Daydreaming

There are times in my life where I allow myself to escape into a world of fantasy.  Days when the Littles energy level has me overwhelmed.  Or the house being in a state of cluttered chaos is beginning to weigh heavy on my spirit.  Or when having an extra income would be very helpful.  I like to just sit and wonder about how things *could* be.  I don't do this in an "oh, how I wish my life were different" manner.  Its more of a "my life could be different if...." daydream.

Today I find myself wondering how my life could be.  So I'm going to indulge myself and share what I want to do today.  Today my Littles are all grown up and living productive lives in their own separate homes.  They all get along and stay connected with one another.  And every Sunday they come to my house and hang out.

Today my home is a clutter-free and serene environment.  The only toys in the house are for the grandkids to play with when they come over and they are tucked away when they are not in use.  I enjoy sitting in my 4 season porch sipping coffee and watching the birds in my back yard.  There is no tv on during the day.  And in the evenings the lights are low and the only sounds to be heard are peaceful music and conversations with my Mr. Man.

Today I have enough Reiki clients to keep me happily busy.  I am contributing to the income of our household.  I am meeting amazing people and contributing to their healing journeys. 

Its ok that what I want to be doing is far from where I am today.  Its ok to go within and just let myself pretend for a moment.  I don't wish for a different life.  I don't wish I were single and childless.  I used to.  My moments of pretend used to be frequent and I kept it to myself.  I don't have to keep things to myself anymore.  I can ponder a different life and not feel guilt or shame.  Taking the time to indulge in a little harmless make-believe renews my spirit.  It puts a warm glow of peace in my heart when things feel cold and overwhelming.

I live a full and blessed life, but everyone experiences a bit of unrest.  I choose to acknowledge the unrest and and let it have its say.  Now I feel renewed and happily content to continue on with my day.  Complete with unruly Littles, clutter galore and pockets that are emptier than I would prefer.

So go ahead.  Indulge yourself the next time you're feeling stuck or frustrated with where you are in life.  Let it be a little look into where your life could go.  Then embrace your life for what it is right then.  Let your life unfold the way it is meant to.  Happy daydreaming!

Just my thoughts.

Sunday Shine: Harmony

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

What I Am Grateful For (and when)

I have a love/hate relationship with the Thanksgiving holiday.  I had a whole paragraph typed up of the things I love about it and the things that I hate about it, but the things that I hated seemed to have more power over the things that I loved.  It felt like there was just too much negative energy attached to it, so I deleted it.  Instead I'll just say that in our house we discuss what really happened back when the pilgrims came to America and then we stress that we celebrate Thanksgiving as a time to give thanks for all that we have.  We talk about how special it is to come together with family and/or friends and let our hearts be grateful and peace-filled.

As a child the only thing I remember feeling grateful about on Thanksgiving was the food I was about to inhale.  I loved sitting around watching the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade on tv in the morning.  I loved the smells that filled the house.  Even though we all lived in the house together and saw each other every day, we seemed to be able to all get along on that one day.  There was an energy that didn't exist on all the other days.  (I think that that is kinda sad.)  As we grew older, it became special when one of our siblings would 'come home' for Thanksgiving.  Then it would be special when I 'came home' for Thanksgiving.  It was that feeling of 'coming home' that I loved.

I want my family to feel that everyday is special, but I'm aware that that is not realistic.  Bickering happens.  Tempers sometimes flare up and toys fly through the air earmarked for a siblings head.  People get sick.  SAD comes to visit.  So I'm thankful that there are certain times of the year that we are able to put our differences and stresses away for a day.  It used to bother me that most of these celebratory days are christian holidays, and since I'm not a christian I would feel a tad bit hypocritical.  I have since stopped letting that negative way of thinking change how nice it is to come together as a family.  Yes, it may be a christian holiday or a holiday with horrifically sad roots, but I celebrate the love of family.  I celebrate the joy that the Littles feel when they are celebrating another special holiday.  I celebrate being thankful for all this love and joy.

I have an abundance of gratitude within my heart.  Gratitude is free for the taking.  I challenge you to find the things to be grateful for in all situations.  Good and not so good.  I challenge you to do this daily.  Start by beginning and ending each day with gratitude.  Yes, even on the days when the washing machine dies and the stomach flu is making its way through your house.  Gratitude is there.  Waiting to wrap you up like a warm blanket.  Write your gratitudes down, so that on the days you are struggling to come up with one, you can pull out your gratitude list and be reminded. 

I love seeing all the blog posts, tweets, status updates and magazine articles on gratitude this time of year.  It is my hope that all of this gratitude is being felt all through the year.  In the spirit of how I celebrate Thanksgiving, I will end this with a condensed version my own gratitude list.

My Mr. Man
All the Littles and the Not-So-Littles
My amazing daughter-in-law
My beautiful grandbaby
My 2 brothers and 2 sisters
All my fabulous friends
Reiki
Mother Earth
my spirituality
all of the Sacred Texts and the guidance they have provided for so many
Divine Guidance
learning how to let go
patience
trust
love
hope
compassion
My home
Comfy chairs
My quiet time in the morning
the shining sun
cool Fall nights
the rain (just not everyday)
Vitamin D
music of all types
dancing of all types
beautiful photography
beautiful poetry
all the blogs I follow
my new website that is being developed
the internet
electricity
running water
clothes on my back
food on my table
the love that is ever present in my home
that all the Littles feel safe and loved
my beautiful, shiny spirit
your beautiful, shiny spirits
for finding my voice and letting it be heard

I would love to see your gratitude list.  Feel free to email them to me at shinyjill (at) gmail (dot) com or send me a link to your blog if you have a blog post of gratitudes, and I'll compile the links and lists into a Gratitude page on my website.

May gratitude be ever present in your hearts and may you experience Thanks-giving every day of your life.

Just my thoughts.

Sunday Shine: The joy of sleeping in

I'm celebrating today.  I'm celebrating something somewhat odd.  Today I woke up pain-free.  Yes, pain-free for the first time in months.  I have suffered with lower back pain in the morning for a couple of years now, and it has been very severe since I developed a bulging lumbar disk.  I am an early riser for 2 reasons.  One, I love the quiet of the early morning.  Two, if I stay in bed past 7 a.m. I suffer from severe back spasms for most of the morning.

Today I slept till 8 am and had NO pain at all.  No lower back spasms or pain radiating down my left leg.  So my Sunday Shine post is dedicated to the gratitude I have in my heart right now.  I wasn't aware how much the pain dimmed my mornings, until I arose without it. 

How did this happen?  I may not have any scientific proof to back my theory up, but I have a feeling that the daily Reiki self-healings have something to do with it.  I don't know if I'll wake tomorrow this way, but it doesn't matter.  Today is the only day I need to focus on, right?

So I leave you this bright, sunshiny day with one of my favorite songs. 



Keep it shiny!
 

Sunday Shine: Inner Strength

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

~ Marcus Aurelius

Sunday Shine: A valuable Poohism

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”

~Winnie the Pooh

A new chapter begins

I'm straying from my usual Sunday Shine post today because something occured yesterday that has changed my life forever.  The story of my life has taken a twist and as I write this new chapter I am filled with wonder and anticipation.  The title of this next chapter will be "Grandmother".  Yesterday, October 30, 2010, my beautiful daughter-in-law brought a shining baby boy into this world.  Thus the next chapter in my life began. 

As I held this tiny wonder I was filled with so much Love.  My thoughts kept going back to "Can I be a grandmother?  Can I have even more Love to extend to this miracle I am holding in my arms?  Can I be a mother to young children, tweens and adults and still have room to be a grandmother?"  My mind was swirling, but I heard the soft voice of Spirit tell me "Just be here.  Just be in this moment and you will be everything that you need to be right now."  So I eased into the moment.  I let myself stare in this little wonder's eyes and see all the Love that he has brought into this world. 

This tiny little man has changed so many lives.  My son and his wife begin their chapter on parenting and I am sure they will be wonderful.  They are a very young couple, yet they have an incredible strength that most young people don't possess at 17 & 18.  Yes, they will struggle, but they will find their way as parents.  They will be just the parents that they are meant to be.  I am so proud of them.  They did a phenomenal job yesterday.  I hope that they realize how strong they are.  I hope they can take that inner strength with them through this chapter of their lives.

So I say welcome to the world, Little Wonder.  I say welcome to parenthood to Not-so-Little #2 and his beautiful bride.  And I step into the world of Grandparenting with nervous anticipation, hoping that I will have the strength to be the best Grandmother that I can be.

Just my thoughts.