Good morning lovely people.

It is a bright, sunny, deliciously warm Sunday here once again….I am so very grateful for this long spell of delightful weather we have had thus far this October! The rain moves in tomorrow and so I will spend most of my day today sitting outside in the healing sunshine…it feels so good on my aching muscles.

Everything hurts! I am very weak and in a lot of pain and starting to wonder if something other than my usual auto-immune issues is at work. I am taking care of myself. I had a long session with my acupuncturist yesterday and am using my essential oils diffuser almost non-stop. I am taking hot showers, sitting in the sun (have I mentioned how grateful I am for the sun? haha), doing my meditations and even managed some qigong movements (not too many…my energy tank is depleted).
I’m also nauseous….what’s up with that? Maybe I have the good old fashioned flu? No fever though.

Anyway…sorry for the litany of symptoms. What I am getting at is that, despite feeling so awful physically, I am doing more than OK emotionally and spiritually. I am believing that, whatever this may be that has decided to visit me, there is a reason and it is for my highest good. I am sad that I can’t do more…but it’s not a debilitating sadness….just a little healthy grieving over my inability to “DO”. But, I’m “letting go and letting God” and working on my trust issues. This has been a life-long lesson for me!

I have lots of time for reading and I so love to read! I just started “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle and I’m in the middle of some fun light fiction. My husband is in Denver visiting with our older daughter and her fiance….my mom-heart is smiling so big that they have this time together!
My younger daughter is working her waitress job until late this afternoon…I am so grateful that she is living with us for now and that she is home safe and sound from her year in Spain.
I will soak in the solitude and then when she comes home later today we will be watching some Netflix together and eating leftovers! I am so grateful for all of these gifts.

As I travel this journey of gratefulness., you all have helped me more than you can know. I am sending you all the love and gratitude I have in my heart for walking with me. Thank you for showing me through your vulnerability, grace, love and compassion, how to truly live a grateful life.

~Sunny Sunday Blessings dear friends 🙂

Oops….my brain is so befuddled I hit the “add your voice” button too soon. Maybe it’s a sign that I should wrap this up….haha.

Anyway lovely friends…. all I wanted to say is that I am grateful to be grateful for my physical challenges because they have truly opened up a whole new world for me…..one where instead of always “DOING” I am leaning to just “BE”

And I’m so grateful to BE here with all of you! The journey continues….I’m just moving a bit slower these days….which, I am learning, can be a very good thing indeed. 🙂

~Much love and blessings…thank you for making this journey with me!

Hope you are all having a lovely day so far my dear friends!

This morning I gave thanks for my physical weaknesses and afflictions as I sat in our Adirondack chair, overlooking the farmland and the changing leaves, the sun strong and warm on my aching muscles and tears streaming down my face. I have been struggling all week with my health and had to cancel some things that were on my calendar…including a substitute job at my favorite elementary school and a volunteer event that my daughter and I had signed up for with a local non-profit. And I had a list of “to-do” errands and will not be checking any of them off! While I do mourn the loss of my ability to “do” I think I was able to give thanks from my heart for my physical challenges, because I understood that these are actually gifts given to me….for whatever reason, for my highest good. One obvious reason is that I have been slowed down so that I can fully appreciate the beauty of my surroundings.. But also, I believe, to do the internal “work” that I needed for my spiritual jou,rney. A lot of stopping and sitting and meditating and reading listening to music

Dear Sharon…..I appreciate (and “amen”) your sentiment about isolating yourself from those who are not healthy for you. This is such an important practice and one that you can carry with you for the rest of your life. This is affirming for me as I try to learn this.
How generous of the Universe to provide you with a friend who has the kind and compassionate heart that you need as you travel this healing journey. I hope that you are also feeling the love and light that is being sent your way, across the miles and “cyberspace” from this sacred community.
We walk this journey of healing with you dear Sharon.

~Blessings

Dear Ursula….I love the saying “wait and have a cup of tea”. My paternal Irish grandmother always loved her cup of tea 🙂

Thank you for your prayers dear friend. And I also wanted to thank you for the lovely video you shared. Although I do not understand the language, the sentiment came shining through and the images were so beautiful. These days my emotions are right on the surface…..lovely tears of peace and joy flowed as I watched. Thank you for this healing gift cara Ursula. (how do you say “dear friend” in German? I only know a little Spanish and Italian.)

I shall have a cup of herbal tea this afternoon and think of you as I sip in the warmth!

~Blessings and sunshine 🙂

Lunamagicae, thank you for your kind and encouraging words. I like the perspective that I am “just taking a longer break”. I am grateful for the life lessons and spiritual growth and healing that is taking place as I surrender to the limitations of my physical body.

I am intrigued by the “venice canal” that you mentioned. We live in a river valley that has some lovely pathways along not only the river, but the accompanying canals as well. It such a peaceful and serene place to walk and I often cross paths with dogs and their owners along the way.
How lovely that you have such a special place nearby in your city. I would love to hear more about it!

~Wishing you a lovely day with times of rest and recharging. Blessings!

Lunamagicae, it IS a sanctuary…what a perfect word to describe where I currently reside! After spending my entire life in a suburb of New York City, I am so grateful to be here in rural farmland.

I wish that I could share a picture! But I am woefully (and somewhat purposefully) somewhat of a “techno-phobe”…pushing back against technology and reluctantly employing it when necessary. Like right now as I sit in my kitchen typing on my daughter’s laptop. Sigh! Times like this, when I could share so much more with my lovely community here, almost makes me want to stop being so stubborn and learn how to do this stuff!
Alas….I don’t know how to even begin to share a picture of my little farmhouse. So I will describe it to you with words:
Our little 2-bedroom home is a renovated 1790’s farmhouse that sits on preserved farmland. Behind us is a hay field and a beautiful barn to store the hay after it has been harvested. This farm also includes a stable and field for a variety of beautiful horses that I love to visit with on my walks. We have a little sun room where I have my meditations most mornings. Surrounded by windows, I can see a bevy of different species of birds that visit our many feeders and I can also see the farmland behind us…and my gurgling Buddha fountain! When I look up through the skylight I can see the leaves of our sugar maple draped over me.
The kitchen is next to the sunroom and tiny……no dishwasher or any other “modern” appliances but it has a lovely brick wall and mantle with a wood-burning stove…I imagine that once upon a time this served as the only source of heat and where the cooking was done. .

I hope that I was able to give you a “picture” with my words dear friend….thank you for allowing me share my sanctuary with you! 🙂

~Blessings

You’re welcome Palm……and I am grateful to you for sharing it with everyone here. Just this morning, I found a wonderful guided meditation for my aching body. The meditation encouraged me to breathe into my pain and to not judge it. I love that the site allows us to choose what we need help with…today for me it was “recovery and healing”.
So grateful to have the opportunity to share something helpful with this lovely community! Have a peace-filled day dear Palm.
~Blessings

Dear Ursula…you are so wise and I thank you for sharing your wisdom with me.
Yes…a lot of my “doing” is a control issue for me, leftover from my childhood when so much was out of control in my home. That is such a good insight to have and I am grateful to be aware of it but need reminding sometimes! Having genuine gratitude for my illnesses is a wondrous thing. Everyone here in this sacred community has helped me with this.. so thank you dearest Ursula, and all of you, for this gift.

I wish you the loveliest of Sundays my friend….and let us both be gentle with ourselves.
~Blessings

Hello cara Anna!
I just read that Palm recommended Insight Timer to you and I wanted you to know that I use it every day for my meditations! I love it and encourage you, and everyone here really, to visit this app. I have it on my phone and very often will do a guided meditation outside, overlooking the beautiful farms and fields behind our little farmhouse. Often the meditations bring me to tears…they are so beautiful. There is so much richness to be found there….I am regretting that I didn’t mention to everyone here sooner! So…thank you Palm for doing that!

~Blessings dear Anna and I hope that you are feeling better and are being very kind to yourself. Lots of love and warm hugs.

Happy Sunday morning Manda! I hope that the baking of bread today will fill your heart with joy. And I wish for you to have the very best return to work. I imagine it will be somewhat challenging but am so happy that you have work that so enriches your life…..it will make the adjustment easier I am sure.

And…..since I am spending so much time lately on my own “cushy bum” I appreciate your appreciation! 🙂

Have a divine and peace-filled day Manda!

Manda….thank you for this lovely leaf picture.

Trees are so very magical to me……and for so many reasons and I am unabashedly enamored with them! And not only because of all they represent…..strength, flexibility, majesty, generosity, resilience, beauty in its most natural form. But, as a biologist, I am in awe of the miracle that they are, each part of them! The leaves, the roots, the stems, the intricacies of each individual plant cell and its parts. They are marvels of nature, of creation and the Creator.
When I was teaching life science , for our botany unit, I did an entire week devoted just to trees. I taught the lessons in April so that on Arbor Day I could take my students (12-13 years old) outside to hug trees and to thank them for all their gifts. When we were done hugging and thanking the trees, I gathered them underneath one of the dogwoods on our grounds and read them a poem about trees. My students loved this activity and I soon became famous for it….each year a new batch of students would arrive and one of them would invariably ask “are we going to hug trees this year?” Haha….the word got around about the crazy tree-hugging teacher! We did a bunch of other fun activities around this unit…one of them was making a collage, using pictures from magazines, that represented all the benefits we receive from trees and how they enrich our life, and the lives of all living things. I was always touched by what they were inspired to create. We ended the unit by watching “The Lorax” movie. It was my fervent hope that they would always remember what they learned and be inspired to carry the message of The Lorax with them.

Thanks for providing me with this trip down memory lane….haha. I can get so carried away when I start talking about trees!!

Manda…your pictures are so beautiful, as are your words every time you share. I agree with the others…perhaps you should write a book! I am not as gifted a writer as you are, but I did have a short reflection that I wrote about trees published in a small magazine. (My husband had it enlarged and framed and it is hanging in our bedroom). So…..I totally believe in your ability to do the same if you choose to 🙂

~I hope you have a day filled with the wonder of magical Arizona trees my friend!

Dearest Ursula…..you shall have all of the candles and prayers and love and support that I can give you!! I am with you and understand that you are nervous…..I hope that you will be kind to yourself and any emotions you may be feeling as your travel and treatment approaches. All of us here in this sacred community will be traveling with you in spirit…you are not alone and you have so much love surrounding you.

Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”

~Abundant blessings my dear friend