The Strong Survive

It is funny, most folks want an easy, sweet life. I fail to understand the point of one of those. I mean there can't be any growth from that. There can't be many lessons learned.

I had a professor tell me once that "No one ever learned anything from getting a 100% on a test." I don't know about all that, but I do know about growing a garden.

I know that what I grow out in the wild earth, under the sun, with a little extra water tastes ten times better than what I buy in the store that was raised in a hot house. Do you know why? The plant that grows out in the wild is at the mercy of fate. It must grow stronger, and from that strength comes all the extra flavor, depth of color and wonderful smell. Compared to the these wild things, hot house plants seems flat.

The same can be said of people. Look at the pampered Celebs you see in the news. All is great and wonderful for them, yet they can not function in the world. They don't have the strength or depth of character to deal with what life throws at them. Basically they are flat.

We grow stronger when we struggle. We learn about ourselves and those around us through the adversities we face. Make no mistake, only the strong survive!

This was inspired by a friend who is facing some rather dramatic adversities in his life. I just wanted to remind him that there are no accidents, but there are tests, and he and his family have the strength to overcome.

Blessing to you and yours.

The Testing

Sometimes I feel tested. I feel like the universe looks my way and decides it is time for me to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

The last couple of days has felt like a testing. So much has been going on. Illness in my family. Strange occurances surrounding money. Odd communications from a group of spiritual beings. I have stopped dreaming, or rather, I have stopped actively participating and remembering my dreams. My usual guides are eerily silent. This is always a good indication of a testing, at least for me.

I will do as ever.

Lightning Bugs and Butterflies

I have been having quite a few encounters with these little creatures lately. It has led me to do some thinking about them and what they mean in my life right now.

Some folks know that I follow a path that includes signs and omens as well as totem animals. The sudden increase in interaction with new animals, or on this case bugs, always gets my attention.

Lightning bugs bring the energy of epiphany, a sudden knowing or insight. They also have the habit of allowing you to focus on things that have always been but have remained hidden in the darkness. I would say I have been having quite a few “Oh!” moments lately. I keep getting little bits of truth and wisdom about myself and the world around me. I would have to say this little bug is doing its job splendidly.

The Butterfly brings in the energy of a transformation toward beauty. I have been working on my physical body of late. I have a prayer that I say. One of the lines from that prayer says, “ A healthy priestess makes all things sound.” I was not healthy and I was not sound. I was and am considered morbidly obese. I have however been taking steps to correct this. I have, as of two days ago, lost a third of what I need to lose to be a healthy weight for me. I have to say to my surprise and without undo ego that I am actually getting pretty as I slim down. The best part though isn’t how I look, but rather, how I feel. I am transforming into something of beauty. Again, I have to say this little bug is certainly giving its share of blessings to me.

Sometimes little things really do matter. It pays to pay attention to them.

The Stagehand

I was talking to a dear friend, Inde of Synchronicity of Indeterminacy. You will find that to be the only link in my sidebar. We were discussing how we helped each other years ago to become pretty popular bloggers. This brought up some interesting thoughts for me.

I am not a star but a stagehand. That has always been the case with me, even back in high school theater. I am the gal who makes sure the lighting is just right, the sound is perfect and the stage is set. This allows the stars to go out and shine. I think it is a really great situation for me.

Some would say it is odd behavior for a Leo. I don't think so. Leos love to share the spotlight. For me, the joy really comes when someone thanks me for helping them. They get to reach a goal, and I get to watch the fruits of their labor (and sometimes my own) ripen.

Is this an ego trip? No, I think it would be an ego trip if I were taking credit for the work they did. Is it some sort of co-dependency? Again, unless supporting someone with a dream and talent is co-dependent, I don't think so.

I think some folks are put here to be in the spotlight and some are meant to hold that light in place. I hold the light and I shine it brightly on those who will allow me to do so.

It is a good life, one filled with reward.

Things that matter

Did you know that I crochet? Most people do not. I love to stitch my little knots and turn a ball of yarn into something useful. It makes me feel like I am building something in a world that revels in tearing down and burning up.

Did you know that knot magick is one of the oldest forms of magick? I do. I made myself a shawl over the weekend. It is long and warm and a deep dark navy blue. As I turned the stitches tying my little knots, I thought of comfort and security. I thought of peace and well-being. I also thought of my Reiki training that will be starting soon.

This shawl is now more than clothing, but a tool to use. In it I put all the right energies to help me with my studies during a really intensive training process.

Imagine what would happen if all the folks out there who crafted gifts for other put real intent into those gifts as they made them. A baby blanket “programmed” to help a child sleep. A wrap to help someone process life saving drugs more effectively. A book bag to help the student study better. A pillow case to help a loved one with insomnia fall to sleep.

It would be amazing the changes we would see. Thought is energy you know, and matter is made of energy, add a little thought to the matter and you get a gift that stands apart, something that serves a real purpose.

My Ghost Jar

I have a jar I keep. It is filled with little white pebbles. On each of the pebbles is a symbol, a name and a date of death. This is my ghost jar. The jar isn’t what is special, of course neither are the pebbles.

When someone close to me dies, I find a little pebble and mark it with a symbol that reminds me of them. I add their name and the date they left this plane. I carry that little stone with me while I am hurting. When the pain and loss weigh me down, I carry it in that little stone. After a while, the stone weighs more than the pain. That is when I place the pebble in the jar, with all the others I have lost.

When I have a situation that seems overwhelming that my dad might have been able to deal with better than I, I take out his stone and carry it with me. It serves as a reminder that he taught me well. It reminds me that he showed me how to deal with this moment. It serves to remind me of the wisdom that he imparted to me.

Of course the magick isn’t in the stone. It is in me. It is part of who I am thanks to knowing and loving the person the pebble represents.

Just one more example of as above so below, as within so without. I carry these stones in my pocket as a reminder that I carry these memories and lessons of my departed in my heart.

Once Upon a Time...

I thought that there was only one God.

I thought that good always won out.

I was afraid of my darker side.

I thought I would be married forever.

I thought that love was THE most important thing.

I believed I had a destiny.

I thought that friendships were easy.

I thought that forgivness was for the person being forgiven.

I thought that innocence was more valuable than wisdom.

I learned that all of these were misconceptions.

And I lived happily ever after.

Moonfire

Light the flames
set the blaze
Be the light
in darker days

Shadows fade
they grow thin
when you've made
a point to win

Dont despair
in the night
we will repair
and make it right

I am the flame
I am the blaze
I am the light
in my dark days

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Been here done this. You know what they say about history repeating itself though. We shall see what becomes of this.