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The Eternal Now Power of Gratitude ~ Warmest Wishes to All!
However you celebrate this day – Thanksgiving – or even if you don’t, gratitude is an underlying superpower that can benefit our lives and its value stretches far wider than one day alone.
And yet, having a day like today is a great reminder, if we’ve forgotten the gifts that life on Earth does offer us, when the wild ride of experience sweeps us away into forgetting the presence of now.
I’ve shared this before, but I’ll share it again…
My gratitude practice has truly been one of the most valuable tools I have for instantly changing my experience. I love to think of things I’m grateful for when I wake up, to start the day, and when I go to bed, to put loving closure to it. And any time I find myself feeling anxiety or off balance I use my gratitude practice to shift me back into harmony and peace. Literally within seconds I can change how I feel and it’s worked wonders where other things like even breath work haven’t helped. I simply focus on things I’m grateful for and that space of anxiety is then filled because stress and worry can’t exist where gratitude is being held. I focus on both the gifts in my life that aren’t always recognized AND on things I may want more of stated as something I already have and am grateful for… this is a manifestation practice built into the gratitude as well. Part of that expansive gratitude practice is also about embodying what that feels like, as this really anchors it as truth. It’s all been a life changer for me.
There is so much kindness, hope, and love all around us if we align ourselves with these vibrations and choose to see the good in the world.
A recent walk we did through the forest was such a feast for my inner child eyes, finding a beautifully decorated little tree and painted rocks along the path.
We stopped to pick up some fallen ornaments that a recent wind and rain storm took down, placing them back in the sweet tree someone had adorned for others to enjoy.
A woman saw us and thanked us for decorating it, as she thought we had done that. She added that it brings her so much joy each year to see it. We told her it wasn’t us. We were just fixing it.
She was grateful for that too.
The exchange made it clear that little things like bringing beauty and thoughtful sparks of wonder to others, makes an impact.
We continued on and I started discovering sweet little painted rocks.
I only shared some of them, but we found about twenty placed along the trail. It was so fun to find them and I lit up each time to see what message or image they had to share. We ended up catching up to the young woman while she was hiding them. She was having so much fun placing them with great care and a smile. She had just finished the last ones and got in her car. I could see she was enjoying watching us find and read some after that.
Little acts of creative love go a long way in touching others at just the moment that can make a difference. I reflected, thinking about who else might find these and have their day and life shifted from one small act of giving from the heart.
It didn’t matter to these people that anyone knew who did these things. It was purely out of joy of sharing heart to heart.
We actually celebrated Thanksgiving early this year between Dave’s two eye surgeries he just completed yesterday, so that we knew he’d be up for things. He’s doing well – these have been long awaited cataract surgeries that involved getting two different and special, new kind of lenses – one for each eye to assist his sight – something he’s not had good for most of his life. So, it’s a big shift, with some more processes to go, but feels indicative of new vision for a brighter future that we’re all a part of in this new Aquarian Age we’ve ignited.
We enjoyed the warmth and fun with my family last Sunday – with mom and dad cooking and baking up their usual amazingness – and stayed the night so we could relax and spend even more quality time together. This is something that wasn’t possible when our fur babies were all with us still.
The house was filled with seasonal beauty, cozy closeness, and delicious smells not only from the amazing vegan comfort food my parent’s made us, but also the scrumptious scented candles that take you on a journey of the senses throughout the rooms.
This provided us a long evening of laughter-to-tears while Dave taught us how to play poker. We laughed so hard I…well I’ll spare you the details – but it was good ol’ belly laughs and fun.
Dave and I also took in an evening stroll around the neighborhood to walk off full tummies and make room for dessert.
We were greeted by a gorgeous, vibrant, and evolving sunset canvas, got to take in some of the already-Christmas decorated homes, were greeted by a giant cottontail rabbit (hard to see in the evening light under the bushes) next to a beautiful lighted tree, and found three nests along the way.
The rabbit had been sitting next to the Christmas tree, creating quite a magickal scene when we first walked up. Then she moved under the bushes and eventually leapt off to a backyard, allowing us to see those large thumpers and cute cottontail butt in action.
Each nest was different, but only this one, below, was gifted to me.
It was the sweetest of the three – so delicately woven and soft as can be. I think this family used some tufts of rabbit down they found to weave between the softened grasses, which makes it extra magickal!
There were even several dark red, tiny leaves attached to it. It will become part of my ever-growing nest mobile.
New life and dreams are being held space for within soft cradling and nurturing embrace. Other parts of life have moved on, but the cycles invite next waves to nestle into shore.
I love that this little nest is so tender, and yet so strong – it is woven with great resiliency, as you can’t pull it apart – and yet it’s light as a cloud.
We have continued to experience on and off snow here. Although the snow is melted around the house, it is sticking and building on the mountain tops and elevations above our 6600 home base, readying the slopes for ski season. The ski resort is open, but with only a few runs ready and Dave healing from his eye surgeries, we’ll be waiting to venture on up.
It’s that in-between-seasons-time where physical activities we like are mixed varied terrain while we await enough snow for snow shoeing and skiing. But we can still get in hikes until then and take in the shifting landscapes that provide equally cozy feelings to that of mom and dad’s home for the holidays.
Thank you to all of our friends and family for your connection, love, support, and friendship over the years. It means so much to us!
It’s a huge gift to feel your presence and to share this fertile time on Earth with you to cocreate experiences like we’ve never seen before.
If we can lean more into the kindness, love, creativity, and presence of this now moment, I feel like our energies will be well focused.
Your conscious awareness and anchoring of energies within is the greatest contribution of deepening reach and profound effect.
May this holiday season support greater connection to, and focus on, the things that matter most and may we carry the light of wonder throughout the days of our lives.
Small Acts of Kindness ~ Spreading Seed Messages from the Heart
It doesn’t take much to make an impact. Small acts of kindness go along way – even farther than you’ll ever know, nor need to. A simple smile, hello, or telling someone they’re beautiful or that you appreciate them can change the course of that person’s life just when they need it most.
You might never know how your little bit of heartfelt compassion will affect someone, but doing something “just because” is where the most value is. Only the ego needs to understand the result. The higher self and heart already know the intrinsic value that goes without mention.
Just recently, as Dave’s life has shifted tremendously with his work coming to closure, he’s been exploring and discovering new parts of himself that desire an outlet of expression. Like many of us, life shifts are anchoring and taking on new meaning and so, too, has he been enjoying the organic process of how that is evolving.
It’s been heart-warming and sweet to watch Dave’s unfolding creative soul finding a new voice. And while this will continue to shift, as they always do once we embrace and take action on what is showing up in the moment, the joy he is experiencing is the same I know others are and will from what he’s putting out.
Just recently, on his own, he supported the nudge he got to start painting rocks and pieces of wood he found with simple messages and joyous images to leave on the trails we hike daily.
He was looking into buying some paints, but I told him he could just share mine. I was excited to supply him with the tools, including some inside pointers on using them and a lot of encouraging support with his idea. I happen to be working on two commissioned art projects currently, so we’re both in artsy mode, together, right now.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen him paint, let alone draw. And how sweet it was to watch!
I love what he’s created so far. He even made two rocks inspired by our rabbits, Cosmo and Joy, and some inspired by our Russian tortoise, Gaia.
He even included a bear, which is interesting because bear energy, as you might recall me sharing has been so prominent in my life this year both in the most recurring dream themes and in real-life sightings. And, just a couple of nights ago, bear returned again in an interesting unfolding that included a specific interaction with Dave – unbeknownst to him until I told him, but he’d already created the bear rock above.
So far he’s left two on a recent trail we did before the snow storm. I just had to document it for him, as you can see in these photos of him placing them for people to see along the trail.
Part of the fun, he said, is that the rocks will go to whom they are meant to be with. Being observant is part of that process and the rest is about alignment.
Some people may even just receive the message in heart, but decide to leave them there for other fellow explorers to discover as well.
It was almost like an Easter egg hunt with him placing them in different spots, except the rocks are not hidden. They are deliberate in terms of passing along a message and a smile.
I won’t say where these first ones were placed, but if you’re local to the area, you just might find one along a trail you explore.
He painted several more, some of which we’re taking with us on our upcoming road trip we’re leaving for tomorrow, so that he can place them on trails at our destination, too.
Spreading small acts of kindness through the creative heart is one way you can add a little light in someone’s life.
You might recall that while on our Magick Bus adventure, while gypsy-living in an rv for nearly two years, I started creating Magick Stones from the beautiful rock beings that spoke to me on our journeys.
I love that Dave came up with his own expression of rock art and how he wanted to share joy, peace, patience, and love with others – who knows what other messages he will add too! It’s fun seeing him having fun and letting his inner child out more and more.
I want this to be his project, but I did find just one rock that spoke to me while he was gathering rocks and wood for himself – it was a heart-shaped rock that felt important to share too.
And so I painted this stone yesterday before working on a mini wood portal painting, to add to his that we’ll be dispersing along trails on our mini vacation away.
I love the idea of merging our creative, child-like hearts.
So, yes, I’ll be away between the 12th (tomorrow) and 17th of this month, which put a short delay on sharing the new offerings I mentioned because of preparations and work I needed to get done. I’ve also been working on a couple of commissioned art projects and so my days have been full alongside enjoying snow shoeing adventures from our recent storm. I’m actually going to be doing a little fun work on this trip, as the energy of where we’re headed feels to be inspiring for both painting and idea-flow. So, there’s potential I might share a blog one time while I’m away. Otherwise, we’ll be immersing in our own personal journey this week to both celebrate and receive guidance on what’s to come.
Never underestimate the power of a simple act or expression. If your heart is nudging you to do something, do it. It could change someone’s life, including your own.
Happy 11/11!
Live Kindly, Love Strongly
Just a short post in the vein of gratitude and self-love. It seems to be a pivotal time for everyone right now. I have heard from a lot of people who are going through some intensities, holding points while things evolve, but also big growth spurts that present their own challenges. Overall, a lot seems to be asked of you and may also seem to be coming at you. A reminder to breathe in the love that you are and to take those moments because it’s so crucial not to neglect your well-being during these incredible shifts of potential.
Don’t forget to be grateful for every little thing. The gratitude challenge I invited you on wasn’t just about those 11 days, but hopefully to instill a mindful practice that can help shift the energy in the moment of despair.
Don’t forget to experience all things from your heart, with understanding, presence, patience, curiosity, love, and seeing each person, animal, plant, and child of Earth, as if they are you and listening and responding to them in the way you would want and need if you were in their shoes.
Don’t forget about loving yourself with all of your might, which also means to establish boundaries that maintain your health and ability to come from a place of greater wholeness.
Some of you are stepping out more and that level of vulnerability can be taxing as well, while you learn to temper the inner critic and doubts with more trust and courage.
All of this is asking you to love even more and, foremost, love yourself even more.
I have a lot going on right now, myself, and am busy preparing for Laura’s visit and our upcoming Equinox workshop event in two Saturday’s from now, have been running around doing errands and a lot of tedious things to FULLY clear my slate so I can give my attention to the only focuses I will soon have come October 1st, been supporting my mom through a rough bout of shingles, and doing my own best to stay grounded, keep balanced, and take care of me.
This has definitely included not being available to engage a lot of things that come at me, or to limit my engagement, because frankly I just can’t energetically be there right now. In my past I would have to the detriment of myself and in the end was no example for anyone of thriving.
To me, that was surviving and enduring through self-sacrifice and ultimately falling into an enslavement trap that feels so conditioned in us all on a very deep, bigger picture level. And enslavement can also be to these “ideas” of what we think we need to do or who we’ve been suppressed into accepting we are as a conditioned reality.
I’ve come to learn that the only thing for me truly to do is live kindly, and love strongly. That nothing really matters except expressing the creative wonder in my heart and embracing the richness available in every moment that slips by us.
Make time for loving you and living every dimension of life as art.
There is Much Kindness in the World
One of the things we’ve discovered on our journey is that the RV community has been such a joy to experience.
We’ve met some of the nicest people that share a love for the outdoors and living freely and simply.
Some are simply taking vacations, others are living full time as we are, or part time for extended periods.
Everyone is always so helpful, reaches out, smiles, and wants to lend a thoughtful hand.
Everyone also seems so happy, relaxed, and carefree.
I found this note by my plants this morning from our neighbors that left this morning before I could even say thank you.
They had seen me tending to my plants when we arrived yesterday, transplanting and watering them.
I left them outside in the sun and fresh air and they took care of them for me at night.
There is much kindness in the world, despite all of the stories you hear, what’s in the news, or the dramas some people find themselves embroiled in.
You don’t have to live in an RV to experience kindness or any other act of humanity.
We create our realities and I’m constantly experiencing and seeing the reflection of that.
Masters of Love
This is a great article about creating the kind of strong relationships that will flourish, be enriching, and long-lasting. Thanks Laura for sharing and for your additional comments.
I feel that the insights are for any kind of relationship, not just marriages, and not just for romantic connections either.
From my own experiences the insights from research shared in this article are indeed things I’ve come to find extremely true and important to what cultivates a healthy relationship that either has the potential to be long term or not.
I believe true intimacy comes from things like being present, patient, having gentle kindness, sharing genuine engagement and interest, a lot of vulnerable, authentic and loving communication, mutual respect and honor, and as the article shares – active constructive responding.
This is a great read with helpful insights to implement into your daily relating.