Reality Check

Are You Conscious ? Yes, YOU, ME, US?! Are we conscious of the lives we are living, the thoughts we are having, the parts we are playing in this “bigger picture” and the effect we are having on ourselves & the world around?

If not… let us take responsibility and decide to be the masters of “putting ourselves in check”…

Humans often get stuck in cliche “sayings” and they perpetuate these “sayings” by actually believing them and lots of them— words….irrelevant things… Let’s analyze some of them & how they truly serve us and the greater good of humanity:
“My back is up against a wall”
“Opportunity doesn’t knock twice”
“Haven’t got a penny to my name”
“First things First”
“Fish or cut bait”
“Jack of all trades, Master of none”
“Curiosity killed the cat”
“My hands are tied”
“Same song and dance”
“Life’s a bitch and then you die”
“Passion doesn’t pay my bills”


And, one of my all time favorites…. “Happiness is easier said than done” But, is it really? Is it, really, easier to spend your life unhappy? Doesn’t it take just as much (or more) energy Doing things you don’t like doing versus devoting your energy to figuring out what it is you really want to be spending your life “doing”, and doing those things? What reality are you creating for yourself, right now, today? If your answer was anything less than what you desire, fix it. Press the “Shift” or “ALT” button on your life- and switch it up!

And, anyways… is the ultimate goal of our existence to make our life as “easy” as possible? I mean, truthfully, which legacy will you claim? At risk of sounding morbid…

Gina Rizzo Bishop
“Lived an Average Life, So there… “

Gina Rizzo Bishop
” Was Debt-Free, Be envious… “

Gina Rizzo Bishop
“Never quite Pursued her Passions, Meh…”

“REST IN PEACE?”
What is our aim here? Have we clarified exactly what we want out of our life and how best we can pursue that every single day we are blessed to live another day? Why “Rest in Peace”? I can only speak for myself but, I would rather LIVE IN PEACE with the choices I have made and the life I chose to live…

Gina Rizzo Bishop
“Gypsy at heart. Student of life. Loved to Love. Lived to Be- Eternally.”
1/20/84-Present

LIVING in accordance to who i am is the only true way I will ever “Rest in Peace”. I WANT TO THRIVE! Don’t you?

Don’t we all seek to be something more than just “surviving” ? And, if so… wouldn’t it be wise to find some strength in numbers? If we are able to inspire ourselves, we can then inspire others. Because… As Narayanan Krishnan said, “Everybody has got 5.5 liters of blood. I am just a human being” and once we’ve actually taken time to acknowledge that reality… this one central feature of our existences, together, we can tune into our inner Watts and ask… Self, “What do I desire?” and reflect that same curiosity in the world around us…

I have found a lot of clarity in my own life working with two things I call “Personal Perspective Exercises”. One focuses on the past and one on the future but, both seek to clarify the present state of our life experience.

1. Write a letter to your 80 year old self:
Write an in depth letter of the things you feel most fulfilled from having experienced in this lifetime as well as all of the things you wish you had done. Acknowledge where you may have lived (so far) in fear and where you feel you surrendered to the truest version of yourself. And sit patiently with this laundry list– as it has the potential to reflect how you have been of benefit or hindrance to yourself.

2. Discuss life with the 3-year-old version of yourself:
At any given moment, I find it helpful, to re-evaluate how my inner child would respond to my current situations. What would “baby gina” say about my thought process at the time? How could I best take on a less limited approach, as a child? How can i start re-remembering the joy of just BE-ing, alive? What advice would my child-self reflect onto my adult- self, and how can i utilize that in this reality right now?

What is your the Existential Attitude?

“I always ask the question: What would you like to do if money were no object?”

“How would you really enjoy spending your life? Well, it’s so amazing as a result of our educational system crowds of students say “Well, we’d like to be painters, we’d like to be poets, we’d like to be writers but, as everybody knows you can’t earn any money that way.” When we finally got down to something which the individual says he really wants to do, I will say to him… you do that.”

“And, uh, forget the money. Because, if you say that getting the money is the most important thing you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing, which is stupid.”

“Better to have a short life, that is full of what you like doing, then a long life spent in a miserable way. And, after all, if you do really like what you are doing it doesn’t matter what it is you can eventually become a master of it. It is absolutely stupid to spend your time doing things you don’t like in order to go on spending things you don’t like, doing things you don’t like, and to teach your children to follow in the same track. Therefore, it’s so important to consider this question: What do I desire?” -Alan Watts

It’s all about the LOVE:

It seems we live in a society that has cultivated a condition called “guilt”. If we… take time to care for ourselves, we are “self-centered”. If we… put our own needs first, we are “selfish”. But, the reality is… this is an illusion. We can’t possibly help those around us if we have not taken time in our life, to understand what it means to Love and to be Loved.

The best exploration we can do in this field is within ourselves. We can understand more about our potential to give, only if we are able to recognize the ability we have to receive it in our own hearts. If we have not the courage to crack open our hearts, to ourselves— and let that love grow, first… the love we pour onto others will, in a way, be hollow. No-one will never know us in the deepest way, love us in the richest way or BE with us fully– unless we can feel what it is like to be with ourselves. They can’t possibly, no matter how wonderful they are, unless we allow it. So, please….do it. Take “ME” time. Do YOU! Because, the irony is… once you do… you will feel your being more able to extend itself into, and unto, the world around you— and the world needs open hearts…

As the airline instruction manual expresses:
“Put on your own oxygen mask before helping those around you”

Step 1: Love yourself.
Step 2: Love those around you, as yourself.
Step 3: Repeat (with more Love)

Need some Inspiration? Well… here’s some…

“Food is one part. Love is another part. I cut their hair, I give them a shave, I give them bath. For them, to feel psychologically that they are also human beings, there are people to care for them, they have a hand to hold, hope to live. So, the food will give them physical nutrition. The love and affection which you show, will give them mental nutrition.”

“Everybody has got 5.5 liters of blood. I am just a human being. For me everybody the same. There are thousands and thousands of people suffering. What is the ultimate purpose of life? It’s to give. Start giving. See the joy of giving.” -Narayanan Krishnan

On the Subject of Sharing: I heard a simple 2 step strategy for living the other day that resonated beautifully…

1. Avoid Complaining:
The core of advice, in reducing our attitude of complaint, is that when we complain we often blame and in doing so- we are not taking responsibility for our reality. On the flip side, when we complain we also make life miserable for those around us. It ain’t pretty… any way you look at it.

2. Avoid Comparing:
When we compare– we are not of service to anyone. You and I — we are alike in many ways but, where we differ, we must appreciate. And, by comparing how our lives are progressing (with regards to those around us) we often create an atmosphere of devastation. We are all moving but, where our momentum is taking us (and how we are getting there) will likely always, always, look different- so, why waste life in comparison when we could be spending it in conscious acceptance?

And…If I may add a third step to this strategy…

3. Avoid Average:
Move out of the mundane- “Let this be an average day to match my average attitude”. When we stunt our idealistic nature and forget to regularly exercise our imagination- we find insurmountable creative blockages. And these hindrances have only one manifestation- to fester in the core of our being. They create agitated, angry, impulsive, depressed, lackluster humans. And this kind of mentality runs rampant robbing us of our innate, and sensual, zest for life .

Happiness isn’t a matter of You and I. It is a matter of “US”. Your happiness- IS my happiness- and likewise. That is why I wrote this post. I am inspired by divine humans daily… and I seek to share that inspiration with those around me. It is the fullest most complete version of living for me… I want you to feel my love and see through my eyes the depth of my happiness. I want to feel your love, and I want to see in your eyes- a happy human. Let’s all do our part to remember what happy feels like… for the betterment of all hearts, combined.

Namaste.