Join me on a blessed and heartfelt journey of discovery!

Just Say…

January 23, 2020January 21, 2020
by admin

No. It is a simple one word statement. A word made of just two sounds. A word to tell someone the ‘opportunity’ they have presented me is not one I wish to take. This single word, however, has been rather elusive in my vocabulary when being asked to help or assist someone. I have witnessed plenty of people that don’t have trouble saying ‘no’ and they have told me it’s easy. Just say ‘no.’ Despite this advice I kept finding myself with too many tasks and responsibilities. I wasn’t letting this word do the heavy lifting for me. If you are like me, seeing need and not wanting to let people down, here are some steps I have found helpful in letting this simple two letter word work for me.

You Make a Difference

January 15, 2020January 14, 2020
by admin

‘You make a difference.’ The words were spoken with gratitude and conviction, catching me off guard but they echoed through my mind for days. What a sweet acknowledgment from someone about how something I had done had impacted her life in a positive way. Someone I didn’t know. Someone I hadn’t met before. The action she was commenting on was not a grand gesture but just something I do in the normal course of my work. A practice others have felt unnecessary and challenged me about but I have continued due to my beliefs. And yes, while I believed this action would ultimately help someone, this was the first time I had proof positive that it had accomplished the intended outcome.

Read more “You Make a Difference” →

Mindfulness

It’s a New Year, It’s a New Day

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020
by admin

I made it through Christmas with just a bit of drama which is still being played out today but that is a another story for another day because today it is the New Year. New Year’s day to be exact. A day I had eagerly anticipated with a bit of excitement. So much had changed for me in the last few years and I was looking forward to what the future held.

In preparation for this day I did my due diligence and I reflected on 2019. I projected what I would like 2020 to be. I chose my word for the year, (though perhaps it chose me at the direction of the universe, something I am still pondering). And yet, now the day is here, I feel stuck and lethargic; wondering where the sense of anticipation and quiet excitement had gone. In many ways it reminded me of how I felt as a young girl on Christmas day after the presents had been unwrapped, the paper and ribbon placed in the trash and the tree looking quite lonely with no colorful packages nestling up against it. There is an emptiness that settled in and didn’t want to seem to budge.

As I scrolled through Instagram (not that I recommend Social Media for healing or reflection but as with everything, there are pros and cons) I came across a brief comment from someone that said ‘Remember, just because it is a new year, you are still you. You didn’t change over night.’ So true I thought briefly and began to go about my day, but the comment kept coming back to me. So I sat with it and thought a bit more about how I was feeling. As I looked deeper I found that I had somehow, somewhere, in all my preparation for the new year built up an expectation that things were going to somehow be different. That with the turn of a calendar page everything would be shiny and sparkling, full of promise and no regrets. As I embraced the thought I am still me, still trying to figure out how to get along in this crazy world, I felt the heaviness that had been weighing me down leave.

So dear friends, I share with you this lesson that I seem to need to relearn at regular intervals. Just because it’s a new year on the calendar, doesn’t mean we magically healed when the ball dropped at Times Square. Just because we have mastered how to coexist with the person at work that continually triggered us doesn’t mean we won’t be triggered. Just because we do our self care everyday doesn’t mean there won’t be angst and frustration. All these things happen so that we can grow and change because there isn’t a final destination or finish line to cross if we are still breathing. The reality is this is a journey. A life long journey filled with a myriad of experiences for us to learn and grow from, to support and to share our love for one and another. A journey to experience all that life has to offer, good and bad. Armed with the insight and acceptance of this lesson once again, the day took on the sparkle of promise that had seemed so elusive just a short time before.

Wishing you much love and acceptance for yourself and your daily happenstance on your heartfelt journey! ~♥~

~Life is a journey, not a destination.~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reflections and Lessons

A Word

December 30, 2019
by admin

New Year’s resolutions never really held much attraction for me and were not something I ever put into practice. I used the excuse it was because I had heard so many people abandon their resolutions in a matter of months if not days, so why bother following what seemed an impractical practice? In all honesty, however, I don’t believe practicality entered the equation. I believe I was more afraid of failing. Afraid of not achieving a goal I had put out to the universe and perhaps had been ill-conceived at its inception. This didn’t mean I didn’t try to change and grow, have better health, save more money, read more books and a myriad of other things I wished to accomplish. It just meant there was no definitive goal. Read more “A Word” →

Mindfulness

‘Tis the Gift Receiving Season

December 11, 2019December 9, 2019
by admin

For my family December is a month of traditions. Special foods, celebrations, decorations, music, candy canes, snowmen, elves, family, friends, and gifts. With all this activity, gifts however, seem to dominate and be an integral part of the month whether arrival is by Santa’s sleigh, a silent angel or someone we know well. I have always enjoyed giving gifts to others, trying to find that special something that will light up their eyes or be treasured for years to come. Not always an easy task and not always accomplished but there is still the challenge in trying and joy in succeeding . Read more “‘Tis the Gift Receiving Season” →

Mother Nature

Mother Nature-It’s A Wrap!

December 4, 2019December 3, 2019
by admin

Earlier this year, dear friends, I shared with you a shift in my perspective about how I chose to honor Mother Nature. By simply choosing to share my love and gratitude with her, the activities that had once seemed a burden, instead became a regular part of my daily life with no resentment. With this change in perspective I also began to make more mindful choices about purchases and how I was doing things. I was wanting to mitigate my personal impact on our beloved planet as best I could. With gift giving and all its embellishments now officially on the calendar, I began to wonder if there was a way I could diminish the pile of wrapping paper, gift boxes and ribbon that annually make the trek from my house to the landfill. Here are some alternatives that I have either used in the past or came across in my research and daydreaming.

Mindfulness

Joyous Chaos

November 26, 2019November 25, 2019
by admin

The whirlwind of the holidays is quickly approaching with meals to plan, people to entertain, houses to decorate and gifts to buy. In the midst of this joyous chaos it is easy to become overwhelmed and begin heading in too many directions, leading to feelings of less joy and more resentment. Dear friends, one of the keys I have found in recapturing the joy and celebration in life during chaotic overwhelm, is simple gratitude. Taking the time to be intentionally grateful for the blessings in my life.

Finding My Voice

November 20, 2019November 18, 2019
by admin

Being vulnerable and just being yourself in this world is truly frightening. There are so many masks that we wear depending on the role and the situation, and while many times there is logic behind these behaviors, there have been times I have found myself hiding behind this mask. Keeping the mask on. Not saying what I want or believe and putting up with disrespect and disparagement for the sake of the cause. For fitting in. Ultimately this has come at the expense of my emotional wellbeing, not understanding the importance of establishing the line in the sand for my fundamental beliefs and how I should be treated. More recently I began to understand these lines are necessary and are key to a healthy and joyful life. With this new found knowledge and understanding I have removed myself from environments that were not healthy for me and when the individual(s) were not willing to acquiesce to my requests for change. Not an easy thing to do but a necessary action for healing. When we do this, however, sometimes we let others cage us in too much in not wanting to experience discomfort, pain and unwanted feelings.

Should is a Creepy Little Word

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019
by admin

It is a six letter word, made up of two vowels and four consonants. At first appearance this word is rather unassuming. It doesn’t cause any strong response, either positive or negative, it just is. However, for me, this word has had a very troubling habit of creeping into my vocabulary on a far too regular basis without me even being aware of it.

Wellness

The Line in the Sand

November 6, 2019November 5, 2019
by admin

Physical boundaries are easy to understand as many times we see them with some visual demarcation. Some of these are meant to be crossed like state lines or may be crossed if requirements have been met as when traveling to another country or being invited into someone’s house. There are many other boundaries, however, most of these unseen, that are not meant to be crossed but respected. Respected by ourselves as well as others. It is these ‘invisible’ boundaries that I have had struggles with through the years, being able to ascertain other people’s boundaries readily but blind to establishing and maintaining mine. Read more “The Line in the Sand” →

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