This Week’s FEEL GOOD List of Things to Explore
Dear Creators of WONDER and MAGIC-
I just returned from 4 days in the Boundary Waters Wilderness with three friends and WOW…to be so close to the earth was so spectacular. I experienced so much gratitude and was reminded that, for me, experiencing spontaneous deep gratitude is a symptom of excellent spiritual fitness.
The good news is that if you aren’t feeling grateful, looking for things that make you feel that way will get you back into that state of spiritual fitness!
Here’s a list of my thank you’s to that great power beyond imagination:
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
This week’s FEEL GOOD List!
1. Quote that’s making me THINK DEEPLY:
“TO LOVE SOMEONE LONG-TERM IS TO ATTEND A THOUSAND FUNERALS OF THE PEOPLE THEY USED TO BE. The people they’re too exhausted to be any longer. The people they don’t recognise inside themselves anymore. The people they grew out of, the people they never ended up growing into. We so badly want the people we love to get their spark back when it burns out; to become speedily found when they are lost. But it is not our job to hold anyone accountable to the people they used to be. It is our job to travel with them between each version and to honour what emerges along the way. Sometimes it will be an even more luminescent flame. Sometimes it will be a flicker that disappears and temporarily floods the room with a perfect and necessary darkness. ”
2. Facial Paraidolia: The ability to see faces in everyday objects In the Boundary Waters, I saw so many thousands of faces in the stones there…it was wonderful! Sly grins, mischievous laughing faces….all very encouraging. It made me curious to know more about it. The science is HERE, but I believe that the stones (and trees and everything else) are ALIVE with spirit and it can reach out and help us if we need it!
3. As I make my way deeper into BOUNDARY WORK in my 100 day project, a colleague of mine told me a story about a parent with mental illness who she finally had to put up a boundary with at age 50. She also has an adult child with mental illness which made making this boundary doubly hard. Our convo led me to my post for June 21st :
SETTING BOUNDARIES WITH VULNERABLE ADULTS (or those we perceive as vulnerable!) CAN FEEL HEARTBREAKING, EVEN WHEN WE KNOW WE MUST DO IT (for our own safety, well being or sanity).
P.S. If you are dealing with needing to put up boundaries with a loved one who struggles with addiction, Al-Anon is a wonderful resource.
3. If you live where Mosquitos do, you might LOVE one of these! I ordered two as soon as I got home and will be using them in my backyard and sharing them with our kids who love to go hammock-ing in the woods! Our guide brought them along on our camping expedition and they saved us in moments at dusk and dawn when the mosquitoes descended!
4. If you are struggling with your creativity at the moment, one way to approach it is to MAKE GIFTS! this tip comes from Austin Kleon’s Book “Keep Going”….It reminded me that years ago (in my twenties and thirties) the ONLY time I would exercise my gifts of creativity was when I would make gifts (tiny custom paper booklets or cards) for others. It was so SIMPLE and SO FUN! When I began to try to make art (or write) “for a living” it got complicated. So, when in doubt- make a GIFT for a friend or beloved!
Here’s a gift I made today for my beautiful friend Gini Breidenbach (She’s also a shamanic healer!) to say thank you for her impeccable trip guiding! She followed her dream for twenty years and is now living that out- so PROFOUNDLY BEAUTIFUL THANK YOU!
5. I got to journal and sketch every single day in the wild and I’ve decided to make it a daily practice. It’s a combo of TWO WAY PRAYER and sketching! I’ve been wanting to do a daily art practice and this will make it do-able.
If you are longing to have a daily JOURNALING practice where you connect to yourself, check out Austin Kleon’s Tik-toks– they give you simple instructions to help you get started!
Be gentle with yourselves LIFE PIRATES because you are amazing and precious and we NEED you and your contributions!
If you are needing support or help uncovering or empowering your contributions, I am here! I have spots open for coaching, shamanic mentoring, shamanic healing and vibe raising DIVINATION sessions! You are always welcome to read more and book HERE.
with big love,
Sarah
