We Help The People That Need Us

When I wrote about Collateral Beauty before in my blog, I thought I was done.  But I felt a pull to write again.  I am a bit teary this morning, but I can’t explain why.  On the outside of my life, all is well and the pieces that in the past fell apart and broke, are mending.  Inside I feel a healing coming forth, like a flower bulb awakening after winter’s frost and pushing through the garden dirt towards the sun.

I am re-awakening from my life’s slumber.

Since the eclipse, I feel more profoundly these days.  Not like mood swings exactly.  Simply it’s that I feel such a deep connection to others, to Mother Nature and to all that is behind the veil.  No, I am not losing my mind.  I think it is emerging with knowledge, with knowing and uncovering from the mantle of fear and sadness which clothed me for so long and held down my spirit, my authentic self.

It is a slow process as I dig out from the ruins of my former life into the sunshine.  Bit by bit, stone by stone I am releasing what held me back, what I allowed to hold me back and freeing my soul from her immersion into solitude.

It isn’t easy this reawakening.  It tires me. Bursts of energy excite me and here and there a plateau seems to appear where I find respite for a bit.  Sometimes I drop a few steps from the plateau only to have to climb back up again to rest, but the journey is simple.  It requires letting go of the sandbags which held me down, the fears which pinned my soul into a box of belonging and the embracing of freedom to be me, without worry of judgement.

Emerging from a shell, a cocoon.

That’s where Collateral Beauty calls to me in movie form again.  Although our circumstances were different, the journey was similar.  Isn’t that the way it is with most connections?  At this time I have friends who are slowly losing family members to death and I feel as if we connect in a higher plane.  It is as if I am here to help them on their journey of accepting the physical loss of family because I have experienced it as well, numerous times now, in all different ways.

Please do something small with great love today.

Collateral Beauty Trailer 2

Shine On!

xo

This post is part of SoCS.

Recipe for Enduring Breast Cancer

Hope Strength Power Belief Courage Honor Determination

In order to survive Breast Cancer (and any other illness, tragedy, trauma) it’s necessary to collect all of your essential ingredients in order to endure the situation at hand.  A great dose of support is also needed as back up when your ingredients run low and you need a refill.  A quick jog to the store won’t suffice.  You need a team, a village, to count on and that’s where the internet, blogs, websites and support groups can wield a mighty sword to help you combat your ills.

A hefty dose of the above helps:

Hope

Strength

Power

Belief

Courage

Honor

Determination

In addition to a heavy handed sprinkling of

Humor, Love, Presence and Support.

Which is all fine and good as words, but how do you go about stockpiling these main ingredients when you’ve just been blindsided by your diagnosis and news?  I wish I could say it is easy, but it’s not.  That’s where your determination comes in.  You have to set your own mind to believing that you have the courage, the strength, the hope, and the inner power to endure.

You have all of this inside ~ you simply have to tap into it.  You must do the work.  There’s no way around it.  It is your mind that needs to have its power harnessed to heal your life.  Humor, love, presence and support may come from the outside from which you can receive the stores from others.  But you my friend, must believe that you are ready and worthy to battle and must prepare your mind, heart and soul to overcome the obstacles that are placed before you.

So how do you do this?  You harness your mind by feeding it positive thinking.  You eradicate negativity from your life, like removing rose petals from a rose, you gently pluck the negative thoughts from your heart and in place, you add the essence of the rose ~ the inner beauty and strength that comes from a rose simply being a rose.

Is this making any sense to you?  Do you need concrete examples?  Are you thinking I’m too pie in the sky for you?  Too Pollyanna and yippy skippy?  Not down to Earth enough?

Watch for it.  In the meantime, you need to get yourself ready.  Enjoy this day.  Get outside and look up to the sky.  Breathe.  Take 3 minutes to just listen to the wind, feel the earth under your feet and reconnect with nature.  Find a bit of inner and outer peace in being present.  You don’t have to do it for long.   Just feel the peace.

I’m holding  your hand.  You’ve got a friend in me.  Take your time.  Allow the grief and the healing to come to you and welcome it with your arms open wide.  You can do this!

Shine On!

xo

The Layers of Now

Being present is what I yearn to be, although like many others, I teeter-totter in the realm of past rememberings or anticipating future fears of what’s to come.  It’s a fine line between the past, the present and the future.  One sharp word can trigger a memory and I’m conjuring up past wounds, beliefs and heartbreak.  One kind word and I’m breathing deeply in the present moment, finding my center of peace.  One anxious word and I’m fearing the uncharted territory of the future.

So where does one go?

Into The Layers of Now!

The Layers of Now is how I’ve found peace within me during chaotic times of trouble which seem to gather around me lately like thunderclouds sweeping in during a summer storm.  I don’t know if I can explain what I’m doing so that it will make sense to you, but I will try.

Simply put, I consciously try with all of my might,

to layer my present moment of presence.

If I need to cha cha into the past, I take a few steps back, rock forward to the present moment and repeat as necessary until the dance becomes obscured by the smile on my face as the music trills in my head, because I have changed my tune.  I drop what wounds I held onto as they don’t serve me anymore.  I allow the knowledge that we are all here together, doing the best we can to remind me that I am not without mistakes either.  I forgive the past, remember what I have endured and face the present with peace in my heart.

If I need to face the future, I step up, then rock back to the present and repeat as necessary.  Never actually staying in the future for it is certainly uncertain at this point, but also, never losing sight of the solidity of the present moment.  Thus I can grow my presents of presence.

Then, when I need to feel present in all the glory or chaos that is this very moment, I step to the side, into observer mode, facing my fears, my angst, euphoria and sadness with the magnitude of a maestro layering the chorus of past/present/future into a hit song that encompasses it all!  I stand by, not engaging, but simply looking with gratitude for all the facets of my life, no matter where they may be, past, present, future, happy, sad, uncertain and I just envelope them in my heart as the layers of now and rejoice, for I am here to experience and connect each and every emotion and feeling.

I am here,

to witness my life as it is right now with gratitude.

*

I am here,

to remember how far I have come from my past with gratitude.

*

I am here,

to open my heart, mind and soul,

to welcome with arms outstretched,

the unseen experiences that may come my way on my future path.

All at the same time.

Connecting…The Layers of Now.

Shine On!

xo

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/layers/

 

 

This Is Life

This Is Life

Gathering memories

Discarding what no longer serves

Allowing changes to occur

Finding peace within.

Baby steps to freedom

Leaving behind another life

Welcoming uncharted territory

Holding my heart tenderly.

Keeping the faith

Praying, growing and knowing

Changes occur

This is life.

Shine On!

xo

Happy Mother’s Day

To all of the Moms out there who mother, cuddle, protect and love,

To all of the children out there who are mothered, cuddled, protected and loved,

To all those who through friendship, mother their friends,

I am grateful for you.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written on my blog.  But today, I am reaching out with my heartlight to connect with each and every one of you, to let you know that I am thinking of you.  To all of you who are mothers, and to all of you who have been mothered and to all of the women who mother others, I send you peace, love and nurturing.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Shine On!

xo

How To Pick Yourself Up

There are times in all of our lives when all of our best laid plans and dreams go kapluey. (Does anyone know how to spell that word correctly?  Please advise!)  It hardly ever happens at a convenient time because, let’s be frank, whoever says, “I want upheaval in my life right now!  Woo Hoo!  Bring it on!”  To my knowledge, those people are few and far between, as the majority of us would prefer smooth sailing.

But that’s not always possible, nor is it probably beneficial, because even in nature, a little rain must fall from time to time to grow us, a little sun must shine to heal us and a little wind must blow to help us to connect with others.

Ok, am I being too spiritual for you?  Do you think I don’t understand all that you’re enduring?  I may not, but I have endured much in this life so far and I have found that in sharing our stories, we help ourselves and others to find peace.

Maybe that’s not the way for you.  Perhaps the darkness feels too heavy right now for you.  I have been there and I understand.  I have felt the weight of sadness in my life.  We all have.  But it’s what you do with your sadness that makes the difference.

There’s a time and a place to sink into the sad, poor me bubble.  I do not deny that fact.  But there is a time when we must be like the little donkey, see my post ~ https://misifusa.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/fridays-burro/ ~ and take what we are given and use the experiences to find our heartlight again, to reignite it and to grow!

I can hear some of you now ~ she doesn’t get what I’m dealing with here, I’m just barely surviving, this is too pie in the sky baloney, she doesn’t know me, she doesn’t have a clue, etc.

Yes, I know and you are right.  I do not understand whatever you are dealing with at this time.  But then again, maybe I’ve experienced something similar.

The difference is what we do when the chips are down and how we react when our path gets strewn with debris, disappointments and such.  We can get angry, get resentful and be hurtful.  We can wallow in an all-out pity party.  We can turn the other cheek.  We can walk away.  We can hang on with all we’ve got.  We can share our strive with trusted friends.  We can take pills to make the pain go away.  We can attend to fixing the situation at hand.  We can ignore it.  We can allow our hearts to harden.  We can be doormats.  We can put up walls and shut everyone out.

OR

We can look inside of ourselves and work on healing.

It’s a choice dear friends.  That’s what life is all about ~ choices.  We have the freedom to choose every single moment of everyday.  We can choose again if we find that our initial choice isn’t what we want.  That’s the beauty of life school.

So how do we pick ourselves up after we stumble?

We choose to pick ourselves up.  That’s step one and a very important step in life.  The first one is sometimes the hardest step (you’ve heard the expression, that first step is a lulu!) but it’s the beginning after an ending and it’s a baby step for sure.

But it is always, a step in the right direction and that’s how we pick ourselves up!

Shine On!

xo

 

Loving Someone With Alzheimer’s

There are touching moments on the journey with loved ones with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia that bring tears to our eyes.  This one caught me and touched my heart.  As a daughter and a niece, there are no words that succinctly fulfill the gratitude I have for this moment even though my family members are still able to identify me.  But knowing that the progression of the disease may come to this moment, my heart fills with the precious and priceless moment that is captured below with a smile.

Even if you aren’t walking the path of memory loss, this viral video reminds us all that we are only here for a short period of time in which to tell our loved ones that we love them, that we are blessed to have them in our lives and to show them how much they mean to us every single day.

It’s never too late to share a special moment with your loved one.  Do not delay dearest friends.  We only have this present moment and as someone who has loved ones who have passed, it is harder when they are gone.  Video tape precious moments with your family members.  Take the time to make special memories with them.  Be patient, be kind, shine your heartlight and be loving You!

Shine On!

xo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude for the gifts I did not see coming.

Gratitude for the connections made when I was broken.

Gratitude for this perfect moment in time.

Amen.

Shine On!

xo

You Gotta Live and Let Live

My Granddaddy owned a general store in a small town in South Carolina.  Because people sometimes didn’t have the money for the necessities that they needed to buy in his store, he would often trade with them instead of using currency.  He would come home with chickens or eggs, once even a goat, from the farmers who needed to buy flour etc.  The story goes that he never let anyone leave without what they needed even when they lacked money.

“You gotta live and let live,” was his motto even back then.  He has long since passed, but the refrain still sticks in my head.  I was talking with one of my cousins today and we were reminiscing about our family and the memories that we shared were priceless.  When I told him the motto above, he chuckled and said it was one of his favorite sayings from AA and he never knew why.  It was simply one that stuck in his brain.

~ Live and Let Live ~

What a lovely way to look at life, don’t you think?  Allow others to be who they are, don’t judge and just look after your own self.  Do what’s right.  Be a good person.  Be yourself.  Be kind and loving towards everyone.  Just remember you can only change yourself and you need to accept everyone else as who they are.  Be a blessing in someone else’s life.  Allow your hardships to help others and not to harden your heart.  Look up and embrace life.  Be joyful that you are here to hold someone else’s hand.  When it’s your turn to need help, embrace the kindness given to you.  Pay it forward.  Don’t hoard your lessons, but share the experiences.  We are all battling something ~ patience and understanding go far when we connect with others on our life journey.  It helps to share when you connect with understanding and embrace others in a kind, loving way.  Be grateful that you can help someone else, even in a small way.  That’s what we are all here for on this life’s journey.

Hold my hand…let’s share!

Shine On!

xo

Remember When?

Recently I attended my high school reunion.  It was so much fun to see so many childhood friends that I haven’t seen in years.  I guess that’s the beauty of a reunion as you get a chance to reconnect with others and you know how much I appreciate connecting with people!

It was interesting as the party went on and we reminisced ~ Remember When? ~ was often the start of a conversation which ended with giggles.  Among the guests were friends whom I’ve known since Kindergarten.  It’s an amazing experience to reminisce with people with whom you have gone to school for 13 years, all the way until high school graduation!  Even though many of us have changed hair color, grown a little bigger and now have children of our own, it was as if by magic, SNAP, we all were back to age 16!  I think that is in the ease of sharing such a group history that we all sparkled for the night!

For there’s something precious about the childhood friendship you make.  There’s nothing like that good feeling of going back ‘home’ for a little while where people know your name, they know who you are, they remember you fondly and you remember them with fondness.  We’ve all mellowed with age and just enjoyed being together.  What a feat ~ what a gift ~ what a blessing.

Greetings with hugs and kisses on the cheek, we bonded again.  Laughter filled the room as we easily joked and teased eachother like family.  We talked about being grownups and parents and how our children did the same things we did.  It’s hard to imagine that we are that old!

What I liked best about the night was that none of us seemed to notice the physical changes.  Instead we concentrated on the friendships that had been established years before and we saw the essence of those kids we knew way back when.  Many of us don’t see eachother more than at reunions, but it’s as if that history makes the immediate grin of connection smoothly jump through years of time in a flash and the comfort level is immediate as is the banter.

Being surrounded by friends who knew my essence, who knew me and accepted me for who I was and who I am is a gift.  No judgment, just friendship.  Growing up, many of us knew eachother’s parents and unfortunately, we have now attended quite a few funerals for them.  One childhood friend in particular unexpectedly showed to my Dad’s funeral 3 years ago and when we hugged at our reunion, tears came to our eyes.  I told her how it meant the world to me that she was there, even though we had lost touch.  Her response that she just had to be there for me warmed my heart to its core.  It was special moments like this which were so precious to me and reminded me again and again how blessed we are in this life.

There’s nothing like friendship and connecting with others, even after so many years.  There are good stored memories within you which ignite and twinkle when we reminisce.  It seems to me that we look for and hold onto the good in our past.  At this age, it’s not so much about competition in that situation, it’s simply about connection, our youth, silly moments and sharing smiles.

Cheers to sparkling memories of Auld Lang Syne…

Shine On!

xo

Remember this song?