“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.” ~ Caroline Myss
December is a time for healing. A time to put down the swords of chaos, lies, and violence. A time to show ego the door and let our Spirits soar. A time for love to flow and hate to be no more.
“She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails.” ~ Elizabeth Edwards
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tunes without the words and never stops at all.”
~ Emily Dickinson
Never lose your belief in the hope of a future filled with possibilities, but at the same time, keep your eye centered on the present. The present is where dreams are made into reality.
“Don’t carry your mistakes around. Instead place them under your feet to use as stepping stones.” ~ Author Unknown
Oh, mistakes, we all make them and will continue to do so until the end of time. It’s not really all that important that we make big and small mistakes as we travel along. What is very important though is that we try and learn from them and hopefully not make the same ones again and again. When that happens something is very much out of whack in the whole way we are living and deserves some investigation.
Beating ourselves up won’t make the mistakes any less and only causes horrible stress in our lives, and we certainly have enough stress just by breathing so we shouldn’t be manufacturing it too.
I used to be really hard on myself when I made any kind of mistake and probably lost some future years and brain cells while putting myself through hell. So now I have finally learned to do what needs to be done when I make a mistake, and then let it go blowing in the wind. Very freeing and good for the soul.
I’m happier living this way and I bet you will be too. Go on, live your life, but don’t be so hard on yourself. Always keep learning by trying new things, and simply brush yourself off when you fall on your face. Hey, that’s how you learn to be mindful.
“Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward.” ~ Kierkegaard
Find your sunset and let it enchant your very soul.
Sunsets are nature’s long kiss goodnight with the promise that life is so much more than anyone of us.
Enjoy the gift that nature gives.
“Start working to fulfill your dreams, otherwise some day someone will put you in work to fulfill their dreams.” Author Unknown
Fulfill your dreams before attempting to fulfill others.’ It’s not being selfish–it’s nurturing self, and will lead you to become a more selfless person. If you let yourself get too caught up in everyone else’s drama, or simply get so involved in helping other people find their way, you will lose and rob yourself of the very reason you are here.
Give yourself time to grow, travel, and experience life before you saddle yourself with too many responsibilities. This advice is especially for the young just starting out in life, and also empty-nesters trying to fulfill dreams put on hold so long ago. It’s never too late.
“No matter what has happened in your past, you have not missed your destiny. No person or negative event can stop you from fulfilling your purpose, but it’s up to you to keep going.” Author Unknown
If you don’t give yourself the gift of fulfilling your dreams, I hope you realize that nobody around you ever will. And if you don’t try you will end up a bitter and angry soul with a life not lived.
Remember, if you are good to yourself you will be a happier and kinder person to all those you care about.
“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
Every season has a special gift for us if we just learn to embrace each and everyone.
Fall is the time to simply let go—just like the leaves of the trees. Let go of all your old resentments, anxiety, sadness, and all horrible negativities you are hoarding. These nasty things are keeping you from being the wonderful person deep inside of you. Let the windy days of fall blow it all far away. “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
Winter is the time to cozy in with loved ones, and maybe slow down a bit. In slowing down we now have made room for some deep soul thinking. We don’t have to be housebound because there’s plenty of wonderful things to enjoy in winter’s nature with the knowing that a hot cup of cocoa is waiting for us in the warm inside. “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” ~ Edith Sitwell
Spring brings us new beginnings and always a chance for a fresh start. As we watch the birds building their nests and the squirrels scurrying about and the flowers coming into bloom we start to feel the energy of renewal. We feel alive with the promise that things will be better. “Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.” ~ Lewis Grizzard
Summer as many of you know is my favorite of all the seasons. This is probably because I have the happiest childhood memories from summer. Longer days, warm sun on my back, running barefoot through the cool grass, and playing outside until the stars came out and my mother had to drag me into the house! Summer is a time to remember being a child and to incorporate the free spirit of childhood back into our lives. “Summertime is always the best of what might be.”
~ Charles Bowden
Whatever the season, embrace it fully. Use it to grow your soul and become the who inside of you.
Listen not only with your ears, but your eyes—your whole body.
Listen to the voice within.
“Listen to your heart. It knows everything.” ~ Paulo Coelho
Listen to what’s not being said; to the silence all around you.
“The inspiration you seek is already within you. Be silent and listen.” ~ Rumi
Listen to nature it’s desperately trying to get your attention and tell you something you need to hear.
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” ~ Ram Dass
Listen carefully to the children.
“People start to heal the moment they feel heard.” ~ Cheryl Richardson
Pay attention to the children because they are the future and the last hope for this precious planet.
“The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.” ~ Kate Chopin
Are you listening?
“Those we love can never be more than a thought away … for as long as there’s a memory they live in our hearts to stay.”
Author Unknown
It’s very painful when we experience the death of a loved one, and the grieving process is different for everyone. One thing to remember is that there is no time limit in grieving. Those that might say, “It’s time to put this behind you,” or, “It’s been a year now and you should be over it…” etc. SHAME ON THEM! There is NO time limit.
When a loved one dies we go through stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance and everything in-between. Every stage is different for each of us, and at some point memories of this person will fill your mind. Remember, memories don’t have to be sad or even make you mad. They can be funny, happy memories that make you laugh and fill you with joy.
My co-worker and I told the children going through the bereavement program that it was okay to laugh, and have funny memories. They looked surprised. But as they talked about their loved ones and told little stories—some sweet and some funny, they seemed to relax and accept that memories can be funny and laughter is always good for the soul.
I love remembering the happy and mostly funny memories of those I have lost. I find it comforting. Sure there were plenty of bad and some very sad times, but I only care to remember the good ones. Sometimes I’m surprised about how many hilarious memories I have. Makes me wonder why I ever thought things were so bad.
Nothing lasts forever and that includes the pain you may be in right now. As long as you can remember, then the memories of your loved ones will never fade. They will bring you comfort on a cold night. They will fill your heart with joy and treasured thoughts, and they will make you laugh as well as cry because of the richness they give your life.
“Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds.” ~ Regina Brett
What a wonderful time of the year. It’s a time for kicking back, and a time to reconnect with nature. Depending on where you live, summer may be brief so you want to make the most of it. That doesn’t really mean planning big vacations, or having ongoing summer parties. It means letting go and unwinding.
Remember when you were a kid stretched out on the cool grass looking up at the stars in wonder, or swimming by the moonlight? Unstructured time to ourselves is what we all need.
Speaking of being a kid, don’t over structure your children’s summertime. It doesn’t need to be overfilled with organized sports and places to be. At the same time, kids don’t need to be on their electronic devices all the time. It can become an obsession for them and that is never good. Kids need time to play, dream, and just be lazy—maybe watching the clouds float by. Balance is the key.
Nature gives us the gift of summer’s long days and warm nights to go exploring who we are, and to dream of what can be. It’s a valuable time for making memories, and for the soul to grow.
Go outside and take a deep breath and let yourself be part of summer.
“Summertime is always the best of what might be.” ~ Charles Bowden
That old adage, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it,” is so very true. It’s that tone we use that can make all the difference in the world. I don’t think most of us give much thought about how we sound or come off to others. And it’s not just the verbal tone we use, but also the tone we use in print, especially in our e-mails and texts.
Tone represents the mood we are currently in, but not necessarily how we actually feel toward the people or subject we are dealing with at the time. So if we are in a bad mood then how we deal with the people around us verbally or in print will have a hard and sometimes nasty edge to it. This can cause a lot of problems at work and in our private lives. And this can especially be devastating when dealing with children or very sensitive people.
Sometimes it’s hard to know when our tone is off because we are busy people, and always in a hurry. We speak or text very fast before we have really processed all information. Yours truly has made that mistake many times. Usually this happens to me when I get caught up in a situation that I feel is critical and the other person has a different view.
So what do we do about keeping our tone smooth and cordial? “SMILE.” That’s right. Before you open your mouth, or write that offensive line, smile first. It’s pretty hard to say or write anything in a mean tone while smiling.
It doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves to be kind and gentle toward others. We all have stressful days, but a bad or really cruel tone can throw another human off into misery, and I don’t think any of us ever mean to do that.
Life can be hard, so put that smile on your face and let’s watch out for one another.
“Tone has the living soul.” ~ Shinichi Suzuki
Life as a Garden 