Tag: The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life

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Enchanted Birthday

Today is my birthday, the 61st anniversary of my birth. Perhaps because it occurs so close to the beginning of the year, my birthday is always an opportunity to reflect. I think on personal accomplishments and areas of growth, and also evaluate how far I traveled on the journey since my last birthday. I’m prone to casting forward as well, dreaming of what may become reality and setting wild intentions free to go before me.

Join me in the highlights of an enchanted birthday.

Enchanted Birthday

Happy Birthday to Me

This day has been full of greetings, texts, messages and social media posts…and included a cup of hot tea with a friend. I’m grateful for each message and I’m thankful for the senders. I know how busy the days are, for everyone. For people to take a few moments to send a Happy Birthday wish warms my heart. It is my custom to take a few moments in return, and personally thank each person. I send out waves of joyful energy, with the thank yous.

Enchanted BirthdayThis clever birthday greeting, from my friend Grace, incorporated my symbol for 2019, the Queen chess piece.

Enchanted BirthdayThe perfect shirt for today, made by MiliLou Styles, features the Queen chess piece and the words, “Queen of My Kingdom”.

Enchanted Birthday

In keeping with my theme for the year, Enchantment, I was very mindful today of the magical qualities in life. Singer Mark Donnelly says,

“The enchanted day is only enchanted if we ourselves believe that anything is possible.”

I believe! Anything IS possible, especially on birthdays, right? I appreciate my friend, Garen, who met me for a birthday tea this morning. He is an amazing listener who encouraged me to dream out loud during our time together, and weave magic. Possibilities are what we talked about and that chat fueled my energy this afternoon as I worked on writing and upgrading my blogs. Momentum is building in that area of my life and I am enjoying the surge of activity and the foundation I am building for future projects.

Enchanted BirthdayGreg surprised me with birthday candles in a Veggie Roll from Han, the Sushi Man!

Aging Versus Growing Older

While I’ve been re-reading The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life, by Thomas Moore, Greg has been reading through another of his books, Ageless Soul. This book is next on my reading list.

A quote that Greg shared recently seems appropriate for today:

“Aging is an activity. It is something you do, not something that happens. When you age…active verb…you are proactive. If you really age, you become a better person. If you simply grow old, passively, you get worse. Chances are, you will be unhappy as you continue the fruitless fight against time.”

Moore goes on to say that aging makes us more of a person, more who we are supposed to be. The soul gets to peek out more and more, as life unfolds and we journey along. if we allow experiences to make us richer, more interesting.

I love the idea of aging, as proactive, rather than resisting the process and becoming old. Aging is beautiful. It is the soul growing and expanding and gathering wisdom. Young people can have aged souls. And adults may not have aged much at all, appearing to be stuck in immaturity. The difference is allowing life lessons to teach us and move us to a higher plane.

I am aging. My soul continues to expand and gather wisdom. On this day, my Enchanted Birthday, my desire is to keep learning and growing and keep trying new experiences. Another birthday, another milestone in aging, helps me to decide what’s important to focus on right now…and what can be let go. There are so many good things in my life to focus on and enjoy.

Happy Enchanted Birthday, Happy Aging, to me.

Enchanted Birthday

You can find Ageless Soul and The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life in my Amazon Storefront.

 

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Journey 47: Snow Day

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Because of sleet and snow overnight, Joplin and the surrounding area had its first snow day of the season. That meant I stayed home, cozy in my “comfy” clothes and warm fuzzy socks.

With blinds on the windows open, I sipped hot Scottish tea and enjoyed watching huge snowflakes float by, spun by blasts of cold air as they drifted toward the ground. So beautiful, nature’s show, especially when I can watch from the comfort of my chair, snuggled beneath a thick blanket. It presented the perfect opportunity to read. I spent time in Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver and The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life by Thomas Moore. Both books speak deeply to my soul.

And both books inspired me for my afternoon activity, cleaning out my old desk that’s been in my office for years. I am transforming my home office into a writing/reading/meditation room. Stuff has accumulated in there over the years. I am very sensitive to energy and its flow, and yet I’ve let my office get choked with clutter and items I no longer use. There’s even a litter box for the cats in there. What not so subtle message is THAT sending out? I barely even use this space right now. That’s about to change.

As my life is shifting, I desire to create a fresh space that inspires and invigorates me. I started today by clearing the surface and emptying three drawers in my big desk. A trash bag filled as I threw away scraps of paper, broken calculators and useless ink pens. I found 27 keys in a drawer and hundreds of paper clips! I saved files with genealogy papers, drawings from my kids and mementos from a family vacation. I’ll replace the desk with a beautiful writing table that I purchased. The table feels more open and sparks my creativity.

From the desk I’ll move clockwise around the room, sorting items into three piles: DISCARD (junk, broken items, old files, things too worn to benefit another) DONATE (items that no longer inspire me, draw me, or serve me) and KEEP (anything that still inspires me or brings me joy…or that I need for real estate or writing). I’m going to be ruthless here. If I haven’t opened a book in years, it’s getting donated. If I’m not sure what lurks in a drawer, it all gets pulled out and sorted into the above mentioned piles. I know from experience that once my space is decluttered and cleared of old energy, new energy flows through the room, and my creativity flows with it. It is vital to me that my environment supports me and becomes an extension of me. I’m excited to clear away the cobwebs, both literally and energetically, and enjoy the beautiful new space I am creating.

Thomas Moore writes, “Home is an emotional state, a place in the imagination where feelings of security, belonging, placement, family, protection, memory and personal history abide.” This room, and indeed, my whole house, is shifting to reflect my state of being. And by letting go of what I don’t need or use, I’m creating space to welcome in new things, allowing what I do need to arrive. In the last chapter that I read this morning, in Outrageous Openness, Tosha Silver wrote about this very thing…cleaning out the home, cars, even purses and wallets so that spiritual work can deeply penetrate once the clutter is gone. She says, “You don’t have to release anything you use, love or need. Just the rest of it. Your intuition will show you.”

I am letting the Divine and my intuition nudge me and guide me. The last file I pulled out of the bottom drawer of the desk contained stories I had written, back in 1992. Rather than toss them, I read through one, slowly and thoughtfully, with an eye toward criticism. And you know what? It is well written. Very well written. I placed the file into the KEEP box, feeling encouraged. I am returning to an earlier love. It is time. And my space is shifting to support me.

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