken dreams, broken dreams. Walking down the hall to my door, it changed to "No more!!!"

I was crying for him. I was crying for myself. I was crying for everyone I know who has lost a dream to circumstance or tragedy.

When I'm asked why I want to take on the task of helping people strive for their heart's desire, it's because too many tears have been shed....too many hearts have been broken....too many spirits have wilted. Too many architects and artists and dancers and writers and healers and teachers have given up on their dreams. Your dreams don't give up on you. SO WHY SHOULD YOU GIVE UP ON THEM? Why does working to survive and working towards a dream have to be mutually exclusive?

Next time you walk by a stranger or even someone you've known a lifetime, listen carefully. That music you hear is their song.

As I declared in my manifesto, I want to start a network of people helping people achieve their dreams. Well you can help too. If you know someone who longs to sing their song and you know of ANYTHING that might help them take that first step, I urge you to make that effort.

I was thinking about something a friend said today about "leading by example".

It is without doubt one of the hardest aspects of leadership. It is especially hard for me. I am by nature passionate and willful. I do not suffer fools gladly, and have to work every minute on maintaining patience and compassion. I want so much; and I want what I want when I want it and not a minute later. Harnessing those undesirable and base traits is a work in progress. It takes a monumental effort to stop myself before I let fly in remonstration; and it takes all my strength to turn the other cheek.

As a yoga teacher I am acutely aware that people look to me for guidance and inspiration. As a daughter and a sister I have the added burden of "history". As a friend, it's difficult to maintain a facade of composure and beneficent attentiveness when all I want to do is take my turn to cry and snivel about my latest life "disaster".

So why....if I am exerting such a vast amount of energy reigning in myself and my mouth....why do I bother to follow the path of a leader?

I remember several years ago, a bunch of us were soaking up the sun at work and I was holding court, pontificating about this or that. Unbeknownst to me, something very important was happening. A lovely woman I had known for years who had a black belt in karate, came up to me a few weeks after that day and said, "Linda, I want to thank you". Naturally I asked what she was thanking me for. She said she had stood listening to me that day and I was advising people to believe in themselves and to not be afraid and to follow their hearts. Apparently my words and more importantly, my conviction, gave her the strength to stand up and teach her first karate class. She overcame her overwhelming fear of public speaking to follow her heart and her heart was telling her to teach.

I stood in front of this little woman and felt more humbled than I ever have before or since. I had touched another life and helped change it.

It was that day, I took a deep, hard look at myself and decided that this is what I want for my life. I want to lift up a hurting heart; I want to soothe a troubled spirit; I want to hold someone's hand either literally or figuratively and will my strength into them; I want to love unconditionally. To lead by example also has a reward attached. To stand before the shining face of a student, a friend or a beloved and witness their achievements and to watch them overcome their own fears is as good as it gets.

I am still a work in progress, but I am committed to being the best person I can be.
My friend who gave me the idea for this blog is a wise and tender-hearted man who has often led me by his example. I credit him for, more than once, "teaching the teacher".

I woke up this morning at 6:18. I realize this is no great feat considering that before I was laid off in November, waking up and getting up before 6:00 was the norm. What makes this morning so noteworthy though, is that I have a major interview with a major Canadian institution today at 2:30. Did I mention a major interview with a major Canadian institution? So I have approximately 8 hours to stew and fret and work myself up to a fine case of paralyzing fear. I mean, who likes an interview?

Fear of being interviewed has to rank up there along with telling someone you love them, a root canal, and disappointing your parents. All 4 open the door to all sorts of possible pain and rejection. And who wants that? Isn't it better to duck your head inside your shell like a turtle and avoid all the tough stuff? Isn't it better to keep things low key and settle for a nagging ache, than expose yourself to blinding scrutiny and other people's judgment?

I guess I'd have to answer that in one word.....NO!!!!

I don't know when it happened to me, but somewhere along the road I developed a notion to feel the fear, but do it anyway. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, (bless her soul who gave me the mantra) I believe, "You must do the thing you cannot do."

Oh sure, I still get those creeping fingers of tension crawling along my shoulder blades...I still have a swarm of butterflies in my stomach...I still have to remember not to shallow breathe so much that I start hyperventilating...but I'd rather suffer all that if it means I come out the other side a better, stronger person. Fear is just nature's way of saying CAUTION. It gives you the time to look inside and decide what you want for your life. Amelia Earheart said, "Courage is the price life extracts for granting one peace." If your desire to have a better life, to have peace, to love and be loved, to be proud of yourself, is stronger than the caution of fear.....then DO IT!!

One of my proudest moments as a daughter came a couple of years ago. My Mom and I were on her front porch on a gorgeous summer day. We were listening to a meditation CD I had bought her. At one point the speaker was talking about being an example of "courage in action." My Mom turned to me and said, "That's you honey. You are courage in action." Needless to say, it was a highlight of my life. It was not only an unexpected and beautiful accolade from my mother; but that one moment truly cemented my belief that fear cannot survive in the same heart where courage lives.