September Rabbit Rabbit

You know what happens on the first of the month if you’ve been following me for any stretch of time – we say Rabbit Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit – for luck for the month ahead! I found this sweet photo on Canva and wanted to use it because I was imagining that’s me (as a white rabbit) giving you a kiss! Mwah!

I adore September and the beginning of the school year, even though my teaching days are long over. There’s something magical about the fresh start and it clicks in place within me every September. It’s even better than New Year’s Eve for a new beginning for me because it’s gradual. Forget about January and making resolutions! I’m more into hopefully opening new pathways in September!

Just in case you might have thought I’d forgotten you or my blog – no, I haven’t. I’ve just been recuperating from the open heart surgery I endured and trying to heal from it. It’s not been what I had thought it would be – a smooth uphill battle. Instead it’s been a roller coaster, full of twists and downs and ups and sideways motions, none of which I could have predicted.

But I’m still here – being more in the present than ever because I haven’t a choice – and making the most of it!

Shine On!

xo

February 2020 White Rabbit, White Rabbit

I can’t believe it’s already the first of February of 2020!  Happy February!  Have you repeated Rabbit Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit yet?  Well here’s your chance dear friends!

Isn’t this a sweet white bunny out in the snow?  I found the photo on Canva as I usually find my photos there and I am eternally grateful to the photographer since this is such a great Winter Rabbit photo for today!

I hope that your February is filled to overflowing with love, health and happiness!  May your heartlights shine and sing out your songs of love.  Hold your loved ones close and never forget to say the blessed phrase, “I love you!” because those small moments matter more than we ever realize.

Shine On!

xo

 

The Gifts In Surrendering

Sounds like a strange title for a blog post, huh?  Well, I guess it is, but a comment from this post made me feel like I wanted to write more about surrendering.

To surrender is to allow the Universe to have a hand in life.  Surrender isn’t a negative as many of us deem it when we hear the word.  Surrender is simply presence during whatever chaos surrounds us.  It’s not picking up the karma of chaos, but simply allowing it to swirl around us while we stay peaceful, centered and present.

Surrender isn’t allowing the past to whip our emotions up into a frenzy of negativity, of hurt, or of resentment.  It isn’t allowing the good of the past to be lost, but instead to hold it tenderly in a place of peace.  It isn’t allowing the loss of the good to overshadow the present good with bereftness or grief.  It is being in the present moment, truly being in the present moment with peace – no past – no future – just now.

And if that sounds hard to do, well, by golly, you’re right!  (Sorry, I needed a giggle to break the seriousness.)  Because many times it’s not easy, otherwise we’d all be doing it and be like Eckhart Tolle or the Dalai Lama without straining to stay present.

Surrender isn’t giving up or giving in or allowing others to control you.  It isn’t being a doormat or losing the battle.

Surrender is breathing in the gratitude for what we currently have at this very moment and acknowledging it.  Surrender is faith in integrity.  Faith in ourselves.  Faith in the Universe that all arrives with Divine Timing.  Surrender is letting go and letting God.  Surrender is putting the desired outcome out there and taking the baby steps that we can in order to accomplish whatever it is we want without putting restrictions, nor past or future limitations on ourselves and our situation.  It’s stillness and prayer.  It’s a loosely built plan of what we’d like ultimately, but with the caveat that somewhere close in that vicinity would be fine as well.  It’s allowing the Law of Attraction, the angels that are friends and strangers or maybe, actually angels, to help us.  It’s continuing to do our best daily, with integrity and lay our worries on the bedpost as we sleep in peaceful slumber, knowing we have done our best today and have earned a restful sleep.  Surrender is  allowing the freedom of peace to envelope our souls.  To find the peace in the current situation, no matter how bleak it seems and to remember that tomorrow is another day with a new dawn and the possibilities of miracles abound.  It’s reaching out to others when times get tough, for more often than not, they are waiting in the wings to comfort, to help and to encourage.

It’s finding The Presents of Presence, unwrapping the peace and being grateful for what is in this very moment.  It’s finding the good now.

Have you every surrendered?  What was the outcome?

Shine On!

xo

Honeybee Spirit Totem Animal Message

I thought that yesterday’s post about my 3 encounters with the honeybee might interest you as to what I found the message to be for me.  Perhaps you’ve had a visit from a honeybee as well, so I thought I’d share what I found from here.

When the honey-bee spirit animal appears to you, it’s calling your attention to your everyday miracles. Just look at your honey-bee totem which is so small yet able to achieve so much.

The honey-bee symbolism is also of community and teamwork. Use your talents to help humanity and make your personal contributions to change the world for the better.

Add your voice to the collective consciousness. Raise the vibrations of the world you live in.

Wow!  Who knew the honeybee was such a powerful totem?  And as I begin my next chapter into uncharted territory, I am grateful to that sweet little honeybee’s message.  I love our community of bloggers and the friendships we have made.  I am hoping now that we are transitioning into our new home, I can begin again to write, to read, to comment and to grow our community.

Please join me in raising the vibrations of the beautiful world we live in!  It’s time to spread our wings, band together and fly like the darling honeybee!

Shine On!

xo

 

 

 

A Honeybee Came To Me

Recently my life has changed dramatically.  Divorce is final, we’ve closed on our home and we have moved to a new place.  So much upheaval physically, emotionally and mentally, but as I joke when people ask how we are faring, I say we are still upright which to me means we are still here, still walking on our paths and still getting up every morning to greet the dawn with gratitude.  Of course, that’s my description of what upright means!

I’ve continued my tradition of quiet prayer over coffee outside in the mornings before anyone else is up in my house.  Luckily for me, we have a small yard where I can sit and think among Mother Nature’s gifts.  While watching the birds, the small chipmunk who lives nearby who wanders around the patio and listening to the gentle awakenings of nature, I say my prayers and talk with God.

Friday morning began as usual, quietly sipping my coffee and feeling the gentle breeze blow the weeping willow nearby when suddenly a honeybee alighted on my shirt.  She didn’t scare me as she walked on my sleeve.  I looked at her and realized she was a honeybee with no stinger to injure me.  When was the last time I’d seen a honeybee so close up and why had she alighted on me?  Immediately, I thought that she was a spirit totem animal as I’ve had many instances when animals deliver messages to me.  So I looked it up and read what I could find.

Saturday morning began my quiet routine and again, the honeybee came to visit.  This time she landed on the cell phone in my hand.  I watched as she gingerly walked on my phone for about 5 minutes, just walking across it in circles, looking like she was sniffing it as if she were a dog.  Again, she made me smile and as quickly as she had appeared, she flew away.

Saturday night, I was outside again, enjoying the night sky, talking on the phone with a dear friend and who do you think came to visit again?  Yup!  My friendly honeybee alighted directly on my arm.  Her feet tickled my skin, but I remained still as she walked down my upper arm to my elbow and then flew away.

However, this morning, there was no visit, which I have to admit made me sad, as I was enjoying our little morning routine.  With spirit totem animals, there are messages to deliver via Mother Nature’s children and certainly, when we are aware and notice, the messages are delivered.

Have you ever been visited by an animal?  Do you know anything about totem spirit animals?  When was the last time you saw a honeybee?

Please share!

Shine On!

xo

Another Lesson From The Little Prince

“The most beautiful things

in the world cannot be

seen or touched,

they are felt with the heart.”

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

You may have heard this quote before and not known that it was part of The Little Prince.  It has become one of those inspirational messages that we use when we speak of love.

For what is love?

Is it the entwining of souls through respect, admiration, taming and fidelity?  Or is it the soul to soul connection we receive when we love with our whole hearts?  Is it the bond of family that just is because we are family?  Is it a mother’s innate bonding with her child that is born from her body or for the child who is chosen through her heart?  Or is it the friendships that we forge throughout our lifetimes through similar experiences?  Is it the caring for or from a stranger in crisis?  Or is it God’s love for all of his children who are perfect, whole and complete just as they are?  Is it the heart’s understanding of the preciousness of this moment in time with another person or animal or nature?  Or is it just the complete feeling of bliss when we are grateful for the presents of presence?

What is love to you?  Please share!

Shine On!

xo

 

 

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

Rose

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.

~ Gerard De Nerval

I adore flowers and all that is found in nature.  But especially flowers and trees.  There is something so magical about them and their fragrance and ease in which they blossom captivates my heart.

The little prince speaks of his rose in the book, The Little Prince. 

“People where you live,” the little prince said, “grow five thousand roses in one garden… yet they don’t find what they’re looking for…

They don’t find it,” I answered.

And yet what they’re looking for could be found in a single rose, or a little water…”

Of course,” I answered.

And the little prince added, “But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.”

-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

To look with one’s heart is to see with the eyes of love and compassion.  When we choose to look with only our eyes, at only the surface of any relationship or situation, we are blind.  Blinded by reasons that don’t matter, by superficiality, by greed, by ego and perhaps even by dark emotions.

We all have a knowing inside, call it what you will – intuition, soul, self, innateness, whatever word you choose, but we know that in using our gifts, we connect with others and together we bring more love and light to our planet.  One by one we emerge from the cocoon of ego reasoning to brighten the lives of the other roses whom we touch soul to soul, heart to heart, mind to mind.  It is in making those connections that we find the beauty in the tender rose.

I wish you love and light as always.  I pray you to see with your heart, shine your heartlight and know that you are love.  Let your soul blossom and shower your loving presence into the world.  Feel the gift of loving connections from all of us to all of you.

Shine On!

xo

Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart

Just a little mid-week reminder for those who choose love!

Shine On!

xo

Imagination Enhances the Creativity of the Soul

The thought that imagination is the creativity of the soul came to me.  When was the last time you used your imagination?  As children we imagine all sorts of things when we freely play.  I remember playing house, making mudpies and pretending I was a wife and mother.  I remember imagining I was a princess.  I remember imagining I was free to fly like a bird!

What do you remember about your childhood and using your imagination?

Better yet, when was the last time you used your imagination?  As adults I believe we put away our imaginations in order to be ‘grown up’ and deal with ‘reality’ because that’s what we are told that grown ups do.  However, imagination is a wonderful tool to improve our grown up lives as well and it’s one I think we don’t use enough.

Imagination allows the soul to flourish, to blossom and to achieve what our limited minds cannot.  Goals and dreams can become reality when we use our imaginations, but often, we find imagination a childish whim and discard the powerful tool we have been given.

Dr. Wayne Dyer wrote a book called, You’ll See it When You Believe It:  The Way to Your Personal Transformation.  In this book, he shows how to improve one’s quality of life by tapping into the power within in order to direct the course of one’s destiny.  In other words, using your mind/imagination to make things happen!

Give yourself permission to use your imagination in your everyday life.  Imagine the plethora of possibilities with positivity!  Imagine what your life would feel like to be happy, healthy, and limitless!  Just do this a little everyday and let us know how life changes for you!  I imagine life will improve for you!

Shine On!

xo