Sing a Song of Gratitude
Sing a song of gratitude, every day, to remind yourself daily how to be thankful. Remember that the Universe loves you. The Universe loves me. Love is within, without, and all around us. Love is in every being, every object, every thing. Remember the magic of life that is in life. Play with the faeries and angels and animal spirits. Let them be your helpers. Thank your ancestors and all those who have come before us, for the lessons that they teach us and the help that they have given us, so that we can be here now. Smile. It…
3 Easy Practices for a Balanced Life
Practice kindness. It's a simple word that is used frequently but practiced not nearly enough. To be kind on a daily basis can be quite a challenge - it seems to encompass so much. If we are kind, we won't judge another, lie, cheat, steal, be mean or spiteful, resent... the list goes on. Practicing kindness makes us more compassionate, understanding and accepting. It isn't easy and certainly few of us remember to be kind every moment of every day but when we are kind, things that come our way are usually met with calmness, thoughtfulness and acceptance. What doesn't…
The Key Life Lessons I’ve Learned From Roses
My chief hobby is growing roses, a tradition handed down from my grandmother through my mom and now to me. But more than a connection to my family or a source of peace and therapy, such an undertaking has afforded me many life lessons, serving as a highly effective metaphor. The essential ingredients to growing great roses are the correct soil mixture and proper preparation of the bed in which the rose shall be planted. The right mix of nutrients, the right drainage and retention of water, the right depth of the roots, and the right amount of mulch are…
We Are All Connected
From my very earliest memories, I have had a love affair with Nature. I have stayed in touch with that love and know that there is a deep benefit that comes from an ongoing relationship with Nature. I tap into this love every day in my work as a poet, an artist, a writer, a therapist, mother of two sons, and a teacher of creativity. I am such an advocate of the importance of encouraging our children to have a relationship with nature because I attribute much of my strength and creativity to that connection. The best way to share…
Finding Daily Moments of Joy
Life is about the journey, not the destination. If you believe this deeply, in the marrow of your spirit, you will treasure each day and take ownership of your time. This means that every day should hold moments of joy and hope for you; your job is to figure out how to usher such moments into your life on a daily basis. For me, this means writing in my journal as a gentle way to enter the day. I go into my study, cup of tea in hand, pick up pencil and notebook. Usually, both have been selected with care.…
6 Ideas to Create Change
Take care of yourself. Continue to persevere: do not allow doubt to creep across your goals. Always make sure to take some time every day to rest. That time should be just for you to keep stress away. If you don't take really good care of yourself, you may not succeed as highly as you could have. Continue looking at the night sky and wonder about all the many new things yet to be discovered. The answer is clear. There is nothing more certain in my mind than we are all members of the family of Man. We all exist…
3 Steps to Greater Inner Peace
Creating greater inner peace in your part of the world is a way to empower new possibilities for your life, relationships and the planet. 1. Start in your heart. Widening your heart to the places in your life where you feel resentment, anger, and guilt is a way to bring inner peace to unfinished business from the past. Make time for understanding and forgiveness. Bring self compassion into your body-mind system with each breath. In every moment is the opportunity to see the world in the present from a more self-loving place. Your parents, boss, partner, ex and your earlier…
Living the Downward Way – Through the Senses to the One
To truly know what it means to be human, to feel fully alive, is to deepen awareness of our interconnectedness with the greater web of life. This awareness is innate; we are born with it. But as we are indoctrinated into the social and technical complexities of the industrialized world, maintaining that awareness requires conscious effort. Our innate human senses are dulled by the assault of distracting forces in our hyperactive, social-technological systems. Such is life in the human-built world. But life can be richer, more glorious and refined, when we use our eyes, ears, nose and skin to return…
What Matters Most – You’re Perfect
When I conceive the thoughts of humanity and the humbleness that it inspires, I remember that one’s journey is not limited to definition alone. We are each unique but interconnected within our own vibrational energies. I wish to share that what does not matter are the definitions and/or labels of one’s self. What I would wish to leave behind as a remembrance to others, my own family and children is not only that of love and what it is to love but that abundance is in everything, every nook, every cranny, and everywhere. To know that being happy is a…
7 Ways to Slow Down and Live Full Today
Often times, our days get ahead of us and by the time night falls, we cannot even remember what we did or how the hours passed by so quickly. Here are some ways you can catch yourself from running blindly through your day like a tornado, missing everything, so that you can live fully and with intention. Set intentions. This may sound silly, but the way in which you wake will determine much of your day. When you open your eyes (before anyone - human or companion animal - notices you are awake), take a few moments to pay attention to…
A Stressed Out Baboon
We all complain about stress, but what is it really? National Geographic did a wonderful report on what stress is by not only looking at humans and our environment, but also through baboons and science. In watching specific tribes of baboons who ate the same food, lived in the same area, and experienced the same natural threats, scientists found it was not environment but social interaction and social rank that caused stress. The baboons that experienced stress and the physical symptoms of stress were those on the bottom of the food chain. They were the weak males being picked on by…
Are Those Heavy Burdens Actually A Gift?
Nature always teaches us lessons, if we just pay attention. Today, my husband and I went for a snowshoe hike by our home in Glacier National Park, with Koda (our 6 year old Samoyed). The snow was deep and beautiful. The temperature was just above freezing and unfortunately, instead of the forecast for several inches of new snow gently falling, it was lightly raining. The heavy snowpack from the last week combined with the wet, falling rain, increased the burden being placed on the trees, weighing them down with large piles of heavy, wet snow. Some of them were bent…
Finding Inspiration in the Everyday
One of the ways to lead a joyous, fulfilling life is by learning to appreciate the small things in life we come across daily. We are surrounded by beauty and inspiration all the time – we just need to learn how to see it. Whether you’re an artist looking for ideas and inspiration or simply trying to enjoy life a little more, start finding inspiration in the everyday to recognize the beauty and wonder of the world. Continue learning. Learning should not stop once you graduate from school; in fact, you should challenge yourself to learn something new every day.…
Monday Morning: Time to Reconnect
It's Monday Morning. For many people, this is the most dreaded part of the week. Sometimes the "to do" list seems overwhelming and any relaxation from the weekend seems like a distant memory. For me, I woke early this morning, back in Montana but still on the Eastern Time Zone from having spent the last two weeks in the Caribbean. My "to do" list is amazingly long- but this morning, I'm taking the time for something even more important than my list- me. My dog, Koda, is very, very wise. He woke me early this morning and invited me to…
Life as an Aspen Tree
If you follow my blog you'll know that many times I talk about looking to Nature for answers to life's mysteries. For me, no matter the question, if I spend time in the woods I'll find the answer. Nature has a wisdom to it that can teach us so much- if we pay attention. The aspen tree is the perfect example. The leaves of the quaking aspen have an unusual ability to twist and bend to protect the trees from severe winds. Their twisting motion helps the tree to dissipate the energy more uniformly throughout the canopy- to reduce the…
The Wisdom of Koda
For many of us, our pets are an important part of our life. Almost every day I spend time with Koda, our 2 year-old Samoyed pup. His favorite thing is to go for a walk or a hike with me. If I don't take him in the morning, by early afternoon he walks into my office, sits in front of my desk, looks up at me as sad as can be and "talks" to me. He makes this pleading noise that sounds like he's talking and which is quite difficult to ignore. I know what he wants and more importantly,…