Allow

As I was making my coffee this morning a word presented itself. 

It arrived as if whispered softly… 

Allow

I stopped for a moment…but it was not repeated.   

With coffee in hand as well as a few Christmas cookies I headed to the living room to settle down with my word.  As the tiny votives flickered, I realized they created quite an impressive dance across the ceiling.  Each little light gave its own interpretation to the draft that moved about the room, that too, offering a subtle metaphor for our individuality and small contributions to the universe. 

I closed my eyes to Allow insights.

Allow

….time for the small things, resist the temptation to crowd them out with routine and lists. 

Allow

….Accept, what is present and what could be.  Close no doors out of fear. 

Allow

…things to unfold, do not rush them.

Admit that something is possible and say yes a little more often.

Allow and entertain possibilities.

Thank you Miss Universe for today’s guidance and word, I pray each who chances to read this will Allow a moment to perhaps hear their own message in this sharing. 

Cardinals appear when angels are near

Now and again, I bet we all ask the powers that be for “a sign”.  Because signs are so uniquely individual, appearing in all shapes and sizes, they may not always be easily recognized or immediately understood; and yet we wait and search for something we can apply an interpretation to, be it as obvious as a clap of thunder or as subtle as a phrase uttered by a stranger while waiting in the line at Food Lion.  Most of us recognize when a sign is being sent. 

 Momma was a “sign searcher”, by this I mean she most always knew exactly what she wanted to do about something…then looked for a sign of affirmation to move forward as she had already planned.   I used to tell her she was bending the rules…lookin’ for what she wanted to find. 

We were like that sometimes, oil and water; neither of us wavering from our own convictions for very long.  We did call a truce now and again, yielding for the sake of peace or company. 

All differences we did both look to our birds as messengers.  Nothing was better than finding a cardinal feather or a white feather of any kind.  Momma used to say, “Cardinals appear when angels are near”, and I didn’t doubt that for a moment.  She was also fond of Robins and got concerned when they arrived in winter.  “They’re too early!” she used to say, “a robin in winter is nothing but a fool who’s lost their way.” 

Robins for her, were harbingers of Spring, and all the potential locked up in that promise of new beginnings.  Last year she seemed to take a bit of comfort when I told her about the new breed of Wintering Robins.  They weren’t fools at all, I shared with her.  They’ve just adapted, they’ll do okay. 

“I guess that’s what life is all about,” she said, Adapting.  “I’ll throw out some hamburger that kinda looks like worms. 

All that being said, I took my Christmas walk around the labyrinth this morning,  taking some mental notes on all that I saw and heard.  I suppose I was calling on familiar signs, looking for what I needed to see.  Yep, maybe I was cheating.  But I wasn’t disappointed.  Along the way there were birds feeding under a Crepe Myrtle tree.  There were no bright red “angel birds”, but as I got closer, I figured out that the gathering consisted of a group of female cardinals, (which just happen to be some of the best Momma birds around) along side of some “fools”.  I had to stop for a minute to listen and watch,  seems I heard momma say, All’s right with the world…as long as you can adapt.  

Okay, I’ll work on that!  Merry Christmas all. 

In the Season...

Yesterday I took advantage of the cooler temperatures to set about making the seasonal changes my small garden calls for. It is nearly October and I feel I am ready to begin planting again.
The Zinnias, now plagued with a powdery mildew, common this time of year, had grown to such a height that I could barely reach to trim the latest blooms. I always hesitate to pull them up, they are so giving.
I took a moment to recall the number of arrangements collected from this small cutting garden, colorful bouquets that had graced my home, hospital rooms and neighbor’s porches, and silently communicated my gratitude.
In the midst of salvaging the last blooms, I sensed I was no longer alone. In a ruby and emerald flash I had a tiny visitor who seemed rather determined to “stay in my face”.
“Oh, I see”, I said out loud while lowering my clippers and taking a few steps back. Hovering, he reminded me that while the season was indeed changing, that he was still in need, harvesting for his long migratory journey. Needless to say, I left him plenty. This task can wait.
Lesson of the day…To everything there is a purpose and a season...don't hurry them.

Emote

The other day I caught myself giving a “thumbs up”. I had to stop for a minute because a thumbs up is not my usual way of communicating. I thought on this a bit and realized that I was actually taking an emotional “short cut”; not putting energy into the exchange, not using my words. It made me ):
Real emotions are complex, you can feel them. They cause the hair to stand up on your arm, the eyes to well with tears and the heart to skip a beat. In a world where emotions are taught to be buried and controlled, I say go ahead and feel, express, and contribute. Don’t be the emoji. Don't make "the face".

Awaiting

I don't know about ya'll, but I am forever muttering, "Lord give me patience" while I go about frettin' and wonderin' what's takin' so dang long. Then it hit me...more times than not, "the wait" is the lesson. Okay, breath! Enjoy this glorious Monday!

Didn't see that comin' ...

I used to tell folks all the time, "I hate surprises!" I have always preferred the plan...the one with the details and the exit strategy. But I have to tell you, if it wasn't for a couple of unexpected events in my life, I'd know way less about myself than I do today. What you don't see comin' might just be a blessin'.

Go-Be-Do...there is still time

Ahhhh, August 1. You can just start to see the difference in the daylight, the leaves while not turning are starting to fade. Our internal clocks are readying for what is to come. I hope your season was bountiful, that your summer desires transformed from wishes and dreams to the flower that is reality. Go-Be-Do there is still time.
 https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/23988.Mary_Oliver

Weedin'

I've been a bit timid about going outside lately, what with the heat and such, but this morning was perfect, low humidity and cool for mid-July. After a perusal of the gardens I figured it was time for me to do some serious weedin' which got me to thinkin'.
What if I was as dutiful in life as I was with the garden? What if I took the time to actually rip out by the roots all that doubt and worry along with the negative folks that fed it? There's no quick fix for that, no spray and no trowel sharp enough. That's soul work, but you know, sometimes it's a labor of love. Self love. Happy gardening my friends.

No Words

There are indeed those who feel the radio or television "voices" are speaking to them directly. I'm not going to challenge them, poems speak to me...as does light and shadow. We all receive our messages from source and usually interpret them to affirm our own predilection. All that intellectualizing aside. This morning I went to open a file I had saved and received this message.
I thought..."Well then...I'll just have to wait."

Time Machines

Yesterday, I was blessed.   I hardly even check the paper mail anymore, mostly because it is no different from what the land line delivers; a bunch of unwanted junk that I didn’t ask for and now I have to dispose of.  It’s a rare day something worthy arrives, but yesterday was one of them.

It was nearly dark when I glanced out and saw the manila envelope peeping out of the box.  I wondered if I had forgotten that I ordered something from Amazon, an online jungle of temptation that I have to say I hike through now and again. 

 

The package was handwritten with way too much postage on it, I know about that, when I want someone to get something but I don’t want to head to the post office, I just stick  whatever stamps I have on it and send it off with the proverbial “Lick and a Prayer” .  

I recognized the print in a heartbeat and sat down to respect the moment.  I had to smile, as I mused over the collection of beach music from Pine Lake and Myrtle Beach days, and then the Memory Lane Play list from high school, college, and the supposedly “adult” years.       

 Inside was a note, “wanted to share with you, some of those tunes take me back to when my mama, brother, and I were living with my grandparents in the back and upstairs over the country store they ran out on #1 Hwy.  I can still her her playing her 45's on that old record player, Daddy was gone then, and I was five, "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles would play over...and over...and over.

What a gift of self, what a tender sharing.   Just the names of some of those songs tugged at my heart.  I didn’t have to hear them to feel that angst again.  

Suddenly, my evening wasn’t so quiet; instead, it was filled with music and emotion.  I was all ages and engaged in all things… it was an incredible voyage and a beautiful sharing. 

Thank you my friend. 

Floatin' your boat

There is more to this life than meets the eye. No matter where you are on your journey, you’ve had help getting there. We’ve all been floated a time or two. Lord knows, some days I’m the whale, and others…well, I’m pretty sure I’m lost at sea. I am grateful today for being lifted by friends and family, circumstance and the ever supportive force of “Miss Universe”. A simple card today, inspired by a whale of a friend. This one's for you Marianne

Choose Wisely

I have to tell you, there is nothing better than being in a safe place where you can let your hair down. Nobody creates that space better than a bunch of girlfriends. However it dawned on me while rehashing with a friend this morning that the designated driver is indeed the keeper of secrets. S(he)’s the one that has got to have your back in more ways than one. Keys to the car, keys to stories. Choose responsibly. Jus’ sayin.

Right all the time

This morning I woke up trying to put a few things in order. There were a couple of things on my mind and a few regrets I have been trying to put into perspective. I wish I could have had a do over, but what’s done is done and now, I must simply find a way to come to terms with it. I’ve been grappling with that. Then my heart spoke, out loud, as it usually does; “Your mistakes are nothing more than my lessons, what have you ever learned from being right all the time?”
Thank you Miss Universe!
Gradually, we learn to trust the wounds and the failures of life, which are much better teachers than our supposed successes. -Richard Rohr