Turning over a new leaf....

With this Fall weather has come a desire within me to "turn over a new leaf". 
Yesterday, I took another large load to the Good Will.  Cleaning out closets, going through old papers and continuing to release the past.  It is strange how there is this tear within me.  Wanting to hold on yet knowing just like the trees surrounding me..it is a time to let go.  Let go of those leaves.  Sweeping out the past in preparation to hibernate for the winter.  Winter being a time of going within.  Time to dream.  Reflecting and lying dormant.  Quiet.  Listening.. Making time to listen within to that still small voice that is calling to us for more in life.  More love, more laughter.  More recognition of the preciousness of each day. 
As the trees, let go of their leaves, the view changes for me.  There is more sky to see.  Clarity seems to flow more easily through the breeze.  I have to admit though that I am not much of a fan of the holidays but that too I am turning over a new leave.  This year, after many , many years I am going to put up a Christmas tree.  All new lights and ornaments.  A new beginning and opening myself up to more beauty. 
Now, that I have cleared more things out of my little home, I have more space for new love, new friends, new opportunities.  "They" say that change one thing in your life and everything in your life will change.  I hope so!
I know that circumstances are fickle..but family, friends, Love and God are not!!
Yep, I am turning over a new leaf.  

Fear & Anxiety

Halloween is almost here.  Everywhere you turn on TV there is a spooky movie on..even at the movie theatres!
There seems to be a need to face our deepest fears and the darkness in our lives.  If we see it on the screen maybe we don't have to live it in our lives!
I have been at the point in my life that I only want Drama on the Big Screen ..I don't want to live with it day in and day out but we do live in a world with high anxiety.  Even right here in Roswell.

 There is an anxiousness sometimes that seems to invade the whole world.
It is  difficult to shut out  and take a deep breath and know that this too will pass.

As day follows night so too our world shifts and changes.
There is always something in life to be anxious about.
I wonder if worrying and anxiety become a habit of responding to the world?
We hear so much information  and it is almost as if the world feeds off of our fear.
Fear controls.
So, how do we stand up ..turn around and fight this terrible thing?
Faith maybe?
Faith that there is a bigger plan to it all?
Faith that God will give us the strength to handle what ever setback may come.
Faith is believing without seeing.
Faith is waiting...
Faith is a gift!
Hold on to your Faith..whatever it may be..
Be strong and know that better times are ahead!!

Looking out the window..

Looking out the window this morning on this Monday morning I am reminded of all the beauty in the world.

 We now begin to transition into what I think of as Snuggle Season.  Colder nights call us to snuggle in warmth in our homes.  Safe from the troubles of the world.  Sipping on something warm and glancing back at the year and how it unfolded before us.
  It is a time to be Thankful for the fruition of the things that we planted in our life and to notice the abundance and beauty that is before us today!
Taking a moment of Gratitude helps us realign ourselves in the Scheme of life.

In Roswell, after the Parade & SENM Fair it seems as life in town settles down a bit.  It is quieter.  Kids are settled into school and there is a rhythm that is soothing to my soul.  We all need this time..this quiet time to re-evaluate ourselves and life.
  Pumpkins have been hauled in by the truckload.  Time to search in the big skies for the Big Pumpkin!  Oops..or is that a UFO???  All things to ponder..Today, though, wherever you are..I hope you find a little beauty within yourself and your world...

Turn, Turn, Turn

There is a season...as the song goes, so goes life!
I can't believe where this month has gone.  I have completed a few home projects and this weekend I finished a 1000 piece puzzle that was given to me for my birthday this year.  Not that it took me 5 months to finish it but it seems like it.  It is a nature scene of two hummingbirds swarming a trumpet vine.  Very pretty and now completed.
I have had a few friends comment that I should glue it & frame it. When I say "No, I don't want to do that"..then the next is "Well, what are you going to do with it"  I tell them.."Tear it apart and put it back in the box and pass it on"  They have looked at me in horror with all the time I have spent working on it.  I laugh.

Many years ago, I went to a Mandala workshop where I was honored to meet my teacher Judith Cornell.     It was a week long class and on one particular day we went to class at 8am.  We were instructed to take a vow of silence for the day.  Set an intention of something that we were ready to release and then ask the Divine for a symbol to draw as a Mandala and work on it all day till about 4 in the afternoon.  We were to pour our heart and soul into the drawing and then we would do a releasing ceremony at the end of the day.

Now, I can't remember what my intention was but I do remember pouring all of my energy into the drawing and also how hard it was for me to keep my big mouth shut..hahaa.
Well, the ceremony was held outside where we were instructed to say a prayer of release and burn the drawing we had worked so hard on all day.  Wow.  What a lesson on attachment.
I had only worked one day on that drawing and the first thought of panic was incredible.  Makes me think how much longer I spend on whatever difficulty I want to release!
I have to confess that I wasn't one of the first that volunteered to burn my drawing.  Some even refused!  They did not want to let go.  But isn't that how it is in life.  With whatever we have invested so much time and effort to ...it is hard to accept that it is time to Let It Go...
So, I will wait a few days, maybe even a week and then I will pull the puzzle apart and Let It Go...

Non-attachment does not mean a lack of love ..it just makes one aware of the impermanence of everything in life.  The more you hold on, the harder it is to move forward and accept the next puzzle of life!

***Blessed be My Teacher and Friend, Judith Cornell who passed to the next life this past May.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and and profound vision with us all.  I am forever grateful for your presence in my life!***

New Point of View

I went out to Wally World (Walmart) to pick up some more primer for my painting project and I was surprised to see that there was a new paint job on our Walmart! 

The Alien murals have been wiped clean. 

I found myself  rather nostalgic.  It feels as if an Era has ended.  Now, we are like the rest of America.  Boring Walmart.  No snazzy Aliens grace our walls anymore.  Not to fear..I can just head on down to Main street and I am sure I can find a few! 

Funny, how subtle changes can create new energy to see things differently in our lives.  Sometimes, without our even realizing it, we have changed our point of view.  Maybe, we have slept on a new perception..and suddenly in conversation we realize we have a different take on something that we thought we had a handle on before.

How does that happen?

  How does change happen?

  I know that most of the time it takes a concerted effort to make changes in life. Yet ,there are those changes that maybe we aren't  aware of till much later down the road. 

In circumspect, we look back and the path we are on took a little turn that we didn't notice..maybe because we were so busy navigating.  Then suddenly,  we find ourselves on a new horizon.

  A different view in front of us. 

Storms...

Often times, storms can pop up unexpectedly in life. 
 The other night a jolt of lightening & thunder unexpectedly threw me out of bed!
 The dog & cat close to follow as I went to see the storm!
 What a storm it was!

  It brought much needed rain to our little "Alien" town.  When the sun rose the grass seemed so much more green and the sky so much more blue!  Cleansing away all the muck and mire.  Maybe that is what storms are supposed to do in our interior world...When a storm comes into our lives though it is very frightening and it may destroy some things precious in our lives.  It does wash away the dirt or it makes us get out the mop that we have not used in a while and clean it up!  Storms force us to deal with situations.  The light has flashed and afterwards we must take action.  We must clean up!  So..in the next few days, I am cleaning up around my property.  Raking, picking up debris and things will be better!

Staying Busy...

Sometimes, when life throws you a curve ball the best you can do is stay busy and not get muddled in all the mess.  I have been busy with projects around the house this summer which has helped keep me from being too muddled.  Projects whether it is cleaning, focusing on a new health regime or just spending time getting refocused on what truly is important in life seems to be the right thing  for me to do now.

Life is changing and adjustments need to be made.  I have been constantly reminded to appreciate the day!  Maybe that is just a product of becoming more "Mature"!  (Don't want to say  the "O" word..nooooo..not Oprah or Obama....) 

So, I wake up in the morning to prayers for my family and friends.   Many are having so much happen in their lives.   I have to believe that there is a Bigger Hand at play and appreciate the moments of Peace and Safety.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit in the park with some long time High School friends.  We did not have very much time but sitting down together to share a laugh and a glance made me feel safe in a way that I can't really explain. It was comforting being there together.
Here we all are...life has swirled around us but the core of who we are is the same!

It reminds me of how I feel when I take a drive out West of town and see the Capitan mountain.
It is there strong and steady.  Always there though some days the atmosphere is so odd that it seems so  distant.  Other days it is as if I could reach out and touch it...Much like God
Selah