Feeling "obliged'' - and how am I moving past that?

I was amazed this past weekend of how I move through Thanksgiving Weekend...

I wanted and went down to the Niagara Peninsula to be with my son and also extended family. These days I live with giving myself many possibilities of choice. I no longer allow myself to have that "small" thinking that use to leave me feeling suffocated in my own existence.

I put out an email to my extended family letting them know that my husband and I are coming for the Thanksgiving Weekend. I made it clear in the email that I am not looking for someone to feel "obligated" to let us stay with them. Yet, I am looking for a new way that opens up my world and possibly theirs. In the email, I declared that I am interested in getting to know your family more, and for you to get to know my more. In the next half hour I received an email with an invitation from my sister-in-law and brother. Manifesting happens all the time, a good indication, maybe not always, yet manifesting usually happens fast for me.

No matter what is going on in their world/body I am very clear that I stay present to my own truth. I didn't have any "obliged" nor "guilt" spending time with them this weekend. So this is about me...it is clear that I can extend mySelf out, no longer need to think I need to be alone, and have a welcoming, enjoyable, meaningful time - when other people choose their truth as well.

I and many of the family enjoyed the time together. I was clear that i talked to "WHO" i wanted to talk to. Laughed with "WHO" I wanted to laugh with. Had meaningful talk with "WHO" i wanted to talk with. Very different then before, 'cause I use to be in the mind set of feeling so "obligated" to make everyone feel comfortable, make everyone fit it, tend to every one's needs, not speak my truth in fear of people not "agreeing" with what I had to say...whew!!!

Well, I must say...even I am surprised at the response from many people and okay with other's that aren't interested in how I move through my world now. Even in my family, we know that we no longer can "pretend" to do the things out of "habit" that have been going on for years, all to the sake of "tradition".

What did come up is the conversation of "Exchanging Christmas gifts" among the adults. Now, this has been going on for years. I no longer see the "usefulness" of this anymore. Has it created "chaos", or YES. Have I been able to voice my truth...YES. Does this allow other's to voice theirs? Only if they say so...

On the way home from Ottawa our "alternator" was slowly going on us. The battery light was on and the battery needle was slowly losing power. We drove into the town of Manitock and pulled into a garage. How amazing is that...we didn't panic, it was getting dark so we didn't have our lights on, and I said out loud, "we are safe". The traffic was heavy and we did think about if the alternator was to totally lose power, then our truck would stop suddenly- so that is why we decided to go off into Hunt Club - funny how we ended up going straight into Manitock. There really are no coincidences. In my world, the alternator going on the truck has given me a metaphor of how I no longer am willing to live my life with my extended family. The chips will fall where they need to fall. I no longer have to believe that I am responsible or "obliged" to keep the engine running. We had the truck back within that next working day with a new alternator...everything I and my husband did was "effortless...

I am breathing a huge sigh out...

trust yourself