Once in a Blue Moon

Once in a blue moon. We have all heard this expression and if you are anything like me, you thought it meant fat chance. Not in this lifetime. Once in a blue moon was always a flippant comment on my behalf. Well the Universe is letting me know today that anything is possible in this lifetime because today is a Blue moon. The second one for this year. A magical year for us. A year to believe in the impossible. A year to believe that the blue moon sometimes doesn’t just come once, it can come twice as it has for us this year.

I love astrology. I love learning about the Universe. Because through them I learn that there is so much more in this world, in this universe that we will never understand. Never comprehend. Because it is so much bigger than us but yet we are a part of it. Because of that fact, we sometimes just have to go for it. Trust in the Universe and accept there are some things that are beyond our human comprehension but they are not meant to stop us from believing in magic. Not meant to stop us from achieving.

The other day my nine year old daughter’s tooth fell out and she is on the cusp of whether she still believes in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and all the other magical tales we tell our children. So she asked me if the tooth fairy was real or if it is just us. And I was on the verge of telling her that the tooth fairy is not real. Just like Santa Claus is not real. And then I stopped myself. Instead thinking who am I to destroy her belief in magic. Who am I to hasten her development from childhood to adulthood.

So I turned the question back on her and asked her what she believed. She shrugged her shoulders with a glint of amusement in her eyes. A mischievous smile on her face then walked away. She came back with her tooth in a box and said she was going to leave it out for the tooth fairy. As luck would have it, I got busy and forgot all about the tooth so the tooth fairy did not come that night and my daughter was devastated. Trying to ease her disappointment, I told her it was because the wind was too strong and our sensor lights kept coming on so the tooth fairy didn’t come because she didn’t want to be seen. I told her to put her tooth back out. That night she not only put her tooth out in her box. She put it in front of our bedroom door with a note to the tooth fairy such that when I came out of the bedroom I had no choice but to remember to leave her something from the tooth fairy.

Needless to say she woke up elated that the tooth fairy had remembered her and had visited and left her money. But what’s even more priceless is that she and I both know that the tooth fairy is really a figment of our imagination. A conjured up figure to help us to believe there is something more out there for us. A blurred figures that exists to let us know that if we believe in magic, magical things happen.

We have been given the rare treat of not one but two blues moons this year, the expression  once in a blue moon now taking on a whole new meaning for me. Because now I know I need to be careful about what I say will only occur once in a blue moon considering I know they really do happen and sometimes more than once. So who knows the tooth fairy may be real and so may Santa so why would I ever stop believing in magic or asking my children to. It’s magic that paves the way for miracles because it allows us to be open and receptive to believe in that which we don’t understand. To have faith in the Universe. To have been given the gift of two blue moons this year to me means this year is a year of change, growth and magic. To believe our lives are miracles every single day.

I don’t know about you but I am so grateful to be waking up this morning on the last day of the month with a blue moon coming tonight.  The very day Neil Armstrong, the first man to have walked on the moon is being laid to rest. To know that life is full of synchronistic events pulling us together. Presenting us with opportunities to explore our impossibilities. And knowing nothing happens by chance. Everything happens for a reason and I am open and ready and grateful to the Universe for every single one. Today is a magical, mythical and marvellous day and I intend to bask in it because it only happens once in a blue moon....

The pendulum does swing

With the economy as it is, some people are more worried about what tomorrow will bring. Some are projecting about things they have no control over. Listening to the voice of fear and negativity. Allowing it to pull them into its deep black hole.

While there are others who are insulated from the effects of the economy and have no reason to fear. Have no reason to curb their spending and as a matter of fact they don’t even realise there are many suffering around them. Those who have no clue that there are many without jobs, homes, or hope.

Then there are those that are somewhere in between who feel they are safe. Who feel they will get by. Because they have faith, hope and trust. Because they believe no matter where life may lead them, that is where they are meant to be. They recognise that everything that comes into their lives is there to teach them a lesson and they focus on the lesson rather than on the negative.

Yesterday someone very dear to me came to me in tears because someone pulled the rug out from under her by filling her head with fear. Painting a picture of doom and gloom of what my friend’s future was going to look like. While at the same time expressing how well her life was and how she had nothing to worry about. Hearing that story made me cringe. Seeing the pain in the eyes of my friend who is more vulnerable to the swings of the economy than most filled me with pain as well.

I hugged her, looked her in the eyes and reassured her that no one can predict the future. No position in this cold world we live in, where the dollar is more important than values, is safe. Regardless of how well thought of we may be. I learnt that in a very public and humbling way just a few years ago when I lost my job.  Never believing before finding myself thrust out on the sidewalk that I would ever be in that position. Shocked and afraid when I did. So I take nothing for granted. Instead I have learnt to be grateful for everything that comes into my life. And I also have learnt empathy and compassion go a long way because the pendulum does swing.

We need to remember that at some point in our lives we will be one of those people I described above – the person who is worried about tomorrow, the person who is insulated from the effects of the economy and the person in between. So at all times we need to remain empathetic and sensitive to the plight of those around us because we will be in their position and experience their feelings at some point in our lives. Remembering  the pendulum always swings – balancing us and keeping us grounded.

Masking our own fears by transferring them to others is a means of inviting in more fear. Of creating bad karma for ourselves.  In this fragile economy, broken by our own greed, we would be better off holding each other up rather than tearing each other down. Remembering always - the pendulum does swing.

Grateful for the Love Cloud this morning

I woke up this morning and looked out the window at the twilight sky. And there before me was a gift unexpected from the Universe. The clouds shaped into a large heart with light radiating through it. Making the heart look like it was full of light and life. Filling me with pure love and light. Immediately lifting my mood. To know the first message I was receiving from the Universe is the importance of love. The importance of feeling and giving love. My whole body tingling as a result. A smile spreading across my face. I opened the blinds to look out at the morning sky. To watch the clouds part and give way to the rising sun. To watch my heart slowly dissipate but keeping its perfect image in my mind.

To watch the shadows on the trees. To feel and take in nature’s infinite love. And then I thought about whether anyone else had witnessed the love of the Universe as I had this morning. Questioned whether they too had seen the same cloud message as I had. And then I remembered sometimes it is not meant for everyone to have the same experience but it is up to all of us to share love and our positive experiences whenever we can.

And then my mind wandered to the other day when my daughter and I and one of her friends were driving home and my daughter said. “Wow, look at that angel in the clouds.”And I looked up and saw the same image as she had in the clouds. A perfect angel cloud floating across sky. But her friend could not see it no matter how hard she tried. Confirming to me that sometimes we can be in the same place seeing something completely different from each other because we all see what we are meant to see.

Life has a funny way of allowing us to see and hear and feel what we want to see, hear and feel. And that’s why it is so important for us to go out into the world with the best intentions. With the purest thoughts we can so that we can attract that which we need just as I did this morning when I opened the blinds and saw that beautiful vision of love in the clouds. Just as my daughter and I were on the same wavelength and could see the angel in the sky and her friend could not.

Life reveals to us exactly what we need when we are open and receptive to it. So I will go out into the world today filled with love and light as was given to me by the Universe first thing this morning. Spreading my gift with joy and abundance. Grateful for being open to receiving the gifts of the Universe.

Happy Anniversary to My Blog

It was one year ago yesterday that I started writing this blog and I can’t believe how much water has gone under the bridge since then. When I started writing my blog I was at a crossroads in my life. Trying to decide what I was going to do with myself after having lost my job. Searching for answers to the meaning of my life. And I still am but in different ways.

I sit back in wonder sometimes about the paths my life has taken me on. Sometimes so very different to what I had envisioned. I think about the first post that I wrote and how quickly I learnt the written word can be hurtful to others even when we don’t intend to hurt them. The power of the pen can be both damaging and enlightening. Deciphering which why to write has been liberating for my soul because I have discovered how much I really and honestly do love to write.

And interestingly I now know there is a pattern for me about writing. It is something that allows me to journey freely with myself. Opens doors to parts of me that would otherwise be closed. Reveals to me paths that need to be taken in order to gain a greater understanding of who I am and what I am here to do. But more importantly through my practice of writing every single day I have become a more compassionate, empathetic, forgiving and grateful person than I have ever been in my life because I am learning through my writing every single day that every single person, event and circumstance that comes into my life comes to teach me something about who I am and who I am not.

To have rediscovered this passion that first began as a young girl who used to walk around the house with a note book and pen writing down stories of anything that interested me. To the teenager who went through the darkest years of my life as a motherless daughter who again wrote about my sadness for the first time in a Christmas story called ,The Shining Star, and was told by my English teacher I had a gift. To a university student who almost did not continue my passion of writing because I was told by a professor that I was a terrible writer because I did not spell the American way nor did I use their expressions. And being the sensitive human I am, I gave up writing for many many years. Believing that I was no good at it and listening to others tell me everyone wants to be a writer and no one makes any money from writing. Listening to them telling me writers are dreamers not doers. So I gave up writing in pursuit of a more sensible career – a corporate one and everyone was proud of me because I was successful. 

Only to rediscover when I had my son some thirteen years ago and faced another major crossroad in my life- deciding if I was going to stay at home and mother my son or pursue my corporate career – that something deep within me was missing. So I chose to stay at home and mother not just my son but myself as well. And in doing so I ended up rediscovering my greatest passion of all – writing. And like a butterfly I went through a great metamorphosis. Uncovering so many truths about myself, life, being a mother, nature, freedom, expression, love, being a wife that I felt like I had been reborn.

And here I am some thirteen years later and what I realise now more than ever is writing is and always has been a part of who I am. I may push it to the background from time to time but as I age I appreciate this gift of writing I have been given. I appreciate how it makes me feel. And I know now writing is what is helping me to become the Woman of Grace I was sent here to be.

And for having written this blog for one year and to all those friends who have followed me along the way, I am truly grateful. I will continue with my gift until I am meant to stop. But until then I will enjoy every piece of insight and wisdom I glean when I translate my life experiences into my gift of writing. Joy unbounded. Gratitude multiplied. To have discovered a passion is like having wings. Here’s to many more years of writing.

A Treat Unexpected

On the urging of my great nephew to my son, I took my son and daughter to see a local production at Ruth Seaton James Hall called, “Once on This Island”. I did so because my great nephew was in the play and he and my son had connected at camp my son was attending and my great nephew was helping to run. They hit it off and he encouraged my son to come to see him in the play.

I went with the thought that the play was going to be pretty amateur and even took my time getting there. Not worrying in the slightest if we were late. We got there just in time for the production to begin. And from the moment the play started to the moment it ended, I was enthralled. My son was surprised. My daughter was on the edge of her seat.

The singing was out of this world. The set designs were unbelievable. The costumes perfect. The acting superb. And the energy from both the cast and the audience was electric. The production rivaled anything I had seen on Broadway. I could not believe how professional everyone was and how wonderful and smooth the play had run. It ran for ninety minutes straight without an intermission and at the end of it I was exhausted from the adrenaline and excitement of seeing young Bermudians performing to Broadway standard. I was so proud of everyone in that play. Seeing the potential of those young people gave me hope for the future of my Island home.

I knew we were in for a treat after just the opening scene when my son turned to me and said, “Mommy that was really good.” All I could do was nod my head because I was enraptured. My daughter not even daring to speak in case she missed something. Her eyes glued to the stage. And there we remained until the final curtain call. Standing immediately once it was done to give those wonderful actors a well-deserved standing ovation.

 I sat down after the standing ovation and looked at my son and daughter pleased that I had taken the time to give them the experience of seeing their fellow young Bermudians performing so well and professionally. I looked at their grateful expressions and realized I had just witnessed an incredible lesson. And that lesson was that sometimes we are so busy looking outside for what is right in front of us. Sometimes we don’t believe our own are capable until they perform beyond our expectations. Sometimes we don’t think we’re good enough until we see just how great we really can be. Those young Bermudians  proved it to me and my family and blew us away. Wow.

To say I am proud to be Bermudian after seeing the level of performance of my fellow young Bermudians in “Once on This Island” is an understatement. And I am so glad I listened to my son and went. It was a treat unexpected. A few lessons learned for my children and me. But most of all it was a great event for my children, as young Bermudians, to see just what they are capable of if they believe they can achieve and if they work hard enough to deliver.

It’s too bad “Once on This Island” is over because my advice would have been for everyone I know to go to support Troika, the production company whose motto is “Keeping the Drama on Stage”  and their first musical production because it was beyond anything I ever expected. Way beyond. Bravo. We will definitely be there for the next one.

A Life Lesson from Writing

I used to believe to be a great writer one had to be very smart. Had to have a good handle on diction. Had to have a vocabulary equivalent to what can be found in a thesaurus.

I used to wait until I had something profound to say or would try to write something great that sometimes I was afraid to write. Sitting and pondering waiting for that epiphany to hit me. That bolt of lightning to come out of the sky and strike me with that chance of a lifetime story to tell. Until my son reminded me that I have a one in 7 million chance of being hit by lightning. And that’s when the light bulb went off in my head. That if I was going to write and continue to write every single day I just had to do it. I had to put myself in that grouping of 7million if I had any chance of being the 1 that got hit.

So I started to write from my heart. To write what came to me first rather than trying to direct my thoughts. Rather than trying to come up with some clichéd piece of writing. Something clever. Something profound. I let my heart guide me rather than my head. Silencing the ego that keeps trying to tell me there is no way I am a good writer. That there are 7 million others out there doing what I am doing. Not letting my ego stop me from doing what I love to do, write.

Because what I realised was that while I was waiting to be clever. For something profound to hit me. I was missing out on writing and enjoying the journey. Once I stopped looking for the destination, I discovered there are so many gems presenting themselves to me every day. There are miracles in just about everything we see and do. The mere fact that we exist is a miracle.

And then I realised something else even more profound. It is not the most intelligent person. Not the most sophisticated person. Nor the person with the greatest vocabulary that becomes the greatest writer around. It is actually the person that simply writes. And continues to write every day. The person that believes she can write. The person who recognises that in everything we do, everything we see, there is a story to be told. And believes he is a writer. Who knows she doesn’t have to be clever. He doesn’t have to be the best. They know if their writing comes from the heart, it  will come with ease.

And then I realised something even more satisfying. Life is not about waiting for the next best thing. Just like writing life is about capturing the best thing that comes into our lives every single day in the simplest and most unexpected way. And just going for it. Turning it into the pearl that it is meant to be.

Life like writing is all about being in the moment and loving and living it like there is no tomorrow. The most successful person is the one who doesn’t think too deeply about what happens next. No they just do right there and then. Taking advantage of life’s abundant miracles and turning them into gems. While others are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the perfect and right moment without recognising every moment is perfect and right.

Life is a lot like writing because it is all about discovering and appreciating the abundance that comes into our lives every single day.

Love is why paths cross and intertwine

Yesterday I sat in a funeral feeling like I was having an out of body experience. Feeling like I was on the outside looking in. Not really a part of the service but a part of something else that was going on beyond my control. It was like I was floating. Feeling everyone’s energy.  Thinking about how so many lives could be touched by one person yet are so completely different.

How paths cross and intersect then become parallel for many years only to intertwine again. I looked around at the people in the church and thought about how people from the same family can be so completely and utterly different from each other. With different dreams and aspirations but can come from the same parent or same genealogy. How people from the same neighbourhoods who grew up in the same outward environment can have a completely different experience in life. Some go down a path of destruction and darkness. Others live mediocre lives. And then there are some who go on to exceed expectations all around.

Making me wonder if we are preprogrammed before we even get here. Making me wonder if it is true that we choose the destiny we are currently playing out. Making me wonder if we do have the freedom of choice to become whomever or whatever we desire or if we are who we are when we are born.  

And then the lingering thought of how can we be so different but at the same time be so connected would not leave me.  Forcing me to question whether we are that much different from each other. Or if we are truly the same at the end of the day. Only with different life lessons to learn.

All of us were drawn to the funeral yesterday for the same reason to pay respects to a person who had lost his life. A person we had once loved or still loved. Paths crossing for a short time probably never to cross again in most cases. Yet our energies mixed yesterday, shared a common bond. Leaving me to question why that happens and for what purpose. Leaving me to wonder if when we are in gatherings such as those do we take a piece of each other’s spirits with us?

And then the service and the burial were over and we all went our separate ways. Back to our lives. And I came home later that evening and opened the newspaper and looked at my cousin’s photo for the last time. Staring at him wondering what his life was all about and why people of all different walks of life had come together yesterday to bid him adieu and what we were meant to take from him.

I closed the newspaper thinking there will be no more pictures of him in the newspaper from the next day forward. The only pictures and memories of him will be held by his family and close friends but his physical being is gone forever. Making me realise it is up to all of us to leave behind memories we want people to cherish. To make a difference in someone’s life including our own because once we leave this physical plane there is nothing but memories left off us. Making me realise it is important for us to think of how we want to be remembered. But most of all I felt a strong feeling that we are here to love and be loved.

Realising paths cross and intertwine then become parallel all through life but where there is love or once was love, always those paths reconnect at some point regardless of how different lives may turn out. At the base of it all, all there is, is love. Not our standing in life. Not who or what we became. All that matters is that we loved and we were loved. Because only love can bring together people of all different walks of life. Can cause paths to reconnect and intertwine. Only love.