Gratitude in my heart

This morning I woke up with gratitude in my heart. Gratitude on my mind. Gratitude in my soul. I felt like I was basking in the ray of abundance. That all that I have is all that I must be grateful for. That all that comes my way, no matter whether I feel is good or bad, is to be grateful for because I am being shown either the way to be or the way not to be.

IT seems that there is so much to be grateful for right now. So many blessings that are coming my way and when I stop and think about the journey I have taken thus far and the journey still to come, I feel like I am on the right track deep down in my soul. Even though I feel some confusion about the doors that seem to be opening for me at the moment, I know they are there for a reason. Reasons I must explore and not be afraid to either.

When opportunities present themselves, they usually do so because we have asked for them on a subconscious level and they appear when we get in the practice of expressing gratitude rather than desire. Gratitude opens the door to the Universe because it is the key to our soul. Key to the Divine Spirit because the daily practice of gratitude shifts us out of that place of lack and places us in the well of abundance.

Daily gratitude allows us to accept when things work out the way we had envisioned as well as when they don’t because in both instances we know we are where we are meant to be. That when things don’t work out, it’s because we are not ready for the shift yet and we are being prepared for something else. Something grander than what we first envisioned. Gratitude opens our body, mind and spirit to change. To surrender. To trust. To faith.

This morning I woke up with gratitude in my heart. Gratitude on my mind and gratitude deep down in my soul because I know I am a child of the Divine and I know my life is exactly as it is meant to be right here and right now. In gratitude for waking up this morning.  For feeling the joy in my heart. For knowing I am who I am as I am. Right here. Right now.  

What a wonderful and liberating feeling to feel such fortitude for being me and for being in this place at this present time. Making me think of the old gospel song, I’ve got joy, joy, joy down in my heart…”

Happy Halloween everyone. Be safe and let’s be grateful for whatever comes our way. Think of it as either a trick or treat but meant for us nonetheless.  In gratitude.  Namaste. 

There is a whole world out there

There is a whole world out there 

For all of us to explore

There is a well full of abundance

For all of us to share

There is a call from the voice on high

To bring us together

To awaken us

To call us home

When we listen

When we stop

When we praise all that is

Was and ever will be

When we recognise we are a part of the whole

That life is for each one of us to experience 

The energy of the One Source

There is a place for all of us

Each one of us to shine

But we spend so much time in the darkness

Afraid to come into our own

Afraid to expose our vulnerabilities

And weaknesses

As if we are the only ones to have them

When we all have them

We have become conditioned 

To calling out the worst in each other

The worst in our society

Looking for them

Seeking them

Rather than seeing the good that exists in us all

In everything

And so we create the strife and turmoil that is ever present

Thinking and believing that’s what makes the world tick

What makes us feel alive

When in fact it is that which keeps us down

Mired in the darkness

Blinded

So we cannot see

The horizon

The light

The joy

The peace

Existing for us every single day

There is a place for all of us

Where we can experience joy

Pure joy and bliss

When we open our eyes

When we open our ears

When we stop

When we listen

We will hear

The voice of the Divine

Leading us

Helping us

Guiding us

To this place that resides 

Deep 

Within us all

This place of peace

Of love

Of Happiness

And of pure joy

But only when we surrender

Only when we believe

We are worthy of entering this place

Only when we trust

In the voice of the Divine

Which is our voice

Our innermost voice

Asking us to listen

To take heed

To be present

And stop resisting

We will find this place

We all have and know

Giving us the wings to explore

The whole world out there

Allowing us to see and understand 

The well of abundance

Is plentiful

There is no scarcity

At all

Because

There is always us

And the voice of the Divine

Namaste

Travelling both physically and metaphorically yesterday

Yesterday I travelled all day both metaphorically and physically. I left my hotel in New Orleans early so that I would not get caught up in traffic. Meeting a taxi driver who talked to me about the hardships that are still occurring in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina some 8 years before. Of how people still have nowhere to go so they have not returned to where they were before. How many of them have struggled and are still struggling to rebuild what they had. And for those who returned how it took them some three years to do so. Paths intersecting to teach me to be grateful for what I have because it can be taken in an instant.

The physical is temporary. The spiritual is forever. Eternal. I knew as soon as I woke up and saw the date that I would be in a sacred space all day because it was my mother’s birthday. And every year when her day comes around, I feel myself reconnect with her spiritually. Letting me know her essence remains within me. Even though physically we will never see each other again in the physical forms we had known, we will always be connected spiritually as she remains in me as I remain in her.

I knew no matter what came my way, I was being watched over by my angel mother because it was the day she entered her physical body to begin her path of becoming my mother. Gathering up her experiences to prepare herself to set the stage for me to enter my physical body some 31 years later in her life. Some 50 years ago in mine.  I felt her with me all day long. So I felt a sense of confidence. A sense of what was to be was going to be so there was no sense worrying about anything.

As we flew through the air last evening on my last leg home from Miami to Bermuda, I looked out the window and saw layers of pillowy clouds- thick, puffy clouds like marshmallows  against a red sun setting sky. Almost like flames of passion streaking through the purity of the clouds. I felt so connected to the Divine. So at peace with my place in life. To know I am a part of creation. Of all that is possible and available abundantly and freely.

To know the energy I give out is the energy I receive. To know life is all about being present. Not doing. Not projecting. Nor expecting. Just being.

 And when we are truly in the presence of ourselves that’s when we hear the voice of angels, the whisper of our meaning, the sweet sound of eternity all wrapped up in the magic of our existence.

This thought drawing me to my  O magazine. Leading me to this most haunting, touching and profound quote Oprah referenced  in her column, What I know for Sure, “Let the power come. Let ecstasy erupt. Allow your heart to expand and overflow with adoration for this magnificent creation and for the love, wisdom, and power that birthed it all. Rapture is needed now - rapture, reverence, and grave.”  Wow.

She ended her column by stating, “Our main job in life is to align with the energy that is the Source of all energies, and to keep our frequency turned to the energy of love….When that is your life’s work, mystery solved - or at least, the mystery no longer mystifies you. It only heightens the rapture, reverence, and grace.”

I felt her words and the quote deep down in my soul almost as if the Divine and my angel mother were giving me clues. Clues to answer the questions that have been plaguing me of late, Is this all there is? When will I step into my own? Am I doing what I am meant to be doing? Letting me know I am always in my own and I am always where I am meant to be as long as I am fully present allowing space for rapture, reverence and grace. Namaste Mama and Oprah with love and light, reverence and grace.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Saturday I received a true blessing and a great lesson from the Universe. I was truly being led and I listened to the call of the Universe and the sound of my inner voice and I took heed. Casting aside all of the negative chatter that was trying to keep me away from the CPCU Conferment Ceremony I was meant to attend.

I arrived in New Orleans on a beautiful and picture perfect Saturday afternoon after a long journey and all I wanted to do was to have some down time. Walk around the city and browse whatever was around so I thought. But my cell phone buzzed and it was the woman who had organised the panel I was going to be speaking on for the Sunday giving me the run down of events that would be starting in about an hour from the time I received her message.

I debated about whether to attend the events or to just relax but every fibre in my being told me to go to the events so I relented. Despite it being a Saturday, I was going to be full on business. No rest for the weary I thought. I showered and dressed within that hour and found myself walking into the conference centre a few minutes early but the hall was packed. At least the front was and everyone who knows me knows I don’t like to sit at the back unless I have to leave. I like to be up front so I can look into the eyes of those who are speaking to me and feel their energy to see if what they are saying is truth or just jargon.

I walked down the packed hall to the front most seat I could find and settled myself in reluctantly and with a resigned attitude that I was there and I was not planning to stay for the duration. The Conference opened with a children’s choir from one of the elementary schools singing the Star Spangled Banner and though it is not my national Anthem, the sound of the children’s voices touched me in a special way. My feelings of resignation started to lift, opening me up to start enjoying the experience I was about to have. Letting me know I was in the place I was supposed to be in. My unease shifting to anticipation.

And then the CPCU organisation did something I had not seen before as I have not been to a Conferment ceremony in many years. The whole feel of the ceremony has shifted to one of celebration and inclusiveness rather than form and drudgery. They selected two new CPCU designees’ stories of what they went through to get their designations. Both stories were touching and each woman though she came from a different perspective basically told the stories of how they turned tragedy and adversity into opportunity and possibility.

Setting the stage wonderfully for the keynote speaker, Chris Gardner, the author of the all inspiring book, The  Pursuit of Happyness and the character behind the man played by Will Smith in the movie of the same title. Chris Gardner blew me away with his talk about and belief in a concept he has coined as “spiritual genetics”.

Chris believes that we are defined not by where we come from or what privileges we have been given but by our belief in self worth, by our belief in ourselves, by our belief that we can be or have anything that we want. And it matters not what background we come from, some of us are just predisposed to make it in this world and make it big.

He showed us the scene from the movie of Will Smith and his son on the basketball court where Will says to his son, “Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you…You can’t do something. Not even me. All right?”  One of the most tear jerking scenes in the movie. Causing a tear to form in my eye as I thought about some of the roadblocks that have been put in my way and the road blocks I have unconsciously put in the way of my own children because of conditioning to believe that I and they have a to be a certain way in order to make it in society when in fact they are already wired to be who they are and all I am here to do is to enable their spiritual genetics to develop in the way it is meant to. As I know all too well from my life.

He further brought this point home when he told us how his mother always used to tell him, “You got a dream…You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go for it. Period.” Reawakening the dreams within me that I have told I cannot achieve. Filling me with great hope and possibility. Sending tingles up and down my spine. 

Once he walked off stage to a standing ovation, the doors opened and in marched a local marching band as balloons fell out the ceiling, princesses and people on stilts came down the hall.  Bringing with them the spirit of New Orleans filling me with promise and life. 

Once all of the hoopla died down and as I was walking out of the hall, I spotted Chris Gardner at the front of the room and contrary to the way I normally am, I turned and walked back to the front to be in the presence of this great man. To honour him in the way he had honoured me that afternoon. I shook his hand and thanked him for helping me to see the light and to reconnect with the spiritual genetics in me.

I even had my photo taken with Chris afterwards because I was so inspired by his words, by his persona, by his spiritual genetics and by the fact that he embraces who he is no matter where he is and does not feel the need to be anything but who he is. Sealing the lesson and blessing that I had been led to exactly where I was meant to be and got it deep down in my soul on a Saturday afternoon in New Orleans.  

Memories

Memories may be beautiful and yet what’s too painful to remember we choose to forget. Oh it’s the laughter,…Sing it Barbra… Streisand that is….

Lately I have been using my husband’s computer because my computer has shut down and every time I turn on his computer I am staggered by the random picture that comes up. My husband has all of the photos we have taken over the years streaming on his computer and I love turning on his computer to see what image comes up first. Sometimes I find myself caught up in the photos that I forget what I turned the computer on to do. Taking a walk down memory lane – people, places and things I had forgotten until their photo appears. Jugging my memory. Taking me back to a time long ago or just the day before. So lovely are photos. So treasured are our memories.

When I see my children in their photos of days gone by, I am amazed at how much they have grown and changed over the years. And more than that I am amazed at how quickly those years have flown by. The experiences we have shared together from different places around the world seeming to have only happened yesterday until I see how little my children are in certain photos. Nostalgia feels my heart as I think about how now my son’s voice has deepened. How he is taller than I am. Such that when I see his little face in some of the photos, my eyes fill with tears with the realization of just how much we have to live our lives. To be in the moment and to appreciate every single moment we have because those pictures have truly spoken to me in a thousand words as the old cliché says.

I see my daughter with her full, fat cheeks when she was a little one now growing up into a young lady. I see how all those years I obsessed over being fat were clearly a waste of energy because compared to now I was thin back then – but never appreciated how I looked and still look. Forcing me to wonder why I was so obsessed with my weight and continue to be obsessed with it.

Coming to the realization that it is true - we are never satisfied with the way we look until we look back and see we were actually good then. Reminding me to appreciate who I am at the present moment and not try too hard to be what I am not.

Photos capture moments past but remind me to be present and to enjoy the life I am living because the years are passing by too quickly to obsess about things I cannot control. To worry about what was and what hasn't even happened yet. To enjoy every single day because those photos reminded me just how quickly time is marching on. Blink and the son I had yesterday is now 14 years old. The daughter I had yesterday is now 10 years old. The girl who lost her mother when she was 13 is now 50 years old. The couple who fell in love have now been married for nearly 22 years. Wow - so much water under the bridge. So many memories, beautiful, painful, inspiring, deflating, magical, imagined. Memories nonetheless. Treasures of time. Memories.

The shattering of the morning silence by the sound of pouring rain

And then just like that, came the rain yesterday morning. Shattering the silence of the morning as the rain pounded the ground. Jolting me out of my state of utopia to a state of shock. Where did the clouds come from in that swift moment? How could my morning peace have been disrupted so abruptly by the sound of the pouring rain? Assaulting sound of rain. Like the urgent beat of a drum. Bang. Boom. Bang.

Because life is like that came the answer. Full of sudden and unexpected changes to keep us grounded. To remind us that even when we think we are finished, life is not. It is constantly changing. Growing us. Surprising us. Taking us down paths least expected.

Shattering our comfort levels and instead taking us on new paths. To allow us to explore beyond what we know. To see what we had previously shut our eyes to. To become a part of something new.

Life is a journey. Not a destination. A process. Not an answer.

And then there was silence again. The song of the tree frogs louder than ever. Happier than pigs in mud for the downpour that had come drenching them with love. Life is constantly changing. Constantly shifting. It is only us that try to stand still. Only us that want to remain static.

Just like that downpour came and shattered my silence. So do does life. So too does change. Look outside and you will see that no two moments are the same in nature. The light is one way one moment then shifts in the next moment. The trees still; then moving in the next. There may be nothing in our view and then a butterfly flutters by. A cloudless and magical sky suddenly changes to a dark and menacing one.

There is nothing static about life so why do we always want to resist change? Why we are so afraid of the only constant in life – change. Night running into day. Day into night. Sleep to wake up to a new morning. Endings and beginnings. Beginnings and endings signalling change every single day of our lives.

Grateful now for the pouring rain shattering my moment of utopia reminding me to be grateful for the moment and not try to hold onto it at the expense of moving on. To glory in its moment and be prepared to move ahead as life truly does. Never static. Always dynamic. As am I. As are you. As are we all. Namaste.

A fresh new day

This morning when I woke up there was a light shining through my windows. Almost as if it was calling my name. Asking me to explore where it was coming from. Beckoning me to the window. I answered its call. Thinking at first it may have been the motion lights set off by the little cat called Sally.

First I went into the family room to look outside and realized I had forgotten to draw the curtains last night. But was I glad that I had! The curtains were wide open leaving a frame around the patio doors and allowing the full morning sky to be seen through the glass doors. And what a sight it was. Beautiful morning sky illuminated by the moon’s light. Three stars shaped like a triangle immediately in front of me. Slight clouds in the sky. Dark but full of light. Radiant almost as if I could hear the voice of angels through the closed doors. Almost as if I could touch possibility. My whole being responding to the beautiful and spectacular sight in front of me. Gratitude spreading throughout my whole being. I almost started to shake from the pure joy I felt.

Not wanting to leave the magic of the waking morning, I walked to the other side of my house. To the entrance and opened the door and stood outside. Inhaling the freshness of the new day. Listening to the sound of the silence of the morning. Only to hear loud and clear the tree frogs singing at the top of their lungs. Looking up at the sky full of stars. No clouds blocking their light.

And then I caught sight of the moon. Its light radiating my whole being. No obstructions to its light at all. Nothing inhibiting it from being seen and appreciated. Its fullness slightly gone because the full moon, known as the Hunter’s Full Moon, has passed but casting its light nonetheless. I stood outside for a few seconds feeling grateful for having taken the moment of silence. For having given myself the opportunity to appreciate the glory of this new day. To remember that life is what I make it.

Uttering a silent prayer of gratitude for the flu bug slowly but surely leaving my body. Thanks for being able to breathe again unobstructed. That my throat is no longer as raw as it was and my ears are slowly but surely unblocking. I inhaled some more. My balance returning.

Grateful for the natural beauty even in a darkened morning. Life teeming despite the morning not quite awake. Filling me with life itself and allowing me to cast aside any worries, angst and illness that may be left in me to know that even in the darkest moment there is always light. It’s all a matter of how we open our hearts and eyes to see it. Feel it and acknowledge it.

Namaste for the star filled morning against the dark sky allowing the light of the moon to cast its radiant light filling me with joy, possibility, peace, love, harmony, and hope. With much gratitude and blessings.

Moving beyond guilt

This morning I am all over the place. Eyes glassy from the remnants of this flu bug. Body still not 100% but I am telling myself I must forge on regardless of how I feel.

But why I answer from a place deep within me craving to rest. To go back to bed.  Why do I feel I have to prove myself to anyone when I am the only one that can determine my fate?

Why do we feel we must assume all the armour we assume to go out into the world rather than letting the vulnerable truthful light self of who we are be the real person we show to the world?

How did we become so conditioned to show the world what we are made of – stamina, strength, and power – when in fact sometimes we are vulnerable, sick and just plain tired?  Why can’t we accept that we will not be up all the time and we are not meant to be?

Sometimes we get sick to make us reflect on what we are doing to our bodies, minds and spirits. Sometimes we are sent to bed to allow all aspects of ourselves to reconnect because we have become disconnected. So driven to be driven that we get knocked down by our own bodies, minds and spirits.

Like today all I want to do is go back to bed. To rest some more because I am not 100% there but I have certain demands that I must meet today and if I don’t I will feel guilty. Guilt is a shadow energy that comes from the dark side of who we are. Our lives can only be transformed when we make peace with our shadow energies as per Deepak Chopra.

So what I will do today is compromise. I will complete what I must complete then I will come back home and go back to bed. To allow myself to rest so I can get back to feeling 100%. And not feel guilty about being ill either. And hopefully those I cannot meet will understand because I need to give myself permission to rest in order to heal.

Succumbing to the flu

Yesterday morning I woke up with the sniffles and a bit of a sore throat. As the day progressed so did my cold. By the end of last night, I was shaking and feeling really rough so I decided to go to bed to sleep it off only to wake up this morning even groggier than I felt yesterday. My throat is now raw and I have chills going through my body. Not like the ones with hot flashes. These ones are a bit more debilitating.

I have so much that I have to get done today. My husband is away so I am a single parent. I need to get my children to school and to their activities and I have some urgent work waiting for me at work.

But my whole body is breaking down. Descending into the shutdown zone. Talking about perfect timing. How could this happen to me this week of all weeks when I am so busy? Is it just the Universe telling me that I need to stop? To give myself a rest. To let my body, mind and soul shut down for a bit to get myself back together.

So what do I do about all the things I have to do today? Do I forget that I am ill and just push through? During my meditation I tried to shift my energy. Tried to tell myself I am well. Tried to tell myself I’ve had worse but my mind, body and soul are refusing to listen. They are pushing back against me and telling me this illness is for real because I did not take heed before. Because I did not listen to the warning signs that I was wearing down. So now they are forcing me to have to stay in bed. Taking the options away from me.

So what I am learning today is when we let ourselves go too far, there is no power of intention that can get us back. All we have to do at that point is to succumb to our body’s need to rest which I am reluctantly doing today because I have no choice. Praying that somehow everything will work out today for me with all that needs to be done.

Back to bed now. Head is too heavy to keep up. 

There is this cat called Sally

There is this cat. Her name is Sally. Black and white and cute as ever. Petite but makes her presence known. She’s our neighbour’s cat but wants to be our cat. She was the queen of their castle until they decided to adopt two other cats much to Sally’s chagrin so Sally has moved out and is trying to move in with us.

She appears at our doorstep. Quietly and determined. And whenever the door is slightly cracked open, she finds her way in. Often curling up and sleeping on someone’s bed in our home or stretching out on the bench in the entrance. Sneaking in when we least expect. An opportunist at its best.

She makes no real demands except to be a part of our home and no matter how much we try to turn her away, she keeps coming back. Purring at us. Looking up at us with her beautiful dark cat eyes. Bringing us gifts and depositing them at the front door – lizards, rats, birds – whatever she can hunt to let us know she loves us and wants to be a part of us. That she is worthy of being in our home.

Our hearts melt each time and we get closer and closer to letting her in to our family but there are two major problems with us having a cat – my husband and son are extremely allergic to cats. A major deterrent to letting her in but Sally doesn’t understand what allergies are and frankly as a cat, she does not care.

All she wants is a warm body to rub up against and a place to call home so even when we resist her and refuse to feed her because then she will never leave, she insists on showing up. Insists on pushing her way into our lives. As I am typing this she is rubbing herself around my legs. Forcing me to acknowledge her presence. Playing with my weak human emotions. Cracking my hard shell.

Why is she even in the house at 6.17 in the morning you may wonder? Because my husband just left for a trip and rescued a bird from Sally’s clutches. She was torturing the bird. Batting it. Playing with it and about to kill it and leave it as our gift. So my husband let her in  to the house so the bird could escape. Then left.

And hence my blog is about this cat called Sally who is not even ours but is insisting she becomes a part of our family. She even plays nice with Mysty. Lets her smell her and follow her until she gets tired of the silly little rabbit and then runs off. But honestly speaking I think Sally only tolerates Mysty to impress us. She probably would rather eat her then befriend her but Mysty is larger than her and is our pet so she has to play nice with her to get to us.

And as if she knows I am writing about her, she has hopped up on my desk and is rubbing her face against my hand. Nudging me. Letting me know she wants to be here in our home. Purring deeply as if she is so content. Drool dripping on my computer because she is so content. As if she knows she is the star of my blog. Manipulative. Pervasive and Innocence all combined. How can we resist?

So tell me what are we meant to do with this little black and white cat who wants to be our pet? Who is insisting on being our pet? Who makes us laugh but at the same time causes my son and husband’s eyes to itch? 

Resist I tell myself. Don't give in. So I’ve just put her back out. Hopefully the bird has escaped and hopefully we can too. But somehow I don’t think we will as she is determined to make our home hers too. And she is carving out a place in my heart. Our hearts... oh well...

Life

Life is full of detours

Pit stops

Unexpected stops

Expected stops

Changes

And altered plans

To help direct us

Where we need to be

Life is ever-changing

Never static

Even when we believe nothing is happening

Something is always happening

Changing

Growing

Expanding

Right before our eyes

But because we are often looking for something big

Something large

Something extraordinary

We miss out on the small changes that are happening

Every single day

In very simple

But significant ways

Flowers blooming

Birds singing

Rain

Sun

Wind

Light

Dark

People happy

Some sad

People marrying

Some separating

Babies born

Elderly people moving on

Life is always changing

Always offering us opportunities

To renew

To change

To be reborn

When we accept

Life is as we make it

Believe it

Envision it

Life is constantly providing for us

Guiding us

Hinting to us

And when we don’t listen

Smacks us in the face

Knocks us down

To enable us to remember

Who we are

And what we are

To show gratitude

For everything that happens in our lives

Life is beautiful

Magical

Intimidating

Frightening

Glorious

Spontaneous

It is as we see it

Live it

Dwell in it

Life just is

As are we

So what we need remember

Is the only thing

That is standing still

Is us

Never life

We are the only ones who stop

Because life does not

It goes on

Eternally

With or without us

So it is up to us

To embrace it

To keep moving

To keep believing

To keep living

For we are the gifts of life

Living

Breathing

Growing

Every single day

In very simple ways

Not to be taken for granted

Not to be ignored

Life truly is beautiful

Enchanting

Rewarding

And abundant

We are life itself

Living

Breathing

Growing

Every single day

In simple but profound ways

Namaste

Feeling of transformation through a double rainbow

Yesterday morning I left my house as the rain drizzled down. The daylight was not yet there and the nightlight had not quite gone. There was a heaviness and dreariness to the feel of the morning. A mistiness like the weather normally seen in England. That constant state of drizzle.

As I sat in the back of the taxi watching the scenery go by, my attention was drawn to the heavily clouded sky. As I looked toward the South, streaks of bright red cloud occasionally came through where the heavy clouds had parted to reveal the dawn sky light. And thoughts of weather changes came to my mind. And why had we had so much rain this year. More rain than sunshine it seems over the past few months.

As we were driving along the Causeway with the daylight becoming more prominent but still not quite there, I looked toward the Northeast and saw two slits of light through the dark and heavy clouds that looked like eyes staring back at me. As I looked at the slits which at first seemed quite ominous, one of them formed the shape of a heart. Almost as if the Universe was telling me there is always love even when we feel afraid. Even when everything seems to be conspiring against us. Even when the light has not quite come to the forefront, love is always there because we are love.

That what we see is what we project. What we feel is what we know. Our thoughts contain a lot of history about who we are and what we have seen.

By the time I was boarding the airplane, the skies were still dark and heavy with rain still drizzling down but against the dark and heavy sky was the most beautiful and vivid rainbow. Stretching like a serpent revealing all its magical colours against the darkened sky. Any feeling of foreboding I had had up until that time were replaced by feelings of enchantment, magic and spirit. Each colour of the rainbow was vibrantly displayed. Making me think of the rhyme for remembering the colours of the rainbow. Singing it in my mind, Richard Of York Goes to Battle In Vain – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet – making their presence known in its band of the rainbow.

So enchanted was I with the majestic rainbow that I could not help but smile and breathe in its presence with gratitude. Taking a moment to stop to admire the beauty, the natural beauty, of nature even in an otherwise dark sky. I could clearly see the end of the rainbow which was shimmering against the ground. The light like something from out of a fairy tale. Bouncing back up but at the same time looking like the light was continuous despite the solid and hard ground. I could feel the presence of the mythical leprechauns dancing at the bottom. Shifting through their pot of gold. I could feel the promise of the abundance we have in our lives at all times. Understanding that is the pot of gold at the end of rainbows – abundance and treasure of living and life.

And then as I started to walk away that’s when I saw the second rainbow behind the other. The second was not as bright. Not as beautiful but it was there none the same. Hidden in plain sight as I sometimes like to say. Shadowing the other. Mirroring the other but not taking away its light. My step lightened that much more as I felt so blessed to see and feel the presence of the Divine in that special moment of connection back to the One Source.

To some a double rainbow means transformation. And that is exactly how I felt when I was blessed with seeing the two rainbows just as I was boarding my flight. A sign from the Universe that I am at the gates of transformation but I need not rush it or push it because when the time is right all will be revealed. I inhaled deeply and with gratitude.

Grateful for the blessings in my life all vividly displayed in the double rainbow stretching and reflecting showing me there is no beginning or end. It just is. We just are. I am as I am as are you. I boarded the airplane with love and light in my heart, rain on my clothes, a slight physical distraction, but not enough to spoil the joy I felt from the sight of the double rainbow. Namaste

When we are callled

When our inner voice calls

We must answer

When it directs

We must follow

When we know for sure what we need to do

We must do it

No matter how difficult it may seem

Rather than hesitating

Rather than waiting

Rather than dismissing

When we are called

We must answer

Because the door only opens when we ask 

But closes when we don’t act

And that’s the difference between those who live their lives

And those who stand on the side lines

Watching

Wishing

And not participating

It is for those reasons that they become

Bitter

Twisted

And insecure

Because they feel they have nowhere to turn

The world is against them

Rather than for them

So they lash out at those who could help them

Who want to help them

Until those who want to help them

Can take the abuse

The behaviour

No more

So they walk away

To the place where they are welcome

Allowed to be

And they thrive

Because they listen

And take heed

Of the voice from within

The one we all have

Calling our name

and our name alone

Wanting to help us

And us alone

To find the way

To be the way

To know that when it calls

We must answer

When it directs

We must follow

Because it is our consciousness

Our compass

Our light in the dark

And will never lead us astray

But gives us the courage

When the door opens

The crack we asked for

To walk through

To embrace what is

To be fully present

In order to hear

Our name being called

In order to see

Our dreams unfolding

In order to visualise

Our lives exactly as we dreamed

Accepting we are all worthy

Of the life of our dreams

But only if we allow ourselves to accept

We are worthy

Knowing the worthiness comes

When we listen to our inner voice

Our inner compass

Our light in the dark

What a wonderful gift

To know

We are all worthy

In our own right

To the life of our dreams

When we take the time

To listen

To answer

To follow

Our inner voice

How did the detour signs become so prominent in my life?

Where do I start today? Where are my thoughts today? Worrying about what comes next. Worrying about what to say next. Worrying about whether I am making good decisions or just making decisions to suit my ego.

Worrying about whether I am living in my truth or whether I am living as others would like for my truth to be. Do you ever get like that? One day everything seems to be just right. The next day it seems like everything is so false. Untrue. Not knowing who is on your side or who is against you. Not knowing whether to turn left or right.

Sometimes these obstacles and thoughts come to detract us from where we are meant to be. Sometimes they come to blind us from doing what we are meant to do because they allow us to project our fears and worries onto others rather than focusing on ourselves.

Where am I going with this today? How could I have fallen out of sync with me so quickly and so easily? How did the detour signs become so prominent in my journey at the moment? What happened to my own compass? My own inner voice? Why am I trying to silence it now?

I need not worry about where I am going. I just need to focus on where I am. Accept that sometimes I will feel off course. That I will run into obstacles but as long as I am operating from a place of gratitude and of abundance, I need not worry about what is coming next. I need not try to direct where I am going next despite all the warning signs. Sometimes it’s best to sit back and let things unfold as they are meant to and let the chips fall where they may.

To accept that when we stand still long enough, the truth always come out. Always reveals what is meant to be revealed. Sometimes we just have to trust we are where we are meant to be. Life will always come to us in the way we approach it. Not in the way we expect often but in the way we most need.

Today I choose to step into courage. Courage, as defined by Dr. Maya Angelou, is one of the most powerful virtues we can ever have. She says we can be kind, true and happy erratically but to experience these feelings all the time despite what is coming back to us is to have courage. She suggests we build courage by doing small things like smiling at someone that does not look like us, think like us. Just be courageous enough to be gracious and kind and then life will be gracious and kind to us.

That is my message for today to be courageous enough to be gracious and to let the simple things in my life fill me up with gratitude and abundance rather than looking for the next big thing. Rather than overlooking what is right in front of me and then all the muddle and kerfuffle will fall to the wayside. Rather than worrying about the things I cannot control. Things over there. Not here. People I cannot control. They are them. I am me. Allowing me to step into the life I am living right now. And truly live it rather than watching it from the sidelines. Step into the courage of who I am. Truly am. 

And for this unlikely lesson this morning, I am truly grateful.

Finding our true selves through meditation

Yesterday morning, I did the most beautiful and enlightening meditation. I loved it so much I want to share that experience. The meditation was about finding our true selves.

And it began by stating that our natural state is to be peaceful, joyful and happy until we disturb it. Meditation is a way to let go of things that disturb our natural state. It is the way to find the happy, joyful, and peaceful person that is at the core of who we are.

Meditation allows us to transcend the superficial and brings us back to the meet our true selves. That part of us that lives deep down inside that is love. It allows us to break down the barriers of conditioning, fear, uncertainty and resistance we build up in an effort to protect ourselves from heartache and pain to allow us to get to the essence of who we are.

Meditation allows us to see the barriers we have built up are truly what are causing us the pain and heartache because they force us to remain barricaded from love rather than open to receive love. These barriers keep us mired in scarcity rather than allowing us to see the abundance that is freely available to us. These barriers keep us feeling afraid rather than empowered. It is through the process of meditation that we are allowed to quiet our minds, to break down the barriers and go back to the place of the beginning and ending, to the place of eternal and abundant love and light to understand who we are – truly are. Creatures of love, light, peace, happiness and joy.

Meditation allows us to peel away the layers, like the skin of an onion, that hide us from our true selves by helping us to understand each layer is a shallow substitute for who we truly are. And with each layer removed, we feel lighter, joyful, peaceful and happy. We feel possibility rather than impossibility. We feel love rather than hate and hostility. We feel abundant and purposeful rather than scarcity and useless.

That’s why it is so important to take time each day to focus and centre ourselves. To still our minds and go deep within. To peel away the layers that hide us from ourselves and to dwell in that place for a few minutes, hours, or whatever time it takes for us to reconnect with our inner sanctum of peace, joy and happiness. To bring forth the best of ourselves for ourselves so we can radiate that part of who we truly are out into the world. And when we do, we will find the world is full of joy, peace, love and happiness.

We realise how many layers we have built on top of our essence selves causing us to see with certainty that it is us that are creating the illusion of a world filled with war, hatred, hostility and scarcity because that is what we are projecting.

We understand when we meditate or quiet our minds that the world we live in and believe in is the world we create by the energy we project and the thoughts we create because our world is a reflection of our projection. Finding our natural state of being is the gift we can give to ourselves to live the life we truly desire and need. And we can achieve this by simply setting aside time each day to reconnect with who we are, truly are, naturally. Namaste.

A late start yields a vision of joy

This Morning I woke up late. Jumped out of bed after a dream where I was cresting a hill and told to look out over the horizon. Look out over the world before me and see all the abundance that was available to me.

And what I saw before me was a vision of what some may call heaven, others nirvana. A landscape of bright sunshine, clear blue skies and a wide, wide world just for me. It was at that moment that my eyes flew open. I looked at the clock and instantly panicked. It was 5.50 in the morning. A whole 50 minutes later than I would normally sleep during the week . Even more worrying was the fact that  it is Monday. I jumped out of bed with a start wondering why I had begun the week late. Why I had lost time this morning of all days.

But then as I was in the bathroom trying to wake myself up, something inside me told me I am exactly where I need to be. That I was supposed to sleep in a bit to see that beautiful and wonderful vista in my dreams. To understand this is my world that I am living in. No one else’s.  To know and accept with gratitude there are other people in my world but they are there to support me not to direct me. To understand my life is as I see fit for it to be. That all other people in it can not do anything to detract me or discourage me unless I let them.

And in my mind’s eyes will remain that vision that kept me in bed a little longer this morning because I know deep down inside it was a vision from the Creator. From my essence self, not my ego self to remind me to live my life with conviction, truth and honesty coming from a place of love and abundance.  To know always that if I come from this place, that clear expansive horizon with plenty of light, love and space is what my life will always be. A life of abundance, love and light.

And as the full message from my vision came to me in my quiet moment in the bathroom, all panic and concern melted away and instead were replaced with love, light and joy to know this is my world. No one else’s.  And it is up to me to live my life from my essence self; not my ego self.

So instead of feeling bad about how I woke up this morning, I feel wonderful that I was kept in bed that little while longer to see the message of the Universe. To feel it throughout my being; allowing me to know I am as I am where I am. Made from love, of love and in love. And it is up to me to bring that love and light into my whole being such that I can share it with those who cross my path and are willing to feel it.

What a joyful morning for me and a great start to the week. Accepting I am who I am as I am where I am in a world filled with love, light, joy and abundance because it is the world I create. Namaste.

Finding time for ourselves is very important

Good morning. It’s Saturday morning. Early Saturday morning and I am already at the hair salon having my hair done so that I am available to take my children to their many events today. My husband can do the work he needs to do. And I can fit in some community work later today as well before working backstage tonight for South Pacific.

One of my friends called me this morning at 6.45 to ask if I was up and if I wanted to go with her to boot camp. She thought she was waking me up when I was dressed and on my way out of the door to get to the hair salon. When I told her that she laughed and said, “People that have no children have no idea what we have to do as parents to fit everything in. Why would I be up at 6.30 in the morning to exercise. People that have no children have so much more flexibility than we do so they would never understand our lives.”

I thought about what she said after we hung up and realised just how true that statement is. As parents , involved parents that is, our lives are built around our children’s lives. Particularly if we want our children to explore their interests whatever they may be. We are always arranging and rearranging our schedules to fit around our children’s schedules so they can be exposed to as much as they can be while at the same time trying to carve out some time for ourselves.

That’s why my day begins so early because I know how important it is for me to have some "me" time. Some alone time when I can listen to my own thoughts and get my mind clear about what it is I want to do and need to do to fulfil myself. That’s why I write this blog,  which I now think of as my morning coffee – thanks to my friend Shari-Lynn Pringle. She calls my blog her morning coffee. And when she told me that something went off in my head.

This blog is truly my morning coffee because it is what gets me up so early in the morning. What allows me to set my intention for the day. To clear the muddle that is going on in my head. To inhale deeply and to exhale slowly. To know what kind of day I am going to have based on my writing.

So for those parents and for non parents as well that are running helter skelter. From place to place. Try to find some time in the day to reconnect with who you are so that you can be a better and more compassionate person to yourself enabling you to go out into the world as a better and more compassionate person. If we don’t take care of ourselves first, we can’t take care of anyone else.

And being busy for the sake of being busy without attending to our own needs usually means we are running from ourselves. Running from dealing with whatever it is that needs to be dealt with and using our children or families or work or whatever other vice we may have as an excuse. Ultimately resulting in us not being present with ourselves or any of them either.

So find something that resonates with you as I have done with my morning coffee blog so that you can fill fulfilled and purposeful outside of running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Happy Saturday everyone. Here’s to the start of a busy day grounded by my morning coffee blog. And for finding my passion and awarding myself some "me" time, I am truly grateful. Namaste.

Bravo to my daughter for daring greatly

Last night my daughter appeared in her first starring role in a major production for our acting community here in Bermuda. She was Ngana in the musical, South Pacific; superbly put on by Gilbert and Sullivan. When she entered the stage and sang her first song in French, tears came to my eyes. Tears of pride. Tears of joy. Tears of love and support.

My daughter is only 10 years old but is wise beyond her years because she has something that many of us never attain in all of our years or attain much later in life. She embraces her vulnerability by putting herself out there. As Brene Brown says, she has chosen courage over comfort. She constantly goes beyond her comfort zone by being courageous enough to be vulnerable. Giving herself the capacity to have strong belief in herself and faith that if she is true to who she is, everything will come to her when the time is right.

She is not afraid to put herself out there; even though she knows sometimes things will not go her way. She keeps trying until what’s right for her comes to her. As I saw her on stage last night, full of nerves and confidence at the same time,  I understood something very fundamental about my daughter and about life – when we are who we are meant to be, regardless of whatever anyone else thinks we should be, a certain light radiates from deep within us that draws people to us. Lures people to us and what we have to discern is whether those people that are lured to us are lured to us with the best intentions or with the intentions of taking away our light because they know no matter what, they can never be who we are.

My daughter has learnt from an early age that the only person she is competing with is herself. She knows in order to be true to who she is, she has to work on herself. To embrace her imperfections and vulnerabilities. If she goes for something and it does not work out she learns from that rejection and works on whatever was not right and then goes back each time thereafter with a new skill learned.

She has also learnt to walk away when something no longer resonates with her. When the feeling deep inside is telling her she is not in the right place. That she is not being true to who she is.

When I heard her sing last night, I heard a determination in her voice that filled me with hope and pride to know my little girl is on her way. Knowing she is equipping herself to deal with the hard road she has ahead of her by not worrying about what anyone else is doing nor is she worrying about what anyone else is saying about her unless it is to her benefit. And the confidence she carries with her tells me she has mastered and understands she must continue to master what the great Lao Tzu said,

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”

Bravo to my daughter for her superb performance last night. May she have many more and even on those nights when she may not be her best, may she continue to work on her craft and herself to bring the best person she can be into the room. Allowing herself to continuously open doors for herself. Allowing her light to shine by being content with who she is. And for "daring greatly" by placing herself in the arena and being who she is. What a joy.

Bravo to the entire cast and crew of South Pacific for a job well done. Opening night down. Here’s to a continued successful run.

Daily Practice allows us to become who we are

Daily practice of what we want becomes who we are. Daily thoughts of what we believe becomes the world we create. Daily love of self allows us to grow exponentially because love and life start with us. Not others. From within not without. No one can make or break us except us. Unless we give others permission to do so. Unless we hand them the keys to our wellbeing.

Inertia of habit and our conditioning sometimes keep us mired in the darkness. But when we change our manner of thinking and start practising our lives in the manner in which we want to live, that’s when we allow possibility in. Allowing our lives to unfold as we dreamed. What we think is what we become.

So if we are Debbie Downers – those people that predict the sky is falling. Those that are waiting for calamity to strike then that’s what will happen to them over and over again. We become what we believe and do and say every day. We are creatures of habit. Products of our conditioning.

So if we want to become whole light beings, we must live our lives as light bringers and practise being whole every single day; particularly on those days when the darkness feels stronger than we are. Particularly on those days when we are tempted to take someone’s head off. Particularly on those days when someone tests our limits. It is those days that we are being tested to see if we truly believe we are light bringers. If we are truly light beings.

The key to us living the lives we want is to practice whatever it is we want and believe at least 10,000 times over and over again. The power of repetition and thinking is key to our wellbeing and growth. Regular daily practise of anything is the way to gain success no matter what it is we want to be successful in. Research shows that those people who have daily rituals, whether good or bad, become whatever that ritual is.

So we need to be careful about the world we create in our brains because that is the world that will manifest for us. When we have clear direction about what it is we want out of life and work hard to achieve that goal, that is the life we will live. Good or bad. And when we find the world we are living in is not the world we envisioned then we need to dig deep to find the obstacles we have created to prevent us from truly living the lives we want.

To keep searching. To keep growing. To keep seeing beyond the hurdles that present themselves. To keep striving even when all seems impossible. Remembering always it takes one day to quit but sometimes a lifetime to achieve the dream we have dreamt. And when we quit, we make space for someone else to live the life we dreamed possible for ourselves.

We are what we believe. Our world can be limited by the habits and the conditioning of our environment. It is up to us to break free of those limitations by changing our mind set to see the glory in all things allowing us to fully embrace the fact that all things are possible when we believe, persevere and work hard at whatever it is we want to achieve. We are products of our imaginations. Namaste.

The power of Mindfulness

This morning I was given an unexpected lesson in mindfulness. Exactly what I have been asking for but did not know how to go about it. Lately with my children’s schedules and my husband’s schedule overlapping mine, my brain has been helter skelter. Here and there trying to do everything. Solve everything. Be everywhere but in the present moment.

So my meditation this morning led by Deepak Chopra was all about mindfulness. A gift from the Universe just for me.  I was so grateful for the meditation when I read what it was that I settled down in my seat full of anticipation about where this meditation was going to lead me. So excited about what was to come from my meditation.

But I missed the beginning of the meditation because I did not have my earphones in properly  and did not realise it until the introductory speaker she was nearly half way through her introduction because I was so busy trying to be present that I forgot to be present. So I was flustered right from the beginning causing me to miss what was happening.

I just could not be present enough to even be able to visualise anything in the meditation when Chopra was leading us through a visual of nature.  While he was asking me to see and feel myself in various places in nature, all I could think about was where my children, husband and I had to be and how we would be able to be in all those different places at once. I was thinking about everything else but listening to the guided mediation so I did not achieve my state of mindfulness. And then as if the Universe was letting me know I had lost the plot, I accidentally touched the screen in the wrong place taking me completely out of the meditation. Losing the last bit of it shocking my system out of its semi state of relaxation back to reality.

With hands shaking and mind in panic mode, I was able to retrieve the meditation again and this time, I stopped and brought myself back into the present moment. And when I did, I discovered I had jumped so far ahead in the mediation that I had not even see the introductory page for the meditation. This time I brought myself fully focussed into the present allowing me to be able to get everything the meditation had to offer from the beginning. And boy had I missed a lot by not being present.

Beginning with the following powerful message I had not even heard the first time, “Too often  we let the memories of past events or the anticipation of future events cause us to ignore the present, We lose the simple joy of experiencing things around us as we worry about where we have been or where we are going.” She asked us to focus on the simple beauty of nature to help us to become present.

Chopra then came on and said, “When we focus on the future or the past, we miss the things that are happening around us in the present. Without this awareness of the present, life becomes more harried, hectic and devoid of meaning.”

The Universe was definitely speaking to me this morning. Asking me to slow down. To be present. To stop being over there and worrying about what happened back there but to be mindful of where I am at the present moment so I don’t miss what is happening right in front of me. The simple joy of experiencing rather than focussing on what I have no control over.

When I lost the meditation the first time was a gift from the Universe to bring me back to the present moment. To jolt me back to where I was meant to be. Here. Right now in this present moment where worry and anticipation have no place. Where mindfulness is what I need to be present. I get it Universe and thank you for the well learnt lesson this morning - to take a breather and gently but firmly bring myself back to the present. Becoming aware of the environment around me. The sights, the sounds, the feelings. And as I become immersed in the present, time slows and my experiences become more fulfilling.  Aaah, yes. Right here. Right now. Mindfulness. Namaste. I’m listening.

Marvelling at the spectacular sunsets of late

Last night the Royal Gazette posted a most magnificent photograph of the sunset over Crow Lane taken by one of its readers and it made me think about the beautiful sunsets we have been treated to in Bermuda these last few nights. The sky like blood orange bursting through the twilight treating us to a spectacular light show of the fading light of the sun. A few times when driving home I have had to catch myself, remind myself I was driving because I was so mesmerised by the sunset light.

Wisps of red clouds dancing across the sky while others lazily drifting slightly heavier than the wisps. Red. So red they look like the collective blood of all of us. The beginning and the end. Looking ominous yet delightful at the same time. Frightening yet enlightening. Just like life unfolding before my eyes. The very things that frighten us are the ones we need for growth. For our own spiritual wellbeing and intuition. Just like the dichotomy of the night skies unfolding before my eyes.

The natural colours of the Universe are sights to behold. Enrapturing us. Fuelling us with its beauty and light when we are open and receptive to it. When we stop and take the time to appreciate the beauty of the Universe. Its natural beauty. Freely available to us all. In it simple and daily existence such as the setting sun.

Driving home and taking in the sunsets lately have filled me with such joy, such abundance, such faith in our Universe because it goes on around us regardless of what we are doing or thinking. It continues to provide for us even when we think it does not. It continues to replenish itself and in doing so us as well.

The redness of the twilight sky takes me back to my childhood rhymes, “Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.”

These red skies of late have been a pure delight for me. Filling me with hope, love and peace. Allowing me to take in the wonders of its light. Allowing me to inhale the ending of the day and exhale the setting sun. Accepting life goes on no matter what. There is always an ending and a beginning. Beginning and ending. Namaste.

In gratitude to my daughter for reminding me to live in the moment

Saturday evening my daughter and I were driving home from her rehearsal for her upcoming performance in South Pacific when she said, “Sunday is my least favourite day of the week.”

“Why?” I asked her.

“Because the next day is Monday,” she replied. “A whole new week of school and work for people.”

“You know, I used to feel the same way,” I answered her.  “I used to dread Sundays because all I could think about was Monday being the next day and having to start all over again. And a lot of people feel that way. But now I tell myself to be grateful for waking up to see another Monday. To have the ability to start all over again. To have the wherewithal to begin anew. Some people never get that chance. Some people go to bed on Sunday and never see another Monday. So there is a lot to be grateful for.”

“Wow,” she answered. “True. I never looked at it like that before.”

“Neither did I until I was 50 years old,” I told her. “Be grateful that you are thinking about it now and you have someone who has given you a head start in gratitude. Gratitude will take you a long way and get you through those days when you dread everything around you because you will realise no matter what, there is always something to be grateful for. Like waking up on a Monday morning.”

“True,” she said. “Very true.”

“And you know what else, just enjoy the rest of this day for what it is. Stay in this moment. And don’t think about tomorrow. Don’t think about Monday. Enjoy having the rest of this evening and tomorrow before Monday comes and that way you won’t overlook whatever it is that comes your way.”

“Okay mommy,” she replied. “Okay.”

Then because she had sparked a joy for life in me as well, I turned to her and asked, “Do you want to go to the new yoghurt place before we go home?”

Her little eyes lit up. She could not believe her luck. “Oh yes, please” she answered. Her eyes dancing mischievously as our child spirits connected joyously taking in the moment of frivolousness. Both of us fully present in our mutual understanding of gratitude.

As we got out of the car, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight and I felt her love pouring into my whole being so I squeezed her hand back. We walked hand in hand, mother and daughter, sharing a silent space of gratitude and love between us. Of girlhood. Spontaneity.

We got treats for ourselves and for our men waiting for us back home. Then we drove silently home together reflecting on what we both got out of our conversation. Me feeling good for helping my daughter to get over the Monday blues. Hoping she will remember our conversation and our spur of the moment trip to the Yoghurt shop for a long time so she won’t feel bad about Sundays any more but will cherish each and every breathing moment she has on this earth. As will I. As I hope will you too.

In gratitude to my daughter for reminding me to live in the moment.

Happy Monday everyone. Namaste.

A lazy Saturday morning

Lazy day for me today and hence the reason why my blog is late. So sorry to my morning coffee readers but this morning I decided to give myself the gift of time and rest. The time to rejuvenate and reconnect with my soul through dreaming, sleeping and resting and I feel so good for having done it. Granted I am behind on many of the things I was supposed to do today. But I am telling myself that I am where I am meant to be. Some things were not meant to be done today because more importantly I needed to rest.
I rolled over in my bed at 5.45 and realised it was Saturday morning. Not a work morning so I smugly closed my eyes and went back to sleep. Telling myself there was nowhere I had to be and no one I had to see. I can't tell you how overjoyed I felt to be able to do that. To sleep without any demands.
Next time I woke up it was 8.36 and I started to get out of bed but my body refused to budge. Telling me the best place for me to be was in bed. I thought about all the morning coffee drinkers who read my blog and said you will understand that I needed the rest more than writing this morning so I rolled over again and went back to sleep. My whole mind, body and soul grateful for my choice.
The next time I woke up was at 10 am. I can't tell you the last time I slept in that late. Even then I had to drag myself out of bed. Making sure my son was ready for tennis and his bags were packed for all the commitments he has today. Checking in with my daughter and finding her curled up in her bed reading a book. My husband shocked at how long I slept.
So I am going to indulge myself for the rest of teh day. Giving myself the gift of time to rest, rejuvenate and reconnect with my essence self. Off for a 90 minute hot stone massage next compliments of my family. So here's to a lazy Saturday doing me. Have a good one everyone and remember it's okay sometimes to do us.

When we are feeling overwhelmed

When life gets us down

And we are feeling overwhelmed

That is our cue

To stop

To go outside

To feel the light of the sun

On our faces

Its warmth circulating through our beings

Allowing us to remember

It’s the Universe asking us

Willing us

To feel its abundance

Asking us to inhale deeply

Surrendering to all that is

Then leading us

To exhale slowly

Awakening us

To our essence self

Asking us to reconnect

To remember why we came here

To push aside all falsities

To cast aside all that is dragging us down

By directing us

To close our eyes

And feel the warmth of the sun

Embracing us

Its rays

Dancing behind our closed lids

Igniting the joy in our beings

The dancer in our soul

The poet that resides

Deep down inside

Of us all

We are all crafters

Of our story

Living proof of endurance

Peace and love

But sometimes we get so bogged down

In all the excess

That we neglect to reconnect

With what is

With who we are

With our Essence self

The One source

And as a result

We become lost

Trapped in the jungle

Of our thoughts

In other people’s story

And forget our own

We allow ourselves to be led astray

Wandering around in the dark

With our eyes wide open

But seeing nothing

It is those times

That the Universe

Is calling us

Asking us

To stop

To remember

Why we came here

What we asked to do here

To be of service to ourselves

And to those who cross our path

To not destroy

But to create

To not always take

But to give as well

To not lie about who we are

To not be ashamed of who we are

But to embrace our differences

As we are all of the Once Source

Connected by the silver cord

Weaving our stories together

To form the human story

Of connectedness

When we are feeling overwhelmed

When we feel like we can’t go on

It’s the Universe asking us

To go back to nature

To stand outside

To feel the rays of the sun

Permeating our mind

Our body

And

Our soul

Asking us to open our eyes

To the world that goes on

Lives on

Right in front of us

Every single day without fail

To open our eyes

To see the abundance that exists

Even when we believe there is none

Reminding us

We must step into our story

To be our story

To live our story

Only then will we know joy

And wonder again

Because we will remember

We are joy and wonder

Because we remember

Everyone has their story to tell

To live

And everyone of us

Have lessons to learn

Paths to cross

Journeys to take

With no one being better

Or worse than the other

So when we feel overwhelmed

Burdened

Frazzled

Remember

It’s the Universe nudging us

Willing us

To remember

It’s is our time

To stop

To express gratitude

For who we are

And why we are

Under the auspices of the radiant sun

Awakening the dancer

The poet

The weaver

Of our soul

To live again

To love again

To inhale our joy

And to exhale our pain

To remember who we are 

And

Why we are

The crafters of our own stories

Namaste