Author: valeriecameronmerritt

We dedicate so much of our focus to celebration and honoring family, traditions, and spirituality to this specific time of year which can result in unrealistic expectations as well as extra stress depending on the approach taken.

Watching the blossoms on my Christmas Cactus come to life, stretching out it’s joyful red petals, has caused me to pause for a moment and ponder the steady care required all throughout the year that produces these blooms at the holidays. The plant has reserved it’s blossoming for the closing of the year and holds symbolism of the fresh starts promised by a new year.   It reminds me to nurture those things I want to see blossom all along as the days pass and that with time, the care will produce little blooms unfolding all over the place! This is true of friendships, familial connection, workplace interactions, personal expression, and more!

Please remember to nurture yourself and others throughout the year and to allow things to flourish in their own way and time!

 

Tips by Nora (age 9), with afterthoughts from her mother:

1. Never judge someone by the way they look.   Beautiful gifts can come in unexpected packages.  Be open to beauty in it’s many forms.
2. Always be friendly.  Approach others with a smile.  We are all drawn to kindness.
3. Be polite.  Consideration for speech and actions can create a positive atmosphere.
4. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Yes and Yes and Yes and Yes. That’s the ticket!

 

Affirmation:  I am complete

“You are an unfinished work in progress. One of the good things about life’s challenges: you get to find out that you’re capable of being far more than you ever thought possible.” – Karen Salmonsohn

Openended discussions, the never ending cycle of dishes in the sink, the work you did today that will continue to require attention tomorrow: life is always unfinished and you, too, are always in process of becoming – until your physical body ceases to be.

We can also view ‘unfinished’ as always complete.  There is nothing but completion in each moment. As the moment flies off from us, it is complete and we are too.  If our world and us as part of it, are always in process then why not see this process itself as a form of completion?  Celebrating our unfinished states of being and recognizing this as complete in any given moment may help to spread peace in your heart and quiet into your mind.  I wish this for you! Be at peace, with a quiet mind, an unfinished beautiful work in progress, and yet absolutely complete in your exchange with each moment.

Affirmation:

I confidently allow the blossoming of my True Self.  I open the petals of my heart to allow the fullness of my spirit, talents, and self expression.

Pronoia is the suspicion that the whole world is conspiring to shower you with blessings.  – Rob Brezsny

May you be open to receive them!!!

 

 

 

“Butterflies are not insects,’ Captain John Sterling said soberly. ‘They are self-propelled flowers.”
– Robert A. Heinlein, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

 

 

He is carefree.  He carries flowers and stuffs them into his shirt pocket, his pants, wherever they’ll hold.  His shoes are off.  His mind is clear of worry.  He is dancing anywhere the impulse strikes him. He is the Fool.

What does it mean to live this way?

You have to trust without reason and if you’re cheated, go on trusting.  You have to give without expectation.  You have to find light in every situation, no matter the darkness that may be present.  You need to be the light.  If at first you are only a little light for yourself, this is okay because with time your inner core will become so bright and bold that holding it back from anyone will prove to be impossible. Allow yourself to be where you are and to honor that for what it is.  Live your life with the strength and the love that is available to you in the moment.  If it’s minimal, humbly accept this for the gift it offers you with probable growth to come.

Being the Fool may look foolish to others, but being in absolute alignment with yourself is far from foolish; no one can keep you from being you or from feeling good about that.

A couple of months ago I decided to take the nearby trail barefoot after a chat with Jess about connecting to the earth more deeply through this simple action.  It’s a fast track to alignment.  I hope you’ll try it before it’s too cold out there to enjoy your skin against the dirt.

 

Let’s celebrate nature this weekend!  There is so much to be appreciated outside if you take the time to notice and the more you notice with appreciation, the more you will receive.  There is an incredible tide of loveliness out there.  Once you dedicate yourself to seeking this, there’s no stopping what will come rushing to you!! Enjoy ✨💛✨

on making and enjoying soup:

With just the right seasonings, a few simple ingredients can combine to make a delicious soup, requiring little disturbance or attention from the chef.  The key is allowing the ingredients to sit together, to merge so that all of the flavors have time to blend in a way that can fully delight your tastebuds.  After lining up the content, we can become the witness of a process that essentially comes together on it’s own.