Mad about autumn

*insert witchy cackle* Happy Halloween!!!

Stanley is ready.

The jack-'o-lanterns are ready.  (Guess which 2 are mine.....Hahaha)

The 230 treat bags are ready.  (If someone's not snuck candy....)

The special treats for the special visitors are ready.  (They just got made so they're safe.)

The pumpkin gang, ghosties and witchy witch are ready.  (If the stupid wind doesn't blow 'em away.)

Dinner is ready.  (That was his task while I was at work.)

It's HERE!

It's HERE!!

Wooohooo!!  Halloween is HERE!!  :-)

Now.....where's that hat and broom gone off to.....  The Bug is gonna be sad if I don't don the hat!

Let the short people in cute costumes begin!!!

Daily Thought

Stars have always helped me to get things into perspective . . . I tried to let the starlight heal something deep in me that hurt.

—Madeleine L’Engle

For a long time, people have used stars to find their way in the dark. Many a lost soul has been guided by the North Star or the Big Dipper.

If we watch the sky at night, we can see thousands of twinkling stars. They are our friends. They remind us how small we are. They remind us of the vastness of the universe, of the power and beauty that surround us.

Starlight in the sky, or reflected on a lake, can comfort us when we hurt. With safe and open arms, nature accepts our sorrow, no matter how we express it. Starlight, like all of nature, reflects a light that comes from way beyond us. It is that light that heals us in a deep and quiet way.

How has nature comforted me when I am troubled?

Fairy Reminder

Look! See how much you’ve changed. See the difference in your perspective.

Remember all those years you were so fearful, trying to peek ahead, trying to see what the future held. Remember how upset you got, how uncertain and abandoned you felt because you didn’t know the plan.

Now life has taken you to a new place, a new place for you but a place that is ancient. All along, you were not supposed to be getting the answers about what the future held. You were supposed to be learning the magical way of trust and inner guidance, learning to feel your way through, trusting and committing to your vision, your energy, your purpose, your place, each day and moment along the way. You were supposed to be learning to allow the universe to magically unfold and trust that it would. You have been learning this lesson. You have been learning it well.

See how you delight in life’s magic now, the surprises, the not knowing, the absolute trust in the universe to bring you your answers, manifest your visions, and help you when you can’t quite see. See how much you cherish your relationship to the universe, a relationship so much broader and more encompassing, so much more vital that you could ever before imagine. See how joyfully you walk your path, enjoying all the sights, opening your heart to loved one and strangers.

See how benevolent it really is when you are not able to see ahead. Not knowing has taught you about life’s magic. It has connected you to yourself and to the universe. 

TFTD

God wrote His loveliest poem on this day

He made the first tall, poplar tree,

And set it high upon a pale-gold hill

For all the now enchanted earth to see.

–  Grace Noll

Autumn was such a wonderful time when we were youngsters.  Raking meant gleefully jumping into mountains of leaves and later gathering with our families to watch the blazing piles.

We can still enjoy the trees and leaves around us.  If we take time to observe even a single leaf, we will again be surprised as its beauty, its perfection.  The golden or red or brown leaf is a small part of nature’s balance.

We enjoyed trees before;  we can find multiple ways to enjoy them now.  Like all of the world around us, the leaves lend color, beauty, and meaning to our lives, if we only look.

All natural beauty deserves a second look before I turn away.

Fairy Wisdom

Your inner self is literal and does not understand ambiguity so whenever you direct it to manifest your desires, give it absolutely literal instructions. … Your natural self is quite fond of accomplshing the tasks you give it. It loves to display its skills and perform for you and others, and can do nearly anything (within the realm of possibility) that you can conceive.

–Enid Hoffman

Be clear on your intentions.

Intentions are more than mere wishes. An intention is will mixed with emotions and desire. For instance, I can sit here and wish the house were cleaner. When I put all else aside, take my frustration about the mess and channel it into energy and my desire for tidiness, I can say, “I will spend one hour straightening up.”

Sometimes we make our intentions known to other people. For instance, we might start dating someone, and it’s our intention to eventually marry. Intentions can turn into manipulation when we don’t make them clear. They can also involve control, in the worse sense, when they involve changing the free will of someone else.

The best place to start is by making our intentions clear to ourselves. What do you want? In regards to your life situations, like work or finances, what are your intentions?

Sometimes our good intentions can run totally amok. For instance, we might intend to get a person sober, but they may have no desire to sober up. We can avoid a lot of painful manipulations, if we’re clear about our intentions.

Watch yourself as you go through life encountering different situations. Do you have an agenda? Do you even know what it is? Sometimes our intentions are less than conscious, hidden right below the surface. For instance, we may have an intention to get married and have someone support us so we don’t have to support ourselves. Are someone else’s intentions influencing your own?

When you start any project, a new relationship, or just a new day, spend a moment and get quiet. Be clear with yourself and others on what your intentions are. Then surrender those intentions to God.

Captured Memory 15

TFTD

Finish your business with people. Unfinished business with others is the highest block to an open heart, the biggest block to peace and joy.

The tangled cords that bind us to the past are easy to find. All we need do is become quiet and listen to the voice of our heart. Who do we resent? Who are we angry with? Hurt by? Who are the people we aren’t at peace with? That’s our unfinished business, the unfinished business of the heart.

Look deep inside. Find your secrets. Find your not-quite-finished pieces. Then discover what you need to finish. Often, the answer is only a breath away– a breath of fresh air, a breath of forgiveness, a breath of love. Take that breath. Let the past go. Let it go in peace, thankful for all you’ve learned along the way.

Coffee with the witch......

SIX MORE DAYS!!

Right........

There are 230 treat bags assembled.

There is a ghostie in the tree and a witchy hat on the front porch.

And there's an 8 foot spider in the yard!  :-)

Today I shall put the witch on the roof, over the door......or on the eaves of the roof.  OH OH....hanging from the eaves with her broom suspended and an "....oops!!" sign.  Or 

I have paint!  And a spousal unit that knows how to make letters and stuff.....who'd love to help, I'm sure.

Wire and heavy duty fish line.

Oh, I can feel it coming together.

OR I can drag out the cauldron and put her in it with the broom and get some dry ice for the evening.  I think I can convince himself of that.

OR.....

k...first things first.

More coffee....with the witch and the broom.....IN the livingroom where he-who-doesn't-know-he-wants-to-help-me is having HIS coffee.

I'll sit her on the couch with me with her own cup.

He'll figure it out.  LOLOL

Oak Shadows

TFTD

Our attitudes and our ideas are the eyeglasses through which we see our lives. If our “glasses” are smudged or dirty, our lives look dim. 

If our attitudes aren’t well focused, the whole world appears distorted.

 To see the world clearly, we need to keep our attitudes and ideas clean, free of things like resentment, denial, self-pity, and closed-mindedness. 

To insure our vision of life is in focus, we have to bring our ideas in line with reality.

Fairy Material

Sometimes we find ourselves with people or in places we can’t adapt to. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we want it to, it just doesn’t feel right. Doesn’t fit. We are trying to jam the proverbial square peg into the round hole. Only what we’re trying to jam isn’t a block of wood– it’s us.

Sometimes in situations like these we revert to old ways of thinking, believing, and feeling. There must be something wrong with me if I don’t like this, if this isn’t working. If I try harder, control my emotions, jam a little harder, this square peg– me– will fit.

Those are the times we may begin to feel confused, weak, scattered, uncertain. We abandon ourselves. Our emotions disappear. Our passion wanes. We may begin sleeping, escaping, drifting further and further away. Our soul begins squirming in reaction to what we’re trying to force ourselves to do. We may become physically ill. It’s as though we’re allergic to our surroundings. Sometimes, we may spend years in this process– depending on what we’re afraid to face or what we’re afraid to lose. Other times, this process may only last hours or days,.

We can take as much time as we need to listen to and take care of ourselves. But if we love ourselves, we won’t torture ourselves for long, because we know we don’t have to. If a place or person or situation doesn’t work for us, that’s okay. We don’t have to punish ourselves. We don’t have to go away from ourselves. We can leave the situation.

Trust yourself– your body and your soul– to know what’s right for you. Learn to feel the energy of a situation, place, or person. If something feels right, you feel in harmony mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t abandon yourself. Leave the situation. Try something else until you do feel right.

Captured Memory 14

Today's Reading

Joy . . . is found only in the good things of the soul.

–  Philo

Every day has its ups and downs — its good and bad moments.  The joys that today offers must be personally claimed, by each of us, or they will pass by unnoticed.

The events that cause a joyful experience are different for all individuals.  We sometimes share joyful experiences with other people.  Watching an infant walk for the first time can be a shared joy and a lasting memory.  Recognizing that our friends, or perhaps even ourselves, have found help in dealing with personal problems or harmful behaviors can also be joyful experiences.

Joy can also be a private time — fishing on a lovely morning, watching the petals of a flow unfold, or being part of a growing relationship.  All contribute to our sense of well-being.

In this day, I will be aware of the people and activities that give me joy

Things that make me happy

....meteorites streaking across the wee hours morning sky.

....witchy shower curtan surprise.  *snickering*  His reactions make me laugh.

....racing outside to watch the space station.

....230 treat bags all set for Halloween night!  Mwahahaha!!!

...the flashing spider glasses prezzie.

....new shoes x2 that work with my silly inserts.

....a LEAFY adventure!

....making plans for a Bug weekend.  :-)

The October Turn

Today's Fairy Reminder

Are you holding yourself in a prison of your own making? If so, today you can choose to set yourself free.

Worries, insecurities, outdated assumptions, and a negative self image can all prevent you from experiencing life at its best. You can let those limiting influences fall cleanly away from your life.

The obstacles that life sends your way will continually challenge you, and yet with intention and commitment you can move beyond them. Before you can do that, however, you must set yourself free of the self-imposed obstacles.

Raise your vision of yourself above any troubles and shortcomings that may have occurred in your past. This is now, and you owe it to yourself to maintain an empowering view of yourself.

If you’ve known a lot of disappointment, there’s no need to fear more disappointment or failure. Just accept that they will occasionally come, and look forward to the great satisfaction you’ll find in working your way beyond them.

Choose to set yourself free from defeating thoughts that have held you back. Knock down the walls you’ve built around you, and let the full richness of life come in.

Sharing

Daily Reminder

Be honest about who you are. It’s tiring to pretend you’re someone you’re not.

Be honest about what you desire. It’s a waste of time and energy to strive for what you don’t even want.

Be honest with yourself and with others about the challenges and the possibilities. You can absolutely achieve great things, and the way to do that is by being realistic about what must be done.

Be honest in what you say and in what you do. Put the irrefutable power of truth on your side.

Deception may seem easy and convenient in the moment, yet it is invariably destructive in the long run. Being honest requires strength, discipline and integrity, and those will all serve you well.

Be honest for your own sake, for the sake of others, and for the sake of truth itself.

Today's Fairy Reading

How difficult it is to let go of our struggles to control and change someone else. How frequently we assume that everything would be fine if only someone else would change. All that needs to change is an attitude, our own.

Taking responsibility for improving one's own life is an important step toward emotional health. Blaming another for our circumstances keeps us stuck and offers no hope for improved conditions. Personal power is as available as our decision to use it. And it is bolstered by all the strength we'll ever need. The decision to take our lives in hand will exhilarate us. The decision each day to be thoughtful, prayerful, and wholly responsible for all that we do will nourish our developing selves. Each responsible choice moves us toward our wholeness, strengthening our sense of self, our well-being.

Prayer Circle/(The Whole Deal) Captured Memory13

1, 2, 3.....

There are countless ways by which my progress and growth in The Program can be measured.   One of the most important is my awareness that I’m no longer compelled, almost obsessively, to go around judging everything and everybody.  My only business today is to work on changing myself, rather than other people, places and things.  In its own way, the obsession of being forever judgmental was as burdensome to me as the obsession of my addiction;  I’m grateful that both weights have been lifted from my shoulders.  When I become judgmental, will I remind myself that I’m trespassing on God’s territory?

Today I Pray

Forgive me my trespasses, when I have become the self-proclaimed judge-and-jury of my peers.  By  being judgmental, I have trespassed on the rights of others to judge themselves– and on the rights of God in the Highest Court of all.  May I throw away all my judgmental tools — my own yardstick and measuring tapes, my own comparisons, my unreachable standards — and accept each person as an individual beyond compare.


I got a G-d box this morning.

The wood is cherry.  It was turned on a lathe and sanded and polished, stained and given a fuzzy liner inside.
It's gorgeous.  And he made it just for me.  He, who lost his wife to leukemia.  He who's sponsored me for more than two decades.  He who's loved me, seemingly, forever.

"I was going to make you a 'G-d barrel'" he joked.  "Write small.."
The point was good.
The reading just put the exclamation point on the whole deal.

And today was the day that I learned, first hand, that another loved member of our small group was diagnosed with cancer--in his lungs, in his liver, in his bones and in his prostrate.


Write small.......
I'm going to the river to sit.
I need to talk to the Big Guy.

And then I need to come home and write small..........

TFTD

You can acknowledge and address the problems without being consumed by them. You can be peaceful and effective.

You can let go of past regrets while still finding strength in the lessons they have taught you. You can be free of worries while also embracing responsibility for your life and your world.

Being peaceful does not mean you must be isolated from life. In fact, with a purposeful, peaceful perspective you can be actively involved in creating great value for yourself and for others.

Being peaceful is powerful because you don’t have to fight against yourself, or against anything or anyone else for that matter. When you are peaceful within, you can work to support positive possibilities instead of feeling the need to fight against negative factors.

You can choose to deeply care about everything while at the same time not letting anything control the way you feel. You can give your best to any situation, regardless of what the situation gives to you.

Captured Memory12

Yup.....problem

It's feeling kinda messy.  And truth be told, I'm feeling a bit uneasy about it all.  I like the doc well enough.  She calls the shots and she's competent, confident and  smart as a whip.  I don't doubt her expertise in the field of "pain medicines".  She's in charge of the department--I'm clear she is no dumbie.
But my body's doing what my body does.  It acts like it wants it to work.
And then it decides to lose the effectiveness and wants more.  So she gives it more and it gets better.....and gets worse.  And back we go, and MORE it gets.
We've gone to four times the original dose.  We've changed times so many times that I actually use the phone alarm.....or it doesn't happen.  I can't seem to remember what time I take what dose...I blame the frequency of changes and not my age, of course.
I've gone back to using the T.E.N.S unit.
Seriously, if there was a fire, I'd go up with the house.
There's no ability to leap to my feet to make a hasty exit.
Balance, or lack thereof, is a part of the issue.
Pain is another reason.
Pain is the main reason.
If I stand after sitting too long, pain.
If I stand too long without sitting, pain.
Therein lies the dilema.
And that's without mentioning the constant, but varying, degrees of pain of pain that happen with the constant 'glass shards' sticking into the front of my thigh.  Or the sudden knife stabbing, or cupid shooting arrows form inside my foot, or the battery acid.

She frowns and nods at the descriptions of my pain.  I tend to assign a thing or personality to it.  And while I'm fairly honest about the prevalent issue, the rest don't get airtime.  I just want different.  It's been long enough.

I'm still reeling from the "yes" answer when she was asked if this was likely to be a situation which would require a "lifetime" of medication.
I haven't put that in the box and on a shelf.  It isn't the issue of taking some pill forever--people do that for blood pressure and diabetes.
That means a lifetime of feeling like this.....ALL THE TIME..
Until the Big Guy takes me Home.
There's my problem.

Fairy Reading for Today

Why is life so good for you in this moment? What is it about today, and about the way you intend to live it, that will make it the best day ever?

What you create in your life starts with what you imagine, and then is fully manifested by what you do. A constant stream of positive, empowering questions leads toward a rich, fulfilling life.

How are you able to give value to this situation, right here, right now? How can your own unique perspective be expressed so as to enrich the world?

Ask yourself what is beautiful about this day, and clearly see that beauty as the day unfolds. Ask yourself why you care, and see the underlying meaning in all you do, and in all you encounter.

The substance of your life goes far beyond what you already realize. Ask, and discover how truly outstanding life can be.

Daily Reminder

Grief is heavy. It can wear us down.

It's okay to be gentle with ourselves when we're gong through change and grief. Yes, we want to maintain the disciplines of recovery. But we can be compassionate with ourselves. We do not have to expect more from ourselves than we can deliver during this time. We do not even have to expect as much from ourselves as we would normally and reasonably expect.

We may need more rest, more sleep, more comfort. We may be more needy and have less to give. It is okay to accept ourselves, and our changed needs, during times of grief, stress, and change.

It is okay to allow ourselves to cocoon during times of transformation. We can surrender to the process, and trust that a new, exciting energy is being created within us.

Captured Memory 11

TFTD

How easy it is to blame our problems on others. "Look at what he's doing." . . . "Look how long I've waited." . . . "Why doesn't she call?" . . . "If only he'd change then I'd be happy." . . .

Often, our accusations are justified. We probably are feeling hurt and frustrated. In those moments, we may begin to believe that the solution to our pain and frustration is getting the other person to do what we want, or having the outcome we desire. But these self-defeating illusions put the power and control of our life in other people's hands. We call this codependency.

The solution to our pain and frustration, however valid is to acknowledge our own feelings. We feel the anger, the grief; then we let go of the feelings and find peace - within ourselves. We know our happiness isn't controlled by another person, even though we may have convinced ourselves it is. We call this acceptance.

Then we decide that although we'd like our situation to be different, maybe our life is happening this way for a reason. Maybe there is a higher purpose and plan in play, one that's better than we could have orchestrated. We call this faith.

Then we decide what we need to do, what is within our power to do to take care of ourselves. That's called living responsibly.

It's easy to point our finger at another, but it's more rewarding to gently point it at ourselves.

Fairy Thought

A musician must make music; an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be.

  —Abraham Maslow

The same is true of a seamstress, carpenter, homemaker, lawyer, or mechanic. The question is, who and what am I? What must I do to be at peace with myself? What can I be, for that is what I must be? 

A lucky few of us find the answers to these questions fairly early in life, and we work to develop into the people we can be and must be. We do that by looking at our deepest desires, and ask what would bring fulfillment for us. We ask what we would enjoy doing most, what we believe we have the ability to be really good at. What is it that sometimes burns within us to be expressed or done? The answers to what we can be, what we must be, come from within, through asking ourselves these questions.

Fairy Message

What Are Your Priorities?

I was working away in my cabin, trying to print out the pages I had typed into my computer. It was taking half an hour to print each page. I had one hundred pages to go. For the umpteenth time I checked my computer, checked the program, checked the printer, checked everything I knew to see why it was printing so slowly. It all seemed to be set up properly. Then I accidentally touched a control setting, one I hadn’t noticed before. It was my priority control. It was set on low. I switched it to high priority. The pages now began to print at top speed.

Priorities are important. Learning how to focus our energy according to priorities– even though we’re going with the flow– is an important part of our lives. It’s one of the powers we’re learning.

What are your priorities? Is living from your heart one of them? Are there tasks you’d like to accomplish? Skills you’d like to acquire? Is meditation being centered, and living your life from a place of balance an area you’ve designated as critical?

Is loving yourself a priority? How important is your spiritual growth? What priority have you assigned to other areas like pleasure, having fun, feeling joy? Are your priorities set on high, medium,or low?

Look around and you’ll see your answers. Your life as it is now reflects the priorities you have chosen so far. If something is happening too slowly, try switching your priority setting from low to high.

The 'hanger-oner'

Oh for a free evening......

First he doesn't go--for a verrrrry long time.
Then he goes.
Then he doesn't go...and then he goes again.

*shaking head*

I'm washing the dusting rags that collected under the kitchen sink--which explains where they all were when I decided maybe I oughta spend tonight doing some dusting in the study....since I can, and DID, write my name in the dust.  k...it wasn't my name I wrote, but I wrote in the dust and now I need to make it (and the rest of the disgusting dust) go away.

I guess if you don't use the study, you don't see the dust.

<-- a="" at="" least="" multiple="" p="" study="" the="" times="" uses="" week="">
k..granted it's NOT like I used to use the study, but that's before they made touch screens that you can use when you're stuck on the couch and can't make it into a computer chair.......like for almost 18 months.

So I got spoiled on the touch screen--even if I don't like typing on the darn thing.  I can read!  Which isn't really helpful when you're catching up and wanting folks to know you're still out here.
Yes, well......  Himself is out for a meeting.  And I'm in the dusty study where there's writing on the furniture that needs to be removed, typing on the keyboard to the computer WHILE the dusting cloths are going 'swishy swishy' in the washing machine.

Yup......that sounds about right........LOLOL

Daily Reminder

It’s healthy, wise, and loving to be considerate and responsive to the feelings and needs of others. That’s different from caretaking. Caretaking is a self defeating and, certainly, a relationship defeating behavior – a behavior that backfires and can cause us to feel resentful and victimized – because ultimately, what we feel, want, and need will come to the surface.

Some people seem to invite emotional caretaking. We can learn to refuse the invitation. We can be concerned; we can be loving, when possible; but we can place value on our own needs and feelings too. Part of recovery means learning to pay attention to, and place importance on, what we feel, want, and need, because we begin to see that there are clear, predictable, and usually undesirable consequences when we don’t.

Be patient and gentle with yourself as you learn to do this. Be understanding with yourself when you slip back into the old behavior of emotional caretaking and self-neglect.

But stop the cycle today. We do not have to feel responsible for others. We do not have to feel guilty about not feeling responsible for others. We can even learn to let ourselves feel good about taking responsibility for our needs and feelings.

Fairy Reminder

How easy the breath that kills a flame,

How hard to kindle that light again.

Cold words kill and kind words kindle,

By words withheld a dream may dwindle.

—Joan Walsh Anglund

How we treat the people we live with affects the happiness of our family. Just as a breath can blow out a flame, a mean remark can cast a shadow across a brother or sister’s heart. People of all ages have left dreams behind because no one encouraged them. They are like candles snuffed out.

On the other hand, if we see a friend or family member feeling good about something they have done, we can learn to be happy for them. If we notice their excitement and encourage them with kind and sincere words, it will help their candle burn brighter. Sharing the happiness of others will make our own candles burn brighter, and it always feels good when we receive kind words ourselves.

Feel Good Fairy

Very often, the things you think will make you feel good in the moment will leave you feeling very bad in the long run. Yet you can choose to feel good by doing what’s truly good and right for you, for those around you, and for your world.

Don’t settle for just feeling good because of something you’re doing or something you have or someone you’re with. Don’t make your good feelings conditioned on what you’re watching, eating, drinking or experiencing.

Make the choice to feel great no matter what.

Imagine the freedom of not being held hostage to your desire for good feelings. Imagine feeling good because of your choice, and not being emotionally dependent on things that are beyond your control.

Life can feel great if you let it. Let it, by letting go of what you think you need and allowing the authentic goodness of who you are.

Feel good because it is what you choose to feel. Feel good, and free yourself from the needs that can steal your good feelings away.

Daily Reminder

We each vacillate between feeling confident on some days, lucky on others, and yet frequently scared on others. It’s very human to vacillate. We need not be anxious because our emotions refuse to stand still.

Changing emotions are part of the process of normal living. And changing emotions reflect an involvement with the moment. Situations do touch us, as they should. They do invite responses, as they should. And our responses will reveal our emotional involvement, as they should. We can cherish the variety of our emotions. They enrich us. But they may also create problems, if they go unchecked.

We need to maintain a balance. Confidence, certainly desirable, can become overconfidence and thus complacency. Confidence needs humility to temper it. Fear makes us cautious, and that’s good; but too much can immobilize us. Being in charge of our emotions makes them work for us.

Emotions can energize me and keep me involved with the moment. They can also control me. It’s my decision to be in charge.

Daily Reminder From the Fairy

Storms come. The lightning flashes. Thunder rolls. Sometimes the hail pounds so loudly and incessantly it becomes frightening. Sometimes storms do damage. But storms are not forever.

Just as nature plays out her storms, sometimes with violence, sometimes with gray days, sometimes with a gentle cleansing rain, we have storms in our lives, storms in our souls. Storms are part of life, part of growth, part of the journey.

Light a candle. Wrap up in warmth. Make yourself safe and secure. Then wait for the storm to pass, knowing it will.

Leaf Princess

Fairy Reading

“Lots of people hardly ever feel real soil under their feet, see plants grow except in flower pots, or get far enough beyond the street light to catch the enchantment of a night sky studded with stars. When people live far from scenes of the Great Spirit’s making, it’s easy for them to forget His laws.”
–Tatanga Mani (Walking Buffalo), STONEY

Nature is life’s greatest teacher. The natural laws are hidden in nature. Hidden are solutions to everyday problems such as conflict resolution, how to forgive, lessons about differences, how to manage organizations, how to think. Hidden are feelings. You can look at something and you will feel it. At night, have you ever looked at the sky when there are no clouds? As you look at all the stars, your heart will become very joyful. You will walk away feeling joyful and peaceful. We need to visit nature so we can see and feel these things.

Daily Reading

Every human being is a problem in search of a solution.
– Ashely Montagu

Despite the occasional distance or coolness that many of us sense within, we are also aware of wellsprings of emotion, ready to flow with feelings that have been long hidden. It sometimes takes a crisis, such as illness or loss of a loved one to literally drive us to seek help.

Trying to uncover deeply hidden painful emotions can feel like a treacherous path to follow, and some of us may be tempted to stop trying. But if we honestly open ourselves to these feelings, we can begin to know ourselves better and to build healthier and more mature relationships.

Change can be frightening, especially when I’ve been hiding from my own emotions. If there is a problem, dealing with my emotions is part of the solution.

TFTD

Each of us is blessed with an internal guide, a source able to direct our actions if we but acknowledge it. Never are we in doubt for long about what path to take. The courage to take it might not be immediately forthcoming; however, it, too, is one of the gifts with which we've been blessed. Courage is ours for the asking. Right direction is ours for the taking.

Trusting our inner selves takes practice, followed by attention to the results of our risks. M of us passively waited for others to orchestrate our behavior, our feelings, and our attitudes. Stepping forward as the leading person, with our own script in hand is quite a change, but one we are being coached, daily, to make.

Captured Memory9

Today's Reading

I believe that every single event in life happens as an opportunity to choose love over fear. --Oprah Winfrey 

 When our past is strewn with tragic and abusive experiences, it's not easy to recall events as opportunities to love. Yet today we are learning to forgive and to trust that we will always be cared for.  

We cannot change the past. What happened and how we responded helped carry us to this point in our journey. We can cultivate love, now, for the present. The people who care for us will support us. The experiences designed for our progress will come to us. We can be free of fear today, if that's our wish.  

I will not fear the events in my life today. I am ready for them. They need my involvement.

Daily Reminder

A thousand eyes, but none with correct vision.
--Isacher Hurwitz

William Shakespeare referred to envy as the "green sickness." There are only losers in the game of envy. When we envy someone else, we have judged ourselves and found something lacking.

Lack of self-love is the soil in which envy grows. Envious people are never satisfied. Self-pity is never sitting far from envy. We feel sorry for ourselves for what we don't have. Self-pity is like a swamp, the longer we stand in the muck, the more we stink.

Concentrating on what we do have is the perfect antidote for envy. Every one of us has our own special gifts and talents. We find these by looking at ourselves instead of looking at others. By becoming grateful for what we have, we can rejoice in ourselves.

C'mon over to MY house...

Fairy Thought

It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
-- Chinese Proverb

With all the negativity that surrounds us, it is easy to become overwhelmed. It is also tempting to fight against the negative or to declare war on it. Yet a master teacher offered a better way: "Resist not evil, but overcome evil with good."

Imagine you are in a dark room. Wanting the darkness to leave, you curse and fight against it. But no matter how much effort you make, the darkness remains. Turn on the light switch, however, and the night vanishes in an instant.

In a similar manner, when the light of truth is shed on a situation, fear and disharmony dissolve. When you send out a positive thought to another person or take a constructive action, an enormous amount of good is accomplished. Each good act begets another until a network of love and light is created.

The purpose of life is to reflect this light into places that are dark. Let your light shine and stay focused on the power of love. When enough of us have turned on our spiritual light switches, the earth will become as bright as a shining star. Where, then, could darkness dwell?

Captured Memory8