You’ve probably been hearing a lot about gratitude lately. As spiritual power tools go, it ranks among the highest in my book! Right next to prayer. I have a bit of a twist on the process of gratitude I’d like to share with you.

It started when I walked away from a marriage, friends, church and everything familiar. I had never held down a full time job and had to provide for my troubled teenager and I in a new city. The extraction from that marriage was messy to say the least. I had no backbone and had no idea who I was, much less what to do with myself. My teenager was falling down the rabbit hole of addiction and I was barely keeping food on the table. Some days I felt overwhelmed and I wished I could die. Some days I felt glad I was alive and free and had a chance for a better life. Some days I felt both at the same time.

I don’t remember how I got it, but I ended up with an old calendar – one with a pretty picture and positive saying on one side of the page and the week laid out on the other. The dates weren’t accurate because it was from the previous year, but I appreciated the beautiful pictures and the positive sayings a great deal, so I kept it.

Since the days didn’t matter, I began to write down every accomplishment, no matter how small. When I found something to be grateful for, I wrote that in the calendar. Many days in a row were blank. As the weeks and months dragged by, I started over the next year continuing to notice milestones I made . . . getting my own apartment . . . buying my first car . . . These were huge things I never thought I would ever do. I also noted the little things. The little things that made me smile, like a sunbreak in the clouds that seemed to shine down on me just when I needed it the most.

I noticed that as I turned the pages from one year to the next, that I had grown. On days when I felt overwhelmed and lost, I would see an accomplishment I’d made a year ago that I didn’t think I would ever to and I felt encouraged to do what was before me right now. Or I would remember some little gratitude that generated that same sense of gratitude again giving me the strength to look for Grace one more time. I would see the name of someone I appreciated and a kindness they had done for me and I was inspired to be kind yet again.

The most important acknowledgment I noted was during a group counseling session with multiple families whose kids were in the same treatment facility.

My ex and his wife were there along with Phil and I – showing support for our now 16 year old son and his 3rd trip through re-hab. There were about 30 people including the kids in a huge circle and we were doing some sort of activity. I don’t remember the circumstances, nor do I remember the words, but somehow my ex challenged me in a disdainful way in front of all these people. Normally I would have shut up, backed

down, cowered and felt victimized. I don’t remember the words I said, but I do remember that I stood up and spoke my truth with calmness.

The entire room applauded! The ex backed down. In that moment, I had a spiritual spinal implant and overwhelming support as a result. In my calendar, (it was on the 3rd of the month. I don’t even remember which month or which year) I acknowledged the situation that put me at a point of choice and my decision to speak my truth with grace. Had I not had my calendar and the building of my strength that it gave me up to that point, I probably would have caved in one more time.

Acknowledgement is not about pride. It’s not about me being better than someone else. It’s acknowledging a moment of growth. Those acknowledgments become anchor points for the future. Once experienced, we never go back to the way we were. Not really. We may repeat some old behaviors, but the new person we are becoming sees the truth and moves closer to that reality with stronger dedication than before.

Gratitude is the emotional response to acknowledgement. Appreciation is the expression of awareness for another’s kindnesses in our behalf. This too, leads to the feeling of gratitude.

You see, we tend to remember the bad stuff. Researchers call this “negativity bias”. We tend to look for what isn’t working to protect ourselves and keep ourselves from harm. This smallness may feel like we are keeping ourselves safe, but in fact, it’s just keeping us in survival mode. Life is so much more!

I’ve noticed a lot of people lately saying how terrible 2019 was and how they hope 2020 will be better . . . 2019 probably held a lot of growth and beauty that got forgotten due to the negativity bias!

As you look at the close of this year and look to the hope of next year I hope you take the time to take note (literally!) of the people and their kindnesses towards you along with your own accomplishments. As you physically note these and take moments to ponder them, the feelings of gratitude will flow through you. These feelings of gratitude draw to you MORE THINGS FOR WHICH TO BE GRATEFUL!!!!

If you really want to bless your own life, use this powerful tool. I’m including a pdf of a simple Gratitude, Appreciation, and Acknowledgment sheet. Print out 31 of these. One for each day of the month. Make note of your Appreciation and make Acknowledgment of your own breakthrough’s and list opportunities to express Gratitude on that day of the month – any month. From month to month you will see changes and growth. Notice positive feelings expanding and positive experiences building.

I don’t have that old calendar anymore. Several moves later and it was lost to the chaos of change. Yet, the positive energy that practice gave me sustains itself in my awareness.

I’ve created other Gratitude, Appreciation, and Acknowledgment journals over the years and this process still continues to bless me.

Whether you check in with this every morning or every evening or even once in a while, at the end of 2020 you will have a record of positive and powerful experiences to build the rest of our life upon! Bless yourself with this simple tool and you will be richly blessed in all areas of your life.

May it be so!

Tis the season to be weary . . . Fa la la la la… Right?

Well, maybe yes and maybe no. We tend to find a million things to do and expect ourselves to do them perfectly. We must find the perfect gifts. We must prepare the perfect treats. We must make the holidays beautiful and happy. Right?

Well, those are our expectations for this time of year. We may not speak them aloud, but there they are! We know no good will come of this, but we forge on with these expectations burning in our hearts and minds.

Certainly, it’s such a blessing to be the one who brings joy to a holiday gathering. Yet, have you noticed? If someone is not in the place of joy, no matter how nice the setting, they will not know joy.

Joy is a matter of choice. I cannot deliver joy and have it received without the willing choice of another to accept it. Perhaps my idea of joy is not exactly fun for them! Maybe they prefer to watch the football game where I would prefer to layout Tarot cards and get all intuitive and stuff. Does that make them wrong or me wrong? Nope. But my happy doesn’t make them happy. Their happy sure doesn’t do anything for me either!

So, this year, I’m going to do my best to be happy. If someone cares to share that happy, that’s great! If they don’t, that’s great, too! Even if someone chooses to be miserable and negative, they get to and I get to hold on to my happy. I don’t need to change them or coerce them into happy. I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. Happy is a choice. Each person’s own personal choice.

I certainly may choose to share some cookies or some treats of some sort. I certainly may choose to spend some time with friends and loved ones. Yet, each person may be going through something I cannot fix . . . Stress at work, family issues, financial woes, health troubles . . . Whatever the situation. I just know that even in the darkest times, people I know have found joy and lived in that joy through that darkness.

Most won’t. Most people prefer to stay stuck and recount their misery. Yet, I don’t have to. I get to decide to be in a place of happy and let them be where ever they choose to be for themselves.

My empathic heart wants to make them stop suffering so that I don’t feel their pain. My spiritual self allows them to be where they are out of respect for their power of choice.

Their relationships, their work, their health is their journey. I can hold sacred ground for them as they walk through difficulty. . If they request assistance in finding happy, I certainly can do that! I can open my heart and embrace them with love. I can help them re-discover what brings them joy by asking them about their flavor of happy. What happy/joy looks like and feels like to them. Maybe they will choose to do those things that bring happy/joy back into their world. (Or maybe they won’t. It’s their choice.)

So, for now, I’ll choose to be happy as best I can and share as much as others will allow. How will you be and express happy?

Sometimes our fear about a psychic’s abilities keeps us from utilizing their talents. We fear they may somehow know secrets or wield power over us in some way. To set you mind at ease, here are some things a psychic just cannot do.

1. We cannot read your mind or “see” your secrets.

It’s true that we can get on the same wavelength and “know” words and concepts that hold significance for a client. Recently a client came in and I heard the Star Spangled Banner playing in my ear. When I asked about it, he said he was from Canada. We both laughed. Our guides were helping us connect immediately.

What happens here is this: As a psychic, I tune in to Divine Source and become open. In this openness, my angels and guides connect with my client’s angels and guides. Together they send words, pictures, sounds tastes and other impressions that connect us and bring information through that is helpful and often profound.

That fear of someone knowing your thoughts or reading your mind makes people tense up which throws up blocks for the reading. Yes, in a great reading a psychic can tune into what Spirit (Divine Source) would have you know in spite of any blocks caused by tension and, as a result, offer keen insights for you. (Reading through blocks makes the session really hard work for the reader! You may as well relax and enjoy! That state of being helps the process.)

If you have secrets, we won’t usually pick them up unless you are ready to deal with them. If a psychic picks up on something you’ve got hidden away, it’s because your soul is ready to clear out that stuff. You are ready? Relax. Trust the process. A great reader isn’t here to judge or shame, but rather bless and clear.

2. A psychic cannot tell the future.

What!?!

A psychic can tell you “a” future but not “the” future. What!?! The future is fluid. If a psychic sees an outcome, that’s with the understanding that things are on course – without change. Should you change your mind, change your heart, change your actions . . . the future changes, too. The good news is, if you don’t like the result or outcome the psychic suggests, you have the opportunity to make some changes. This is the perfect opportunity to ask the psychic for insights on HOW you could change yourself and what actions might lead to a different result.

3. A psychic cannot tell you what to do.

Certainly, in a reading you’ve asked for a psychic’s guidance. Their insights might provide helpful options, tools and clarity. Truth is, the future – your future, your life – is your own. No one can tell you what to do. (Well, they can try. Who likes to be told what to do? Not me!)

Sometimes messages come to a psychic with a great deal of urgency. That urgency may generate a pressure that the psychic responds to by issuing directives - telling you what to do.

Any classes that I teach regarding psychic development, I encourage the use of terms like, “you might want to consider . . .” “It would be helpful for you to . . .” “If it were me I might do this . . .” or “One thing that might be helpful would be . . .” These comments keep the psychic humble and aware of each person’s own personal power of choice. Saying, “you need to do this or that” or “you should do this other thing” removes personal power. Telling someone else what they should do diminishes one’s ability to listen to their own heart. That’s the real source of power – the heart. Not the feelings that get injured, but the heart-of-hearts that knows the truth. When you know in your heart to do a thing, it gets done. When we act because someone said to do so, our actions are not empowered and probably won’t work anyway.

Whatever actions a psychic might encourage you to do – check in with your own heart-of-hearts. Does it ring true for you? It may be uncomfortable because it’s a bit different than your normal actions, but you will feel the truth of it if it’s right for you. Just because it feels different doesn’t make it right or wrong for you. Sit with it. Let your heart ponder on it. If it begins to resonate with you then consider it. Trust your heart-of hearts. Often you will “know” instantly that the guidance is right for you.

4. A psychic cannot fix you, your relationship, your work situation, or your life.

A psychic can and does offer insights for clarity. Armed with those insights, you can take action that can shift your world. Armed with information like: What my partner needs from me right now; what lesson this job is bringing to me to learn; what life lesson is being activated at this time - these allow insights for clarity. With clarity comes clear action. With clear action comes change and with change comes a relief from being stuck or overwhelmed.

Often people utilize a psychic reading because they get all bunched up about what’s going on and they can’t see the forest for the trees. A psychic can show you. At work, your lesson seems to be to learn all you can and be ready to move on. Or, your relationship hasn’t had sufficient fun (or communication/or time) to sustain itself. One thing you could do to improve the fun/communication/time together would be . . .

The insights may be simple yet powerful and just what you really needed to hear to help clear your thinking and put you back on track. Again, YOU do the fixing. Your change in attitude, awareness and actions bring about change in your world. Utilize the powerful insights offered to discover a new way for yourself. That’s where the real “fix-it” comes from.

5. A psychic cannot have power over you.

A psychic may be creepy accurate in the insights and spooky profound in their guidance, but they cannot have power over you.

You are buying a service and that draws the line in the sand. If a psychic tells you that you have to come back for more readings . . . RUN!! This person may utilize your fears to pad their bank account. At the same time, not all that needs to be addressed may get addressed in one session. YOU decide if you would like additional sessions for additional subjects.

You have the power in your own life. Yes, sometimes we feel powerless when we get overwhelmed and stuck. A really good psychic helps you get unstuck by showing you the situation clearly and offering insight and options. Just because you may feel a bit creeped out because of their keen insights when you haven’t told them your life story doesn’t mean they have power over you. A clear reading does not take your power. A clear reading empowers you in your own life.

Bottom Line:

Through their connection to Divine Source, a psychic offers amazing insights to assist you in finding clarity, shifting your thinking, and moving forward. Relax and trust the process. Trust your heart-of-hearts to resonate truth for you. Ponder, consider and take the guidance offered as it fits for you.

May your journey be blessed!

We’ve had some lovely fall days recently. Not our usually spectacular Indian Summer that we usually have, but lovely none the less. My favorite part of fall is the changing of the colors of the trees. Certainly, I’m sad to see the annual flowers fade and turn brown and I’ll miss the deep green foliage of summer. Yet, those golds, reds, and yellows of fall really touch my heart. There is a vibrancy about them. A brilliance that invigorates the soul.

Those colors speak of change and release. They speak of the courage of being seen and allowing life to flow onward.

It feels as if hanging on is in my nature. Seeing the trees change and let go reminds me to do the same. Letting go of what no longer serves doesn’t have to look like miserable sacrifice. Letting go has the right to be brilliant and stunning!

It’s so lovely to see different trees releasing their leaves in different colors. Seeing a tree blazing with red leaves next to a brilliant yellow tree next to a tree with both green and orange leaves just takes the breath away.

We all don’t have to release or let go in the same way. Some trees drop their leaves quickly while others are the last to remain clothed in fall fashion. This reminds us that there is no wrong way to release and heal. (Releasing is healing on lots of levels!)

What are you ready to release? What no longer serves you? A perspective of mistrust? A condition of frustration? A cloak of shame? A basket of judgment? A crate of duty and obligation that no longer serves?

How might you release that? Prayer and fasting? Dancing and celebration? Journaling and meditation? Deep breaths and a new affirmation? Turning around and clapping your hands 3 times?

Whatever method you choose to use, your intent fuels the fire. Will it be a blazing bonfire or a quiet candle? The choice is yours because the journey is yours. You get to do it your way. Or not at all! Perhaps you require more time with this attitude/situation/experience for now. Just realize that this, too, is your choice.

I’m choosing to let go of some old fears. They have kept me safe for a long time, but my soul no longer needs fear in order to be safe. I have a measure of wisdom and I have wonderful friends who help me see the truth of who I am. I can gratefully release fear for the safety it granted me. It may slip back here and there. That’s okay. I can release

it every time it shows up. I’m just not granting it full time residence in my heart any more.

Just as the trees loose their leaves and then go dormant for the winter, we, too may require a time of turning in to get stronger, so that, when the sun shines brightly in the springtime, we can emerge stronger than before. It’s good to remember that winter doesn’t last forever and our time of turning inward has an expiration date. Maybe an hour or two; or a day or two; or a month or two. Know that the time of emerging can be blocked by another level of fear or mistrust. Keep checking in to make sure the restoration path is clear. This turning inward is opposed to shutting down. We are maintaining our awakened awareness in a quiet moment or two while healing happens.

Release in brilliance. Restore in trust.

Emerge in Power. Walk in Love.

Serve in Gratitude

Phil and I got an Instant Pot for Christmas last year. I’ve been learning to use this new piece of equipment. I comes with recipes, so I’ve been trying some new things. Some are pretty tasty.

I’ve been trying some of my old favorites and they work famously in the new gizmo. Some not so much. I’ve had two failures recently. I have a spare rib in bbq sauce that does famously in the crock pot. I decided to use pork loin instead of pork ribs - I don’t know if it was the different meat or what, but the sauce wasn’t very good. Meat was nice and tender, but the sauce was too sharp with vinegar. I decided to try my beef stroganoff recipe. Nope. Not a winner.

But, I keep trying!

I like the idea that I can put something into the Instant Pot and it’s done in about an hour—rather than waiting for at least three hours with a crock pot or slaving over a stove mixing and stirring other meals. This allows me to do a bunch of other stuff most days without thinking about the main meal of the day until the later.

Planning and meal prep has been a major portion of my day—every day for most of my life. Having a new toy . . . I mean, a new tool, makes it a bit more fun and interesting. With the latest failures, the word “interesting” takes on new meaning.

I like the flavor of the old and familiar. I like the speed of new and different. Will the worlds collide? Will I be able to blend the two? Maybe not. Maybe I’ll learn new recipes the new way and do the old and familiar recipes the old way.

I’ve done it before . . . When Phil discovered his gluten intolerance, everything shifted. I had to learn a whole new way of cooking. Now we are both gluten free. The shift was a lot easier with the pattern already in place.

So time to adapt again. Time to find some new patterns/recipes. The hardest part is the trying and failing. Yet, without failing, I don’t know what works (or what doesn’t). Failing holds great value! Failure teaches us things that success cannot reveal.

My chili was too thick for the Instant Pot. So was my stroganoff. I’m learning. Bless Phil’s heart—he will eat even the failures—unless they are burned. His willingness spurs me on to try again. What will it be today? Good thing the weather is turning cooler and we can have some hearty soups. My squash soup in the Instant Pot was spectacular! Success! I’ll do more of that and mark stroganoff off my Instant Pot list.

It’s hard to let go of what doesn’t work. Part of me thinks that if I just tried harder . . .

Don’t we keep trying things that don’t work? We think it will work this time. It won’t. Let it go. Time to utilize new tools and techniques for a happier result. It’s hard to try something new. It’s hard to let go of what used to work. Failure is our friend—when we listen.

What’s our friend Failure teaching us right now? What are we learning? What new tools, techniques or patterns will help us have a better result? Take a new look. Take a new step.

I was resting outside in my lawn chair a few minutes ago. I ran through a few tapping rounds utilizing the 5 Waterfalls of Light info. I tapped the heal of my hand and said, “I hereby move into the Waterfalls of Light.” I tapped over of the tapping points saying, “I step into Active Peace wherein I enjoy relaxed intensity.” I then tapped through the other tapping points saying, “I access Vitality by releasing efforting/anguishing about things I cannot change nor things I do not understand.” Then I did a round of tapping saying, “I notice Courage building as I get clearer and stronger.” Then, “I open myself to Expansive Awareness that allows me to be guided and become aware of that guidance.” Then, “I sense a renewed depth of Compassion for myself and for others as a result.” Then I just continued to rest in the lawn chair with my eyes closed expecting to fall asleep.

For some unknown reason, I opened my eyes.

Soaring right above me was a RED-TAILED HAWK!

The Red-Tailed Hawk is a spirit animal totem for me. I told Phil and he saw it too (so it was for real!)

I cannot tell you the gratitude that flowed from my heart at that moment! It was profound! I have not seen a hawk over our property since the construction started over 4 years ago. I occasionally will hear a hawk’s piercing cry as it hunts in the nearby fields for mice, but this is the first sighting in years.

Why did I open my eyes?

Why at that very moment did I see that hawk?

Was it because I had finished tapping the 5 Waterfalls of Light, I was feeling Peace, Vitality, Courage, Expanded Awareness and Compassion? I was, certainly, at that very moment, guided to open my eyes to receive the blessing of sighting my spirit animal.

The Red-Tailed Hawk symbolizes one who is aware of the interconnectedness of all things and holds a reverence for all life. It bestows the gift of vision and inspiration for guidance for others in their awakening. (adapted from Ted Andrews, Animal Speak)

I must admit, I had been feeling kinda low and feeling as if I wasn’t very connected. Apparently that connection was renewed BIG TIME!!!

We all could use renewal now and then. I’m so grateful I felt led to do some tapping. I’m so very grateful I responded to the sense to open my eyes. I’m so very grateful my connection was renewed in a big way!

How might you renew your own connection? There is no wrong way to reconnect. Tapping is just one way. Prayer is another (though I think the tapping that I was doing WAS a prayer!) Taking time to notice the bright things in one’s life. Even when we are down or feeling low, Spirit can and will bring to our attention bright things to brighten our day.

We often feel guilty for feeling down or low. That’s a part of that efforting/anguishing that we get to let go of. We can let go of shame and blame about our life’s journey and step up into a greater awareness of who we really are and how truly connected we can be. May your connection be blessed!

My phone is wasting away. Its poor little battery gets hot when I go online. Its little screen is cracked. Alas, I must replace it.

NOOOOOOooooo!!! Not the new phone syndrome! Everything will change! I won’t be able to find anything at first.

Okay, so my phone is really old. It’s pretty pitiful. I knew this day would come. So, I have insurance on the phone and I get to have it replaced with a newer version for a deductible fee – a whole lot less than the $700 for a new phone. I’m good with that!

So, after sending several sets of documents in to the insurance company and babying the old phone, I’ll be ready for the new one. It took the agony of dealing with recharging the phone several times a day and turning off the mobile data for me to become willing to accept and even welcome change.

I think change is hard on all of us. We hold on to what we know even if it no longer serves us. (At least I don’t think I’m the only one who resists change!) Sometimes the Universe asks us to move forward into something new and wonderful and we resist because the act of changing feels difficult. The Universe then asks more loudly for us to shift and move into something beautiful and new. Do we jump into the new effortlessly?

NOPE! Not me, anyway. I like the familiarity of the old. My auto pilot functions just fine here. Gotta love that auto-pilot. . . no thinking, just automatically cruising along. Not really enjoying life, but not getting into difficulty either. Just hovering and getting the little tasks done that deem themselves necessary in our lives.

Eerk! Gotta pull myself up short on that one! Just cruising is fine if you are on a cruise ship. Just cruising mindlessly through life robs me of all the possible joy available in each moment.

Certainly, I don’t need to concentrate on every tooth while I’m brushing my teeth, auto-pilot can assist with that and free my brain to consider other things. Yet, without attentiveness, I may push too hard on the brush and do damage. Or, I may miss a spot that could lead to decay. Hmmm. Best be a bit mindful even of teeth brushing. So, how is brushing one’s teeth joyful? I have teeth! I get to keep them clean so they bless my smile! I get to . . . brush my teeth!

When I allow myself to move with the directives brought by the Universe, I move into a state of “get to.” I get to do whatever is in my heart to do, and I get to do that with joyful intent. I get to learn to utilize a new phone! I certainly hope only a limited number of swear words are necessary before I become an accomplished user of my new phone. If not swear words, at least I hope I’m saved from moments of exasperation and frustration. I get to be patient with myself as I learn to navigate the new system. I get to be intrigued by any new formatting.

Now, we wait for the new phone to arrive. I get to nurse the old phone just a little while longer and hope it stays alive long enough to transfer data over. I get to be okay with that, too.

I’ve created a new definition of patience – it is peace in the unfolding. I get to be at peace while this situation unfolds. I cannot rush it by becoming impatient. I cannot delay it by being stuck in the old pattern. I get to be in a holding pattern but without struggle or difficulty. At least in this moment. I may make a new choice in the next five minutes and become exasperated. Or, I may choose to be with this as it unfolds – neither dreading nor fretting.

We shall see . . . let’s hope I choose peace in the unfolding!

A change is due.

Oh, no. Not again!

Change happens. Shift happens.

But, things are comfortable the way they are!

The winds of change are blowing.

Lumps of dough on a cookie sheet become cookies with just a little heat and a little time. Wet clothes become dry with just a push of a dryer button or with a clothesline, a little sunshine, and a gentle breeze. Day slips into night without any effort. Seasons flow effortlessly through their appointed rounds. Change happens effortlessly.

Jesus turned water into wine with the power of intent and through His Divine Authority. Are you not divine in spirit?

The struggle comes from lack of clarity of intent. Before there was cookie dough, there was intent to create cookies; the gathering and mixing of ingredients; the spooning of dough onto the cookie sheet; setting the oven; setting the timer and waiting. These steps require action, yet the amount of effort depends upon the amount of resistance or dread. Making cookies out of duty or obligation adds a heaping measure of resistance and effort! Making cookies out of willingness and joyful anticipation of sharing the result with loved ones creates delight, fun, and creativity.

The key then rests upon noticing the intent of any action taken. Am I responding to unexpressed expectations? (My own or someone else’s) Am I in auto pilot where I’ve cut off my spirit, my willingness, my intent, and my divine nature?

Am I pulling weeds because I hate weeds or because I love the sight of weed-free flowers blooming in the yard? Ok, so there may be a measure of satisfaction when a weed lets go with just the right amount of pulling on my part. Even so, what is the intent? Hate? Or satisfaction and joy? Which most easily gets me off the sofa and into the garden? Which offers sustainable energy to keep me motivated to finish?

What might you really prefer in your life? What intent underlies your life right now? Does resistance ever stop change from happening? Do expectations fill the soul? Right now, there is an underlying intent running in your life. Your life is the result of this

intent. Do you like what you are experiencing? Wonderful! Keep supporting that intent and flowing with that energy.

If life seems difficult right now, a change is due. If struggles bite at your heels, you know you are ready for a change.

Focus upon selecting a clear intent for this change. Create an “I Am” statement to support the journey. “I Am peaceful.” “I Am living abundantly.” “I Am supported and blessed.” “I Am blessed and am a blessing.” Be very clear with this broad intent.

The Universe then supports change in your behalf by bringing you insights and awareness for your next step for your journey as it unfolds effortlessly.

The winds of change are blowing. You are the source of change in your own life and for changes in the world.

We had some pretty stiff winds a while ago.

I got a call from Phil mid-morning asking me to go check on our new little tree. The tree is a tiny little thing. It is sprangly with branches at the top and a long narrow stem. It’s the same tree as the other huge Dawn Redwood that stands on the other side of our back yard. The older tree is huge and a lovely green that turns a beautiful rust color in the fall and loses its leaves/needles in the winter. My momma planted that tree. It’s really crowded between a blue spruce and the tulip tree. We bought a second tree and gave it plenty of room to grow.

This poor little sprout snapped in the wind. I nearly cried. I’m so glad Phil had the nudge to call me when he did! It appeared to have just happened and the stem and leaves were still green.

Well, I propped the little thing up; taped its broken stem, and gave it a good watering and a healing. It withstood the rest of the windstorm.

Now, it’s turning that rust color. That means to me that the little thing isn’t getting sufficient sap to the top. I’m still hoping that the stem will grow around the wound and heal sufficiently to get the sap going.

Fortunately, we’ve had mild weather and some rain, so this little guy isn’t stressed too badly. High heat would be the death of it, I’m sure.

There is a tiny bit of a green branch growing from the bottom of the stem. If the top doesn’t make it, the bottom has a great chance of making it. I’m still in high hopes of the main stem healing and creating a big beautiful tree.

Time will tell.

So it is with a lot of things, isn’t it? Time will tell.

We do our best to heal our own wounds and we still aren’t sure we will ever be okay. We do our best to heal wounded relationships and we still aren’t sure those will ever be okay.

We do our best.

We mend and make amends. We pray for the right conditions for things to heal and get better. Then we wait. We watch and wait. I’ve visited that little tree just about every day. I walk up the hill to the back end of the property with mixed feelings of hope and dread. I walk down the hill will gratitude that it’s still here another day, accepting that uncertainty is a part of the process.

Whatever you are waiting on – your own healing or the healing of a friendship or a situation, we wait and we watch. We do our part and allow ourselves a measure of gratitude and a heaping helping of uncertainty.

We check in and step back. The hardest part is allowing things to be as they are. I knew I could have staked that little thing earlier. But, alas, it is what it is. And I can only do what I can only do in this moment.

We do what we can and we allow space for Divine Source to do the real work. We engender hope and trust and keep the faith.

So, I accidentally clicked a couple of buttons thinking I was going to capitalize something . . . Instead, all the print got really BIG! If I could remember what I did, I could reverse it. But, alas, I was on auto-pilot, so I have not idea. Now I have to look it up and figure it out, but what a pain! At least once I do that I will have learned something and hopefully can repeat the process when I choose to have bigger print. I’m ageing up, that could become important to me.

Isn’t that how our lives work?

We accidentally do something we hadn’t intended and then have to fix it. I think sometimes those accidents aren’t accidents. Sometimes I think those things are blessings in disguise! I would never have considered enlarging the view. I would have squinted.

Why?

Because we don’t know what we don’t know.

When life throws something at us, we are being shown something new or different. Without this new view, we would keep on doing what we are doing exactly the same way we always have. There may be 10 different ways to do something better, but, for us, we choose to do what we know because learning is so hard.

Is it? Is learning hard?

Sometimes, yes! Sometimes, no. Learning is hardest when we are stuck in our old ways. True? When we are looking for a better way and something presents itself, its really easy to try, because we are open and ready for that which is new!

When we are accustomed to how it is, we don’t look for a better way. It’s our way or the hi-way, right? Yup. We humans would rather struggle along that try something new. Because we might fail. We might not do it “right” or perfectly the first time.

And yet, failure is the beauty of learning. We can let that attempt go because it didn’t work for us. Instead, we get discouraged and forget to try something else. It takes great courage to step out of same-ol’ same-ol’.

So how does one access courage? Often courage is thrown at us when the option of giving up isn’t available. My computer screen view was HUGE. Two words and the page would shift! Totally unworkable! My options were struggle or find a better way.

With the fear of failure far less in energy than the HUGE WORDS IN MY FACE, courage happened. Even if I screwed something up, that’s better than what I was experiencing!

Was that courage or was that desperation? Sometimes courage is both! Courage isn’t the lack of fear, it’s the willingness to move beyond fear to a different outcome.

I bet you are facing something or some things right now that you don’t want to face. Yet, you will. You will find the courage and you will find the better way, the clearer path.

Courage is already there. Courage awaits your awareness.

Sometimes things have to get HUGE IN OUR FACE before we can see it’s time to take a new look. With that new look comes a new path. You can and will walk it with courage. It’s already there.