Isn’t it a sight to see, this simplicity?

When all of the tiny worries and large stress turn into simply- life or death.

Health and balance. Caring for others. A big picture.

What is real comes out and the illusion fades.  Don’t miss it!

This simplicity.

We are all in this together.  In sickness and in health, for better or worse.

A reminder.

We are all in this together. Whether we are in the same room or a mile a part.

As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

-Marianne Williamson

What in your life needs forgiveness?  What could be healed by turning your heart towards it and softening?  It could be that sources in your life are both external and internal or primarily one over the other.  Whatever that looks like for you, be easy with others and yourself and remember that it’s often hardest to turn this inwards.  To be soft is not a weakness; it is strength, a quiet and truly powerful choice.

Yesterday I spotted the sweetest little bloom on the trail, about a mile from my home.  I took quite a few pictures of the beautiful purple veining and decided I should check in on it for the next couple of days to see how it changes.  Later on in the day, I was outside with my daughter in the backyard and she said, “Hey, Mom, come look at this flower!  I think you’ll love it.”  I walked over to find her standing over the same kind of blossom I was admiring that morning.  What I liked so much elsewhere is blooming in my own backyard!  This has inspired me to ask you what’s in your own “backyard” that you may not have seen? What’s so close at hand and blossoming right there at your fingertips or could be if you take a little time to notice?

When you are looking for something, it will show itself to you.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  If you’re looking to support some political or religious idea, proof of what you believe will emerge and the same is true for someone who believes differently than you — they will see evidence to support what they believe.  This works for other areas as well, small, humorous ones.  A few weeks ago I was wishing I still had a pair of pink corduroy pants that I liked but always fit me in a sort of weird way.  I wanted to wear them (why?) but felt sure I had sent them out for goodwill.  A handful of days later I saw a woman wearing the pants.  She showed up in line next to me and I was drinking a cup of tea.  I’m glad I kept myself from snorting it into the cup when I realized.  Pants are obviously much less of an issue to get wrapped up in than the others mentioned, but I think communicating through lighter topics is preferable.

So if it’s possible that what you believe or want to see could be brought into your experience to reinforce what you’re already generating in thought and word, wouldn’t you like to create with care?  Take a look at what’s on replay.  If it’s complaining, you’re going to multiply the reasons to complain.  If it’s joy, you’re going to multiply the reasons to experience joy.  Hmmmmm… which one of those looks better to you?

It certainly doesn’t hurt to experiment with adjusting one of your thoughts this week to be neutral or positive and just see what happens.

A childhood memory share:

When I was 12, my mother started giving me a little space in the kitchen to make dinner ahead of her arrival home from work.  My dad worked an evening shift and my sister was 2 at the time so this was fun for me and (debatably) a win for her.  I wasn’t assigned to the task — I asked to be there.  I liked everything about the kitchen and even better when my mother wasn’t there because I could pull the spices down and mix different ones together.  I did this unabashedly with her there at first but because she prefers simple seasoning, she told me to stick to the recipes she left me. I continued to sneak in oregano, garlic, and cumin anyhow.

One day I decided it would be fun to venture off into baking and we had fresh peaches on the table.  My mother suggested a cobbler when I called her at work to ask about it and that I take it to an elderly neighbor down the street who was on our church shut-in list.  Okay and okay, that was checking off two things I liked, solo kitchen time and meeting someone new.  I made the cobbler and felt quite proud of it when I walked it about seven houses down.  The neighbor smiled at me and took a long look at the peach cobbler when I handed it to her, “Oh my, this looks so lovely.  Won’t you come in for a few minutes.”  I did go in but I have no recollection now of what we spoke about.  I do, however, remember walking home and feeling very neighborly.  Later that night my mom asked me about how the cobbler turned out and how the visit went.  I said, “It was really fun.  She smiled a lot when I gave her the cobbler and she thought it looked lovely.”  My mom was putting something away in the cabinet at the same time and she saw a bag of marshmallows that I had left untied there, “What happened to these marshmallows!? There was a whole bag this morning.”  I went in to tie them off, “Oh! I decided it would be tasty to add those to the cobbler.  I covered the whole top with them!”  My mom’s eyes grew as she rolled them to the side, “I bet she did smile a lot while she was trying to figure out what kind of cobbler you made her.  Oh goodness, I wonder how it tastes.”  She shook her head at me, “You just have to add your own special touch, don’t you?”  I beamed and nodded to the truth of her words.

I still think we should all add our special touch to things in whatever way calls to us.  I hope you’ll think of something to make your mark on some part of everyday whether that’s dotting i’s and crossing t’s with precision or sprinkling marshmallows on cobbler; no matter how insignificant that may look or feel, letting yourself BE exactly as you are is integral to all.

This very moment is the perfect teacher. – Pema Chodron 

What is being shown to you? 💙✨

This is a wonderful day, I have never seen this one before.  – Maya Angelou 

Find three positives about today and talk or write about them!  Let gratitude for this day guide you closer to your bliss.  🌸💕