Recently, I was asked to speak about mindfulness for a local rotary club. I was both honored and excited to be able to share ideas with them. In preparing my presentation I wanted to make it interesting and valuable of their time. As the members entered the room and began to settle in I noticed the number of men that filed in. I was pleasantly surprised at the volume. For some reason I thought the majority would be women but that wasn’t the case. The men attendees were as much as the women, if not a little more.

I’ve been keeping a dream journal since spring of last year. I don’t always jot them down for a couple of reasons: 1) I wait too long and don’t remember or 2) so many crazy things happen I don’t know where to begin. The latter has happened quite frequently and I find myself shaking my head in complete wonder. Wondering, what could the most random, off the wall, doesn’t make a bit of sense, events possibly mean?

This year it came about two months early. Seriously?! At first I kept ignoring the word since there were still a few months left in the year and I loved my word for 2019…..joy. I used it to guide my actions; always looking for ways joy could make by days brighter. Even if things weren’t going as planned I always tried to look for the silver lining; ultimately things automatically improved just from a little shift in my thinking.

Happy, shiny, infinite possibilities of another new year and new decade. It’s hard to believe another twelve months have flown by. For the last several years, I’ve gotten quiet, listened to my heart, picked my word of the new year and set intentions and goals for the next 12 months. Not necessarily a new year’s resolution, but a plan for what I want to create and manifest in my life.

It's launch day.....WOO to the HOO! It's the official launch day of the compilation book titled Kindness Crusader andI'm one of the contributing authors. This project has been in the making for almost a year and I'm feeling giddy inside. I've had aspirations of writing a book for a while but always felt overwhelmed by the process. Being part of this compilation book has been a wonderful learning experience for future projects.

I'm not gonna lie, it was hard. It was damn hard and many nights my children would find me at the dining room table crying or frustrated over some statistic problem I was trying to solve or a  paper I had worked on for hours that somehow got deleted from my computer because I didn't save it correctly. Those days I wanted to give up. I never showed that side to my children but trust me, inside I just wanted to quit....throw in the towel and settle for mediocrity.However, there was a fire in me that kept burning and wouldn't let me give up. So, day after day, week after week and year after year I've been doing the hard work to make my life better. To make a difference in the world.

For three days and two nights, 10 women came together and formed a close bond and sisterhood. We trusted, laughed, supported, cried and held space for one another as we took a leap, head first into a heart healing program. So often we get paralyzed from moving forward in our lives by fear and self-doubt and we’d rather stay stuck than risk the vulnerability of change. If we can trust in our inner guidance and follow our heart, it changes everything.

We all have what we define as our core values and principles on how we choose to live our lives. You may live by integrity, compassion, motivation, service to others, kindness, humor, respect or courage. The list goes on and on. You may not even realize what all your core values are but you have them.

The visit from my daughter was a good reminder of connection and how warm and wonderful it felt to a mother’s heart. Even though we talk several times a week, the human and physical touch was a blessing. Just hanging with my girl was exactly what this mama needed on a sunny summer day and I’m pretty confident it’s just what she needed too. Connect with loved ones you haven’t seen in a while……it’s good for the soul.

Now, in our new location we talked about the meaning and power of a new moon. Black new moons are said to be more powerful than regular new moons. This black moon is in Leo and helps re-learn ways to express our creativity. It’s also a time for self-love, including all matters of the heart; especially our own. It’s time to stand in our own power.

Why are we always critical of ourselves? Crystal, Andrew and Hannah all liked the picture and when I showed it to a few friends, they equally agreed. What were they seeing that I wasn’t? My critical eye, was not grounded in fact, rather expectations that wouldn’t measure up.

This past week I spent an evening with a good friend along the lakefront in Wisconsin. It was a beautiful night and we had originally wanted to dine outside which didn’t work out but none-the-less we had a delicious meal and fun conversation. At one point over dinner, my friend mentioned it was the seventh year anniversary of her Dad’s passing. It was significant since both of us were daddy’s girls.

Once everyone completed the ceremony, each woman had a simple necklace filled with beautiful handwritten notes on both sides. As each woman read their special notes of appreciation, teardrops fell. Small words of kindness can be just what a person needs. We all want to feel loved, appreciated and seen.

Giving a little self-care each day is a simple, yet a powerful statement of self-worth. Do something good for yourself each day to show some love; I promise it’s worth the effort.

As we gathered outdoors around the fireplace and lit seasoned wood, we took turns releasing our words, old wounds, negativity and anything we no longer wanted or needed in our lives, into the fire. As we watched our unwanted thoughts burn, release and smoke rise, we read the following together:

When you realize you’ve been dealing with contrast, which is knowing what you don’t want in order to understand what you do want, let that be your guide. It’s our warning system that leads us to our heart and ultimately to our calling. To my new and shiny “whatever is waiting for me’…….I’m coming for you. I’m ready to share, give and inspire in this thing called life. Are you being nudged to do the same?

Green Aventurine’s energy is all about the vitality of anything, such as: health, growth, finances, confidence, and friends. It’s a common healing stone and a go-to stone for ailments.

Amethyst’s energy is that of protection and purification. It’s also know to enhance intuition and is said to help the release of addictions. Reach for this stone to help with sleep, to enhance with intuition and give the feeling of peace.

No matter how many times I stumble and fall, I will always pick myself up, brush myself off and keep moving forward. It’s a lifelong love letter for me. Show yourself some love and choose you. Wishing you the happiest of heart days.