Stars

Stars are always in Season!

Tis the season!  

Symbolism's, rituals, baking, shopping and all that the holiday season represents to each of us individually has begun!  I absolutely love this time of year, the decorations, getting together with friends, family while enjoying good food, glass of wine and holiday movies!

One of my favorite things to do is drive through neighborhoods to admire the holiday lights on houses. The illumination can be so bright that there is no way to get lost, miss a street or neighborhood! 

The tree lights, lights on banisters or around the fireplace mantel all set the atmosphere and tone of warmth while providing safe passage from room to room

Stars- shimmering and shining so brightly on this crisp evening, standing on top of the bluff looking out over the night landscape no light is necessary. The night sky is clear and easily to see the constellations, this evening the sky is so thick with stars that it almost seems like there is no space from one star to another. 

Mesmerized by the beauty of the sky my mind was quiet; all I could image was what it would be like to grab a hug full of stars! Silly, yep, Childlike, absolutely!

Did you ever lie on the lawn at night and stare up at the stars and dream?  Did you ever have a bad day, a relationship gone bad or confused over life and found yourself looking up and gazing at the stars?  I know I have more times than I would like to recall.

The sky has always been a comfort and a source of strength. Seems like when an answer is needed or clarity of a situation, looking up and gazing at the stars always triggers a solution and the right direction.

Even if there is cloud cover, always reassured that the stars are always there, shining and giving the inner hope and reassurance that all things are possible.

Tis the Season of all possibilities, new dreams and old dreams resurrected, a time of warmth.  

Time for me now to suggest during this time of reflection and preparing for all new things in the upcoming year, Star Gaze! Wish upon that Star! Remember, the stars are constant, always there providing direction, light and the twinkle that all things are possible!!! 

Look up, Dream, Believe and Achieve all that You Desire!





Meander

Interesting how words come in and out of our lives. Meander, hadn’t seen or heard that word for years until recently. As a little girl my mom would say “stop meandering and get moving”.  So I would step it up and run to catch up with her, never really asking the true meaning of what she meant. I just thought she wanted me to catch up with her, figured I was just moving too slow!

Actually I was taking the path of least resistance and exploring. Typically my Meandering was when we were out in shopping plazas, attempting to go around the adults that stopped in front of me or winding through the different entrances to the shops to quickly check out what was in the store and coming out a different doorway. To me, it was all perfect, fun and I got where I needed to be in about the same time as walking along with the crowd.

Recently on a walk by the river began to think about the contour of the path the river was flowing, the ease of which the water flowed up and over the rocks, around boulders in the way of flow, curving around the bank.  I stood for quite awhile just observing, listening to the soothing sounds of the water and getting into the rhythm of the flow. I enjoyed, being present in the moment, listening, observing and thinking about the ebbs and flow of life.  Wondering if we meandered more in our life how more freeing, how much smoother life could be to then allow us to be more present in the moment and enjoy family, life and others.

Rivers meander, as they flow along where there is least resistance; soft dirt is much easier to cut through than boulders or hard rock. When a river tends to meander it is a time to slow down.

So I took time for me to reflect on Meandering, Rivers and Life, I asked the question:

“What can I learn?”

Time for me now to share:

      Each day lessons to be learned on life from nature when we are present in the moment.

      Challenges? Obstacles? Not attaining a goal?

      Stop and assess actions or situation

      Continued resistance?  perhaps meander and find a different route to your goal

      Each River has a distinct and different path but always ends up down stream

§  Why not try new ways, different techniques or collaborate with others 

§  Flow with events versus struggling to push; when running up against opposition or a huge boulder in  your part, go around and forge a new plan.

Why? Perhaps new learning’s, new experiences, and new results!  Interesting!

Remember all the possibilities of the people that will cross over your part of the new river flow that could have an impact on you, your life and opportunities for you!

Perhaps a little meandering is needed to create the beautiful life and dream that you desire…. 

Time for me now to wish you tons of fun, laughter and joy while learning to meander!



Time For Me Now Inspiration - Receive

Recently I was exploring an 1863 Mansion and the beautiful grounds of this magnificent estate.

The mansion is now a historical site and the grounds are a park for everyone to enjoy. As I was walking around there were many family reunions taking place as well as individual couples and families enjoying a picnic. The sounds of laughter, food being grilled, games being placed and children running around the area made for a great visit.

The mansion was a nice experience but doesn’t compare to my experience with two wonderful young ladies, ages 11and 13. While reading about farm equipment used back in 1863 I was approached by a young lady. She held out her hand with a leaf and a flower sitting in the middle of the leaf. She asked, would you like to have one of these?

The energy of excitement projected from her whole self and her voice, how could I say no?

So I accepted and thanked her. She ran back over to her friend who was sitting under a big oak tree making more of these beautiful “leaf gifts”. I heard her say, she took it and liked it!

I walked over there, sat on the ground with them and began a conversation. Turns out they were cousins there for a family reunion and they were bored! So they decided to “make something” that they could give away. Turns out they had asked several other people but “they didn’t want them”.  Sitting there for a few minutes saw the excitement in choosing the right flower to fit perfectly in the center of the leaf. The creativity, excitement and conversation were a joy to experience. Yes, I made sure to use positive words of encouragement and confidence as these young ladies were so fun, energetic and excited about their creative art class!

So as I was getting up to leave, I thanked them very much for selecting me to receive their gift; it was a beautiful birthday present. They shrieked with laughter and sang Happy Birthday!  What a fun experience! If I had not received the offer of their gift, I never would have met these fabulous creative teenagers or started my day with such pleasure and FUN!

      Receiving provides opportunities to engage with others

      Receiving allows the Giver to experience kindness, selflessness and appreciation

      Receiving brings chance encounters; open doors

      Receiving just plain feels good

Time for me now Inspiration is: the next time someone offers to give something or to give help be open to accepting.  Both the Giver and Receiver are rewarded in so many ways!

Dream, Believe Again and achieve all Your heart desires!

Time For Me Now Inspiration - Freedom

The Sky is Blue; Clouds are Fluffy and All Is Well!

Look up and treat yourself to a moment to absorb the beauty of the sky, it can feel empowering and bring an emotion of Freedom. 

This can be a great way to start your morning or perhaps refresh after a day of work.

Each morning the first thing I do before getting out of bed is to look out my window and look at the sky. Since living in the desert, the sky is seldom overcast, which I am so grateful!  The last thing I do each evening is look up in the sky. Each evening I am mesmerized by the stars.

I feel such as sense of Freedom each morning, and each evening when looking up!

Freedom feeling in the morning is that all things are possible; it’s a new day and a new beginning. The Freedom in the evening gazing at the stars or moon is a release or a sigh of “All is well”! 

Yes, sometimes I say “See, I made it through today”…..  Freedom to release!

The sun is always going to rise in the morning and the stars will always be shining bright each night.

Freedom is also the opportunity to Play and do something that is FUN for you!  Freedom to play and have fun inspires us as well as makes us happy!  An opportunity to get outside the confinement of our self imposed box of routine.

This week take a few minutes each day to do something that Frees your Spirit!

Here are some examples, I am sure you will come up with many others that will give you a feeling of Freedom! I would love to hear what you did to release, inspire to create a sense of Freedom.

      Laugh for no reason

      Play your favorite music, sing along or dance

      Jump up and down laughing and saying “ I am free to express myself”

      Pump your fist and say “Yes, it’s Wednesday”

      Get that bike out of the garage and take it for a spin

      Favorite movie as a kid that made you laugh? Find it and Enjoy

      Any expression outside of your normal day will release a sense of newness- freedom

Have Fun with Freedom!

Time for me now to remind each of us to Dream, Believe Again and Achieve all that You desire!

Time For Me Now Inspiration: Introspect

Self Examination is probably one of the hardest things to do and yet it is so important for each of us to take time to assess exactly what is going on with and inside ourselves.

Feel out of balance and not in control? Stressed, overworked or in conflict with life’s events?

Introspection can be a place to regain the balance, the control over our lives, as well as taking time to manifest dreams, set goals. Introspection can also be a time for giving gratitude and appreciation for all good things in our lives. 

The past couple of years, especially the four months of this year, have been so exciting, so fulfilling but yet so all consuming in all areas of my life. I consciously am aware of staying in balance, exercise, being healthy as well as quieting my mind; I was “walking my coach talk”.  My desire was to strengthen my energy, get even more grounded and balanced as well as expand the goals for the remainder of the year.

I realized that to accomplish what I needed to achieve, I needed a change of revenue and definitely not in my office, my personal space or my outside landscape. A retreat was definitely the solution.

My question was the how, when, where this retreat would take place. Was it possible to be able to do?

 So I used the Dream Incubation technique to determine what was best for me and then let it go.  The message came in the form of large majestic Red Rocks.

When having dinner with a good friend, discussion of “getting away” and the reference of Sedona, AZ  resulted in putting a plan into motion. My experience and belief is, when something is right, all the pieces of the plan fall into place with little or no resistance. Time is available, resources become available and all things just work out usually much better than the expectation!  Even had my dear friend join me!

My introspection showed me that replenishing, restoring and taking time for me was the solution!

Red Rocks, hiking, hiking and hiking more, getting back to nature, sitting by the falls, being quiet, appreciating the animals, observing the majestic beauty of the desert was such a blessed retreat! I gained all that I needed and more-

My dream and desire for you is to take time to look inside, listen to what you hear your body, your mind, your soul is saying to you. Take some time to find your balance so that you may achieve all that you desire!

 Dream, Believe Again and Achieve all that you Desire!

Time For Me Now Inspiration - Fulfillment

The phrase, "My cup runneth over", is one way to describe being Fulfilled!

Fulfillment is a deep inner feeling of satisfaction where all is well, an inner sense of peace and contentment. A feeling of pure joy and excitement!

This sense of fulfillment may be experienced after completing a phase in life, a project or a goal that has been completed. A Dream comes true!

Whatever is allowing you to be fulfilled and feel contented, Celebrate!

Celebrate the accomplishment, Celebrate the rewards, and Celebrate your life!

Pause for a moment and reflect on what brought you to this fulfilling moment.

Now, write down all the obstacles, the challenges, new learning’s, perhaps new people you met along the way to this moment. Take time to reflect on these experiences, perhaps write them down in your journal.

What did you learn? I imagine there was much learning on this journey than the end result. The lessons, new skills, obstacles and yes Fun along the way are our teachers of life to enrich and support our growth.

Fulfillment where to begin or expand the experience of fulfillment?

Giving of service or being kind to others who may need a kind word, a smile; volunteering or helping a neighbor; the ability to give to others freely results in our receiving of fulfillment.

Our inner self & spirit loves when we give and uplift others and the gift we receive is fulfillment!

“Planting a seed, setting a goal, dreaming a dream, taking that first step and continuing to put one foot in front of the other each day, is the incredible beautiful life experience of an overflowing vessel called fulfillment” CL

Affirmation:

Excitement & Confidence flows through me as I experience all things that are woven along the path to Fulfillment!

 Dream, Believe Again and Achieve all that you desire!