Leaving The Traditional Behind

What’s the traditional to you?  Years ago, I would have declared I was the traditional wife, mother, daughter, niece and caregiver to family.  I would have happily regaled you with stories about the traditions as a family we enjoyed and how I came to rely on those traditions, even when I sometimes dreaded the work that the traditions held.  You know what I mean right?  Making huge family holiday feasts, plastering a smile on my face, even when I felt like crying and pretending that all was well, for the sake of the traditions that had come to be expected?

Have you ever felt that way?

But I have been released from the traditional now.  My life has changed dramatically.  No longer am I a wife, but instead, I am a divorced mom.  Today marks the first time I am completely alone as my children have gone to visit my Ex’s family on vacation.  The divorce is official and we have moved into our own little rental for the time being.

It’s a strange in-between place for me.

I was contemplating this when I saw the Traditional – Daily Prompt which I thought fit me well.  I’m embracing a limbo of sorts until I decide what I want to do next.  I have a few days of solitude ahead in which to fill the hours with whatever I choose.  I can’t remember the last time I had time like this!  Being in a new rental means I have no memories of traditions that pin me to the past.  It’s like there’s a clean slate on which to write my next chapter.  As I sipped my morning coffee, I realized for the first time in my life, I have freedom to choose what makes me happy at least for the next few days without worrying about how it could impact anyone else.  I have freedom from the traditional day of routine, of motherhood, of responsibilities.

There’s a plethora of possibilities in my head, swimming around, ripe to pluck and execute.  Do I go for a walk on the beach and inhale the enticing sea air?  Do I take a nap, curled up on the couch and eat bon bons?  Do I call a friend to meet for lunch and enjoy a glass of wine in the middle of the day to celebrate the break from traditional?  Do I stuff myself with popcorn and candies and watch a chick-flick?  Do I read in peaceful silence?  Do I go out shopping and buy myself something fabulous?

Ahhh…the release from the traditional!

All these choices are spinning in my mind and instead of being sad that I am alone, as my children are away, I am divorced, living in a rental and my life is not how I had traditionally planned it to be – in my heart I am planning on embracing the freedom from the traditional!  Of course, I’m sitting here writing to you, but it’s time for me to dip my toes in the sea of possibilities!  So off I go – into the unknown and with love and light, I send you hugs for a Tuesday!

May you also enjoy a break from the traditional – I think it’s time we all have a little moment to break free from the confines that bind us to the plethora of shoulds that cage us at times.  I’m not suggesting you go out and do something wicked.  That’s not me!  But to shake up the routine a bit, now that’s a possibility!  What new tradition can you make today?  Got any ideas?  Please share!

Shine On!

xo

Why Should I Fear?

“Behind me is infinite power.

Before me is endless possibility.

Around me is boundless opportunity.

Why should I fear?”

– Stella Stuart

Have you ever experienced fear or viewed life through fearful eyes, ears, mind and soul?  Fear can wrap its icy tentacles around hearts and paralyze our thinking.  I have been there.  I know that it happens and fear can have the power to stop us in our tracks.

But this quote above by Stella Stuart is a lovely reminder that there is more than fear in this life.  Fear can be managed when we think with love, with possibility, with hope and with faith.  I wanted to share this quote with you today so that you can have the gentle reminder that you are more powerful than you know!  Shine your heartlight dearest friends!

Sending you strength, love and boundless possibility, today and everyday!

Shine On!

xo

Daily Prompt with a Twist

A Heavenly Place

Today’s daily prompt said:  “Ode to a Playground…A place from your past or childhood, one that you’re fond of, is destroyed.  Write it a memorial,” and today I’m asking for a bit of leniency from you as I answer the question.  You see, last night, my son had a dream that was so vivid to him and it immediately brought me back to my childhood, so I wanted to share it with you.

I’ve been to Heaven.  There, I’ve said it and now those of you who want to can click away…and those who want to stay, please understand that I am opening up to this playground of my past for you.  No, I haven’t died before (although I’ve had a few close calls in my lifetime), but I have experienced Heaven which to me, is a playground of my past.

As a child, I was intuitive and I believe that as children, we are receptive to many energies which surround us but as we grow older, we tend to lose sight of them and stop connecting with them for those imaginings are not thought of as grown up…and yet the funny part I think is after we are grown up, we long to dream again, to open up to possibilities in our lives and we are reminded to stop and smell the roses.  Do you know what I mean?

For you see, I dreamed of Heaven and that dream, although it happened more than 25 years ago, is still as vivid to me as if I had dreamt it last night.  To me it was comforting to feel so at home in a place where I have not been in this lifetime except through dreams.  In fact, I have dreamt of the same house many times in the last 25 years and each time, there are people in the house with whom I speak or share a smile and they can see me ~ except they are all people who have already passed in my lifetime.

Ok, have I lost any of you yet?  Or are you still with me?

I guess what I am trying to say is that I believe that when we close the door to our playground of childhood, we destroy our dreams.  We destroy the ability to create our lives in the way in which our higher selves function.  The key is to not stop believing ~ to not stop the feeling of possibility ~ to continue to hold onto that playground of Heaven where love encompasses our every moment.

Imagine a world where we all kept that love alive in our hearts!

Shine On!

xo

 http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/daily-prompt-ode/

Reach for the Stars…Follow your Dreams.

Reach for the Stars…Follow your Dreams.

With all of this goal talking lately, I thought this was a great card to use for the start of the week.  What a way to begin a Monday…reaching for the stars and following my dreams!  I hope that you can palpably feel the rush of enthusiasm for the week through my post…how exciting to begin the week with such exuberance!

Perhaps you are not feeling this way this morning…or perhaps you’ve caught my goal bug and are enjoying the endless possibilities and opportunities which come with life!

If you are not feeling the adrenaline rush of dreaming big, then let me help you…take a moment and just breathe.  Stop where you are (in a safe place please) and just breathe…think about how many times a day you breathe…and do you think about it?  Probably not…yet without your breathing, you would not be here…it’s a simple task that we take for granted.  We hardly give thought to it and yet it is one of the most important things we do each and everyday, many, many times a day.

Now look up to the sky and back down to our beautiful Earth…with this amazing weather, Spring has Sprung all over early!  Marvel at the green in the blades of grass and at the beautiful buds on the trees, bushes and flowers which are beginning to grow and open to the sunshine of Spring.

Sit back, get quiet and close your eyes for a moment, let your mind drift to nothing and concentrate on your breathing.  What images and thoughts come to your head?   Daydream for a moment…what’s your ideal life like?  Imagine it, feel it, smell it, let that feeling of utter happiness envelope your brain and your being…can you feel it?

When you open your eyes, take a moment to smile and to write down your experience…now you have a start of your dream and your path to the stars…

Everything is a possibility for you…all you have to do is to believe…and you can succeed!

No grumbling about Mondays…it’s the start of a spectacular week of possibility!

Change your attitude and all about you changes…

you vibrate to a different level…

and allow your dreams come true!

xo