After all, if we are co-creators of our reality, as so many philosophies have espoused, then we have a say in how it is, how it goes and our participation in it, right?

We are all being called to be more present than ever, while dealing with a more challenging array of personal and professional challenges, opportunities and all-around growth.

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest as a young girl, whenever I felt emotionally overwhelmed, I would take a walk in the woods. Being in the stillness and grandeur of trees had always calmed me.

My grandmother was the daughter of pioneers, as was my grandfather, and they were farmers. And they worked the land, and there is a grounded value system that becomes inherent in knowing what's real and what's powerful. And understanding the material nature of not only man, but beasts and profit and all of those things that you fight for.

In life, when you start to fall, you don't have to go crazy, scolding yourself and further throwing yourself off balance. Instead, simply make adjustments.

Nine times out of ten it's a minor shift in your focus and your attitude that makes the difference.

I realized that a tree never says, "I have too many branches." It simply digs deeper roots, expands itself to catch more light, and extends itself in multiple directions so as not to be unevenly weighted.