Category: Hope

We Created It, You know.

I stood propped in the corner of an elevator bemoaning my fate. The thought of having to haul myself out into the blazing heat for yet one more day of pavement pounding in search of sales was horrifying. Put me out of my misery. Just shoot me now. 

The elevator stopped to pick up Mr. FedEx man. A breath of fresh air, he was. Bright, crisp and clean. How does he do that, I wonder? My reply to his cheery ‘good morning’ was a gloomy “Yes. Well it would be if I didn’t have to go out and walk around inside a furnace all day. 

“Well we created it, you know.” Two floors later, the elevator door opened and he vanished as quickly as he appeared. When the door closed a light bulb went on. 

Well of course! Late winter had dragged on through May into mid-June. People were yearning for the beautiful, balmy weather of spring. Everywhere I went, I heard the same mantra: “When is it gonna get hot?” The collective cry was heard, and the universe kindly obliged by zapping us from late winter into a brutal, searing heat wave. Zero to a 100 in 30 seconds. This terminal heat wave was sucking the life energy out of people, and creating a negative pall in the air. It was palpable. I felt it every day as I walked into office after office. We were all victims of Mother Nature.

I wondered—if so many were repeating the same “When is it gonna get hot” mantra, could we have created a heat wave with our thoughts? If we change our thoughts, can we change the weather? 

I exited the elevator with new enthusiasm and purpose. Out into the blazing heat I went, determined to see what I could do to change the weather—or at the very least change the negative pall that was afflicting those I encountered throughout the day. 

I made it a point to visit as many offices as possible that day. I told everyone I met about my elevator encounter and my experiment to see about changing the weather. I parroted Mr. FedEx’s words, quickly followed by the suggestion that if enough of us put our minds to it, perhaps we could create the perfect weather. The suggestion alone was enough to uplift spirits and brighten outlooks.

And guess what? The next morning the world awoke to a beautiful, perfect, clear, bright, glorious spring day. Imagine that. 

Last night while trying to drift off to sleep, I thought about Mr. FedEx and my little experiment. I observed my mind as it catapulted from one meaningless thought to another and was reminded once again that I have dominion over my thoughts. It is up to me to decide what to think. What am I creating in my  mind? 

Imagine the power of thought. Imagine how the world would change if we were all on the same page and using our creative genius to envision a world of love instead of a world of fear. If we are powerful as individuals, imagine how unstoppable we are as a group.

Have you thought about your thoughts lately?

Can you think of a time when a belief or thought became a reality for you? I would love to hear about it in the comments section. Thank you for reading, and please share!

Calming the Storm

It’s a challenge to find peace amidst the craziness of today’s world, have you noticed? This morning as I was doing my best to calm the storm roiling around in my head, I remembered a poem that I read a couple of years ago on the New Waves of Light website that brought blessed relief from the inner turmoil that threatens peace of mind. I share it with you with the hope that it might help do the same for you. These days, we all need as much peace as we can get, wherever we may find it. May your heart be filled with love and light.

RESTING IN STILLNESS

Come and rest your mind, Dear One.

Rest and be still awhile. Let Us refresh you.

Let Us cleanse the window of your soul that you may see clearly.

Allow all that troubles you to slip away and create a void in which you may bask in quiet peace and be renewed.

Know that the void within is being filled with Love and Light that cannot be contained.

Allow it to flow out from you into the world around you, lighting everything that surrounds you.

This is the purpose of sitting in quiet stillness Dear One. There is nothing to be done but to become an empty vessel into which the radiance of the Universe can pour its light through you and be made manifest in you.

There is nothing to DO. Just BE. Rest and be still awhile.

NOTE: This post is generously shared courtesy of https://nwol.us. Please feel to repost or share it with anyone you know who may be in need of a little added inner peace.

Push the Better Button

I always want to be better.

A better friend, a better person, a better being.

I always want to be better at one thing or another,

less focused on ego, less self-serving, less personality.

Clean out the clutter in my head, my closets, my computer.

Claim focus and clarity as my own, take better care of myself and 

listen for the sound of the still small voice within.

Listen, hear, do.

I look back at where I once was and where I am no longer,

a heavy smoker, a lover of wine, an overeater.

I marvel that those vices that once gripped me have somehow

magically departed my life without any help from me.

Decades of overindulgence were not healed on my own,

for clearly I have proven myself incapable of such 

transformation when left to my own devices. 

Somewhere buried deep within, we all have a Better Button,

inactive until that moment when we realize that

we are incapable of healing ourselves of the trials and

tribulations we face as humans on a journey toward wholeness.

There is an invisible button, ever available in times when we might lose

ourselves in frustration over uncontrollable urges that threaten

peace of mind, or in times of self-judgment,

when we think of ourselves as less than we truly are, 

in times when better seems an utter impossibility.

My Better Button has a name—it is called Willingness.

It is the miraculous ingredient that clears the way to effortless effort,

the magical, mysterious key that unlocks the door to transformation,

to the healing we cannot do alone, when there is nowhere else to turn.

Without true willingness, hope fades into oblivion.

Cigarettes, wine and overeating were once my best friends. 

I had to be willing to let them go, to release my attachment. 

I had to be willing to be willing to be willing.

One by one, each willing disappeared until there was only one left.

Then the miracle of transformation happened.

All it took was a Better Button and a little willingness.

Just imagine how a bit of both, a touch of faith and

and a lot of love might heal the world.

A Deep Breath and a Little Courage

Jump out of an airplane and free fall through my fear? Yikes! That’s exactly how it felt on that February day in 2018 when I took my heart in my hands and pushed the publish button on my very first blog.

First time anything’s can be terrifying—the first day of school, a new job, or meeting face to face with an online date. Brian Hannon’s blog, Birth of a Blogger, catapulted me back to the moment when I decided that it was about time to take the leap across the chasm of fear and face the unknown by starting a blog—then muster up the courage to push the publish button. Double yikes!

My launch into the blogging world was particularly frightening because my writing style is often personal and self-revealing. Occasional self-deprecation leads readers to wonder if I’m joking to make a point, or if I’m serious, or check all of the above. It opens the door for readers to view my ramblings through the lens of their own inner vision, which can lead to various interpretations of who they think I am. Sometimes they get it right—sometimes not. Sometimes I don’t get it right myself and that’s okay, because through it all, I have learned that no matter what others may think of  me, it is only important what I think of myself.

I invite you to take a trip across the chasm of fear into faith, knowing that no matter what you do or how you do it, it’s all a part of a journey toward wholeness. I invite you to experience my first free fall into the unknown world of blogging. I hope you’ll tag along and enjoy the ride. Who knows—we may even meet somewhere in the open space of joy along the way.

Ready? Here we go! 

It’s About Time.

Wheee!

Me and My Marbles

My friends handed me an unexpected gift housed in a large white box on the occasion of nothing special. It weighed about three ounces, box, tissue, contents and all. After a brief shake of the mystery container, I concluded that it felt as if there was one marble rolling around in it. I was right. The tissue was the cozy nest of one lone marble. I guess they figured that I was just one marble short of pending insanity. They could be right. 

I promised that I’d save the gift, but when I tried to give them back the box, they insisted that I needed to keep my marble safely stashed away in the box so that I wouldn’t lose it—and I was to let them know where I had stored it, in case I needed help finding it later.   True, I’m beyond spring-chicken years old, and readily confess to being a little forgetful from time to time. But the same is true of my friends, and so I must ask myself—who among us hasn’t been pulled over in the loopy lane occasionally—particularly during these absolutely insane, mind bending, whacko times that we’re living in? It’s a wonder that any of us—even younger spring chickens—manage to hang on to all of our marbles all of the time.

I think we’re each entitled to a little forgetfulness these days, given all of the cosmic solar activity that has been bombarding the planet in an attempt to shake us awake to reality and raise our frequency whether we’re ready or not. No wonder we’re a little off. 

All of this off-ness reminds me that we have a choice about how we feel about the marbles that roll around our path and present themselves as life lessons. Are they welcomed, disregarded or looked upon with disdain? Are they received in love, with suspicion, or fear? Do we reject them, embrace them, or hide from them? Do we laugh or cry at the surprises and unexpected gifts that life puts before us? Can we stand back and simply observe without judgment? Can we accept whatever life throws at us with equanimity and good grace? Can we look beyond the apparent horrors that are happening in the world and recognize that perhaps they are a part of a divine plan to help us move into better world for all—and better versions of ourselves?  

Note to self: Buy a bag of marbles for friends who may need one.  

How lucky am I to have friends who help me keep my feet on the ground and love me enough to be sure that I’ll always have at least one marble, no matter what? Maybe that’s my job during these dark times folks—to do what friends and kind strangers do for one another—see a need and fill it, enjoy a laugh at our own human foibles, and reach out a hand in love to offer safe passage through this life of turmoil until we all arrive in the better place that we are promised—together as one.  Keep the faith my friends! The chaos will pass revealing a new world of light and love.  

The image above is courtesy of New Waves of Light (nwol.us), affiliated with A Tree of Light (atreeoflight.org) and The Coming One (T