Choices – Page 3 – Join me on a blessed and heartfelt journey of discovery!

When the Magic Happens

July 8, 2020July 8, 2020
by admin

In the last few years I have had several people express to me that we are all here by choice. Our souls choose our parents and the time to make the journey to this corporal world. In many ways this idea is comforting, allowing me to believe there is a purpose behind everything I am experiencing and a reassurance that everything that happens is for a reason. Similar to my belief that no matter the experience I am having, it is because God has placed me there for my learning and growth. And yet, I also have free choice in so many ways. I have the ability to direct much of what I do and experience. Indeed, it is through choice after choice that lead me to this day, to sit here listening to the ocean play it’s melody outside and feel the breeze coming through the windows as I type these words.

Read more “When the Magic Happens” →

Heroes Among Us

A Hero Among Us and The Cheerleader

July 2, 2020
by admin

When first meeting Ken Ostini, his six foot plus stature is rather imposing, but his friendly, warm manner and easy banter quickly expose his love for Lompoc as well as his long history in our community. My interactions with Ken initially looked to be short lived. He became the CEO of the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce as my time on the board came to an end, hardly allowing us to learn each other’s name. Fortunately for me, a short time later, our paths crossed again and again on a regular basis as I was able to work with him for several years on different activities within our valley.

Mindfulness

Today, This Moment

March 25, 2020March 24, 2020
by admin

In the madness around us, the uncertainty and the fear, there is still beauty to behold. I found one of those moments yesterday as we drove to pick up our CSA box from a local farm. Having not been out of the house for a couple days other to than to walk my dog or visit with neighbors while social distancing, this felt like a grand adventure. The world did still exist despite the dire news from the differing media sources we listen to for a few minutes each day. And there, as we turned the corner were the flowers.

Rows and rows of gorgeous stock, enjoying light rain interspersed with sunshine from the sky, greeted us. My dear sweet husband, knowing how I would delight in seeing them, had invited me along for the ride. Such a simple gesture and a simple joy, but so powerful in the moment.

Even in times of challenge there is beauty and joy, kindness and compassion. Sometimes we find them in the most unexpected places and times or from the smallest of gestures. This doesn’t diminish their impact or importance, but rather emphasizes how much they are around if we notice. With this lesson I am trying to stop more and pay attention, not hurry through life. To enjoy the small and seemingly inconsequential things as well as the big important things, because it is today, this moment, that matters.

Wishing you dear friend moments of beauty, joy, kindness and compassion during these uncertain times. Stay safe, stay healthy on your heartfelt journey. ~♥~

Flower field with rows of white stock under cloudy skies with blue sky in the distance

Reflections and Lessons

A High School Hangover

February 6, 2020February 4, 2020
by admin

I had the chance encounter with someone that I had associated with in high school a few years back. We had not been close but had many mutual friends during our teenage years and our paths had crossed on a regular basis with friendly interaction the norm. Many years had passed before our paths crossed again at a public function. I acknowledged her with a smile and greeting, however, she acted as if we had never met and remained very distant. I thought this strange and took on the burden of her reaction thinking I must have done or said something that warranted the treatment. Believing this was a one time encounter I didn’t pursue the issue and didn’t even give it much thought for quite some time. Then, several months later, she joined the adult dance class I was in. Again, week after week, she treated me not only as a stranger but as if I didn’t exist. Wow, I must have really done something, I chastised myself, ceasing my friendly overtures and mentally shrugging because you can’t fix something if you don’t know what the problem is. Read more “A High School Hangover” →

Reflections and Lessons

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” →

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.

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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