Is it Narcissistic to Be Your Own Valentine for Valentine's Day?

I think not. Instead, I believe it's an amazing opportunity to celebrate love in its most basic form, since loving oneself is the cornerstone of every healthy relationship-romantic or otherwise. The hype surrounding the greeting card version of Valentine's Day often times leaves those without significant others feeling rather insignificant themselves. For those in a relationship, there is so much pressure placed on one partner to "prove" he/she really loves their partner by the extravagance or inventiveness of their gift. The real meaning of true love gets lost in the materialistic shuffle. (Gee that sounds a lot like Excessmas, um I mean Christmas-but I digress).

This year, I decided not to focus on my previous disdain for the usual Valentine pomp and circumstance, and celebrate ME.  I have spent the last year or so deep in the recesses of my mind, plucking out the weeds of my "soul garden" (as Chris Witecki so aptly describes on Soul Garden.TV) and I have fallen completely in love with the woman I have become as a result of the choices, challenges and changes I've experienced in my life. Seems like a celebration of my new attitude of gratitude is in order! And honestly, for the first time ever, I actually am not bothered or offended by the hype. Perhaps it is partly due to the fact that celebration is in the air, following the miracle in Egypt. For me personally, it has been a beautiful thing to watch-a peaceful, strong demonstration for change. Since being accepted as a postulant with the World Community of St. Francis, I have felt an even greater shift in my spirit, which has also brought me to a place of deeper love and peacefulness.

If I could ask St. Valentine for a wish, I would ask for each one of us to experience the gift of the love we so desperately desire. One which has never left us, but resides in each one of us always.  Accepting this self love, we would then be more confident in our receptivity to each other, which would create a ripple effect felt all around the world. We would be as One, a united humanity working toward the mutual goal of peace and sustainability for ALL. Seems like the people of Egypt got their wish this year...perhaps this is finally a true  sign of things to come, and an incredible opportunity for all of us to BE THE CHANGE.


Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone! Sending you lots of Love and Blessings♥

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I've been reading a book called "Rush Home Road" by Lori Lansens the past couple days, which is a well written novel about a woman's experiences and challenges in life. Since the holidays are upon us, I found myself becoming nostalgic about holidays past, remembering my family who have all passed now and my childhood. Despite the fact that I always felt so different from my family, and the area in which I grew up, I hadn't given a lot of thought to the similarities.  The past few days I had been experiencing a restlessness and emptiness that no amount of food could fill, no conversation with a friend could satisfy, and no distraction from the computer or TV could assuage. Yesterday, I was moved to dig out from the closet a little plastic container that holds many photographs and pictures of my family. They had been sitting there since my father passed in 2008, and I can't recall looking through them since then. They were all in a chaotic mess, old black and white photos from the days my maternal grandparents were young, my mother and father and other relatives and family friends, mixed in with the colored photos of myself and my brother as children, then much later ones of my daughter as a baby and her early childhood. I dumped them all out on the bed and made separate piles for each era, and in doing so separated the history of my family and life as I had come to know it.  My father had kept all of these pictures when the houses were sold, since he was the last of the adults surviving, to preserve a memory of our family to pass on to me and Sarah. I was surprised at how many pictures I had never seen before, especially the ones of my grandparents around the time when they first met and married. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for myself, that they all had left me here alone to raise my child and have no family to turn to for support.  My ego flared then, when I thought that I was stronger than they were, since they always had some family to turn to when times got tough. I thought of how difficult my circumstances seemed right now, and didn't think they would be able to handle it as well. Then thoughts occurred to me that never had before, and I saw them in a much different light. To be honest, I do believe it was one of my Angel guides who helped me to see things differently. I remembered that my maternal grandmother took care of both of her parents who were sickly and died at very young ages, which left her to care for her sister, who was seven years younger and still in school as well as her younger brother. She was the oldest daughter, and her older brother was estranged from their family, so the responsibility fell on her shoulders. I also considered that my maternal grandfather was drafted, had to leave his pregnant wife who had her hands full to go off to war, not sure he would return. My mother grappled with the possibility of being a young widow with two small children, when my father had a massive heart attack at age 32. He was sick for a lot of their marriage, and it was very hard on her to make ends meet, even with my grandparents help. I started to understand and realize that they WERE strong given their own personal circumstances and did as best they could with the hands they were dealt. At that moment, as never before, I felt a definite kinship with them, and the ancestors that have come before me. I often get lost in the spiritual aspect of my journey, and forget about the human part. I forget that as humans we have a story, a history, and are part of something greater even here on earth. I felt their collective strength coursing through my veins, feeling more connected to them and more grounded than I ever have before. Amazingly, I felt sated. My heart and belly felt full and satisfied, no longer restless and empty. I anticipate not receiving any material gifts this Christmas, since it is just Sarah and myself now, but I believe I have been given a much greater gift of love, hope and comfort from my family who is still very much alive in Spirit. I am grateful to have been given this gift, at a time when I am drawing a close to the life I have known thus far, and preparing to embark on a new adventure that will take me across country to create a new home and life for me and my daughter. While they may never in life have supported or understood the need for this change, I know now in my heart without a doubt that I have their blessing.

If a Dog Were Your Teacher…

 Saw this on StumbleUpon.com and wanted to share...gives ya the warm fuzzies..enjoy :)


If a Dog Were Your Teacher…

Salutations!

One sure thing in this life is change. We can transform ourselves into a colorful, spirited, amazingly free butterfly with a lot of moxy and a willingness to think outside the box. But change ain't easy. It takes a lot of blood, sweat, tears and breaking through the dirty windows of that self-imposed prison we convinced ourselves was our lot in life. I created this blog (FINALLY) with the intention of inspiring others through shared experiences, thoughts, rants and raves..as many others have inspired me. I am embarking on a new adventure and exploring new frontiers, but it's always interesting to reminisce and reflect on how I got here. Looking forward to sharing my stories with all of you and thanks for stopping by!