Equanimity Summer 2013 Page 13

equaNimitYmag.Com

1 3

benefactor who helped pay for the printing. That's the story that
began my journey with coincidences. By the way, to this day, I do
not know who put that card in my dressing room.

rB:

You mentioned that there are things we can do in influence the

role coincidence plays in our lives. Can you give some examples?

Gl:

We are participants in the unfolding of our lives. We're getting

feedback from the world around us: the coinciding of meaningful
events and the inner form, intuition, that gut feeling.
In Chapter Four, I list the four "Is" of action that I
realized after we raised the $1 million for diabetes
research with the Days of Our Lives
Celebrity Cookbook.

First, there is an impulse, a thought or feeling, that
is born of inspiration. My impulse was, "I want to
do something to help my son with his diabetes."
Then we set an intention. Mine was, "I'll create the
cookbook to raise money for research." Then there's
an inventory of all our resources. I told everyone
I knew about the cookbook, and people stepped
up to help me with its completion. The last "I"
is investment. Even though I had no idea how I
would pull this off, I proceeded with developing the
cookbook as though it had to come true. I invested
my time and heart and energy. Even when I had
moments of doubt, I thought, "I can't let this fail.
Something has to happen." And something did.
The card showed up in my dressing room, and
the benefactor showed up 24 hours after that.

rB:

In the last chapter of your book, you say that

there are two choices, fear and love. Can you
explain that a bit more?

Gl:

I read an article by a woman who said

there are only two choices, fear or love. There
are many facets of fear: doubt, anger, rage,
hatred. Then, there's love and its companions:
kindness, appreciation, compassion. I thought
it sounded too simplistic at the time, but now I
agree: we are either looking for the good (love)
or we're separating ourselves from the
good (fear).

rB:

Since equanimity is about leading

a balanced lifestyle, both spiritually and
physically, what do you do to ensure that you
live a balanced life?

Gl:

Every morning I possibly can, I begin

with meditation. I also read uplifting material
and center myself in inspiration. I believe it's
the Dalai Lama who said, "The tree doesn't
wait until the storm comes to grow roots."
To me, a balanced life doesn't mean that all

aspects of my life are in perfect balance but that I meet my life from
my center, from my true source.

rB:

What final piece of advice would you like to leave our

readers with?

Gl:

You are not alone. You are connected to what you need. No

matter what is happening at any moment, there's always goodness
and comfort close by.

Gloria Loring

self expression