How to: Saturday Coffee Thoughts on HeALING with Music!

Saturday Morning

You gonna need more than ONE CUP today~

"This Was One of The Many Photos Considered"

for the cover of Healing Heartaches

With thoughts of spring, Healing, Hope, those of you the readers, those of loved ones, and that of springing forward ~ it comes to mind, all the many and wonderful things and doings, and the power in music.
Art shows, The Citrus Festival in Palm Harbor, The Strawberry Festival in Plant City; Tarpon Springs Art and Crafts Festival; times on the water, the music on the beaches, looking for miracles, looking for new growth in plants and trees, in ourselves in others…. Friends Sandy and Stewart have azaeleas blooming now even weathering this cold with their promise of spring in lavender ~



Remembering, savoring, loving and living each day to its fullest. I've spent so much time with dear friends. Enjoying the aroma and the taste of mornings coffee with reflection and mindfulness as the morning says, "here I am" ~ I am grateful.




OK… Quiz time:


Who nurtured my soul so very often on Lake Tarpon many a time?

What is one sentence that brought you hope in reading Healing Heartaches?

Can you believe that a book club in Asheville NC would not want to read Healing Heartaches because of thinking it depressing or better yet because they only read books on the bestsellers list?

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

There are times when you need to relax; times to just “sit with it” to “be" at one and times to play, to enjoy life in its entire splendor!

And then are times to take action; to be pro-active; times to do battle and/or to rally your support for and around others.


Today is that time: today one of our community is headed on a plane to New York, ready to see family and prepared to meet her new Oncologist and to find out about her newly diagnosed Breast Cancer and the treatment plan; the options and her course of action. Today is the day for all of us to wrap our arms around Chris, to send healing energy to her and once again send her our thoughts on the winds headed to New York to meet her there as she steps off that plane… Thoughts that will nurture and hold her and bolster her fighting spirit as she faces the challenges ahead. So to you Chris I say, Go to New York with your warpaint on, rest assured that you are in the arms of some powerful angels from all over the world, all in and around the Universe... We are with you, loving and supporting you each step of the journey... We too have our warpaint on and we are ready... we are here... Rumor has it you have the new generation "Bearly Bear" with ya! and you do know that Bearly Bear has some pretty tough little ones who will fight battles for "Bearly Bear" right? haha, rest assured dear one, you have some power with you today and all days on that you can look at Bearly Bear and know!

♪  ♥  ♫

Perhaps it’s time to send her a song! Maybe it’s time to sing for and with her; I’m singing Sara McLachlan’s “Arms of the Angels” this morning and I know she “will find comfort there” ~ {wow, I sound pretty good with this cold of mine, sort of a cross between Kermit the frog and Katherine Hepburn} heehe






I can remember sitting on a hot day with cherished friends out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, and on Lake Tarpon; the music loud, the laughter loud… the days long. Taking it all in, loving it all; watching and listening to a bluesy rendition as a friend sang, Jodi Messina’s “My Give A Damn’s broken” and then without warning she allowed those feelings to be washed away as she just stood up and took the plunge from the side of the boat!


Allowing the healing waters of the gulf to take it all away; the stress of the week, the heartaches of loss, grief, pain . . . and then emerging with a smile and a renewed sense of self, yep just like that!


Returning topside laughing, drying off a bit, only then to then join in with Martina McBride singing , “With her broken wing, man she carries her dream… and you ought to seeeee her fly”…. Oh “sweet memories” another great song indeed. And as one reader said yesterday, she just couldn't help but think of "Amazing Grace" as her face was wet from tears! But I think that perhaps there were others who had their "Eye on The Sparrow" oh that reminds me, was the name Sparrow ever used in the book Healing Heartaches, or was that another book?
Perhaps "Rolling Thunder" is the name of a song, but could it be the name of something famous, or maybe it is the name of something that we should all know about... hmmm, definately deeper than that which we hear and that which we know are the spirits drumming and the lightning beings playing ~






Some days are brilliant that way; healing heartaches one beat at a time; good friends, unconditional love and great music that speaks to the heart of the matter; music that gets right to where you live in your emotional, physical and spiritual self.

REady for a re-fill on your tea/coffee???

I am NOT done yet!

* ~ *

I also remember taking the family to SeaWorld a couple of years ago, saving the music for right when we approached the gate; then getting their attention and telling them I had a special gift for them! With the volume beyond what is most days tolerable, I turned on the CD to these words and music, “You’re Gonna Miss This, You’re gonna Want This Back ~ you’re gonna wish these Days hadn’t gone by so fast… These are some good times… so take a good look around, you may not know it now………… but you’re gonna miss this”! By the end of our time at SeaWorld the 8 and 15 year old were asking for it to play over and over! The whole family was singing along with the artist; we had it as ringtones, on answering machines; it became another family memory; another wonderful reality; yes, we will all miss this and we will want it back… Thanks to Trace Atkins for that one, it’s a keeper in my home!

Then, there’s Patti LaBelle singing “New Attitude I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoes / Know where I'm goin' and I know what to do / I tidied up my point of view / I got a new attitude”, is one that will get your body moving whether or not the rest of you wants to join in on any given day; and what a message to be certain, one that we all need from time to time!


Hearing an all time favorite like “You Are Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson will make you know that you are never really alone, not really…. And while “maybe I didn’t love you quite as good as I should have, I just never took the time… you are always on my mind” is sometimes the most important thing when you get right down to it. And that we are only human!

But when Patti sings, “When You’ve Been Blessed, Feels Like Heaven; so pass it on, just pass it on ”, you know its real, you don’t question it; it comes from the heart ~


Speaking of Patti LaBelle, and I do so love me some Patti: If you haven’t seen her perform, you just haven’t seen and felt …. Well never mind... You just don't know what you don't know... wonder who said that? 


But, I can’t list the many many songs that Patti fills my heart and soul with, but I do think you will love her singing, “You Are My Friend”… Did I mention I once attended three nights of Patti LaBelle concerts … can you say “3 in a row nights in DC with Patti”, back stage and all! Patti will get right down to “matters of the heart” and she will put her soul out there when she performs for the whole world to see… and she is no stranger to grief/loss and heartaches. Blessings to you Sister Patti, “you are my friend”, which has a line that goes like this: “I’ve been lookin’ around and you were here all the time!” You see, sometimes it is in the talking it through my dear friends, through therapy, through time (and you my dear M. Graff; that, you realize when you are ready to receive the message: he was NOT alone when he died, Snickers was there with him, your precious adult child and who better to be there than our beloved four-legged who will greet us with such pure and unconditional love to escort Brandon to the other side) ~ Like Pattie LaBelle said in her song, “I’ve been lookin around and YOU were here all the time!!!” May you find peace now in the knowledge that he was NOT ALONE, know it in your heart, make it your truth...

A young woman in the book Healing Heartaches who I have come to know well and love much . . . I won't mention her name here, but if you read Healing Heartaches you will know her, she was not alone either; she was escorted, met quickly by her Grandmother. Grabbed quickly to be spared the horror, the pain and engulfed in her beloved Grandma's arms; a wonderful welcoming I am sure... NOT ALONE....  "Somewhere Over The Rainbow . . . " Reggae style is great, but boy oh boy, oughta see Ms. Patti sing that one, whew, it just fills my nuwati ~

Ah, but the music, remember the series of blogs written after I saw “This Is It”?


Michael Jackson is surely dancing in the lights of heaven with all those great musical genius’s we have loved and known…


When you look at the “Man/Woman In The Mirror” what are you seeing, look deep, look straight into the eyes; into the soul…


Listen to his brilliance in that song and the others that too are with messages to be found; forget about the tabloids, about the rumor mills and the ugliness; just listen to the music the intensity; the wonderment and the energy ~ ~ ~






Then there is always Faith Hill ~ sometimes after attending a death, or a very emotional support group I would find myself listening to her song, “Cry A Little” to volumes that make the windows in the car shake… it just went right to my core. Of course I had to change many of the words, but the music, and certain lines in that song just seemed right at the time. “Could you cry a little, for me, pretend that you feel a little more pain, I must .…”

Are you with me, do you get where I’m going with this?
Are you feelin' me here?  Keepin' it real, through the music, the messages, the healing ways ~  hope in healing ~

Music is a powerful healer through the ages, a powerful vessel for touching the nuwati ~ for getting right to it. I have used music in therapy, in groups and in life as a vessel to healing; I would often rather give the gift of music than silver or gold! Not as sure the recipient wouldn't’t rather receive the gold though! heehe



Someone recently asked that the flute be played for her as she was having some difficult days. I didn’t comment or reply to that request, choosing instead to “sit with it” for awhile. Now that I have done that, I will reply by saying this, “You don’t ask for someone to play for you until you really know that you can hear the music and until you really really know that you can dance… I can teach you the steps, but you must find your own ability to hear the music and find your own dance.”

Ah, but have you heard Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston sing, “I will Always Love You”? Now that is a song that will take you to your knees at times! Power in the music, power in the messages, power that you can harness and make your own… again choices we all have to make, all choosing the genre, the timing and the desire.

Then sweet Dolly gave us “Hard Candy Christmas” a song that I just love, one that I used to play on music night at every group I’ve ever facilitated… “I’ll be fine and dandy, lord it’s like a Hard Candy Christmas, I’m barely getting through tomorrow, but still I won’t let sorrow bring me way down”.


Now what else is left to say after that I ask you?


OK, more thoughts about this later… You just don’t get me started and expect that I can be short when it comes to this, as it is, I am having the dogs to unplug me now!  I had to just laugh and end with M.C. Hammer, "YOU Can't Touch This" as I think of the dogs taking my computer away and my thoughts of today as well!

I close these thoughts by saying; give a listen to “I hope you dance” by Lee Ann Womack and then you will know my truest hopes for each of you.


Continual prayers on the wind to Wilma Mankiller, Always chief of the Cherokee, friend of all peoples and a woman who has allowed little girls to dream large.

I wish you enough.



Walk In Beauty


DRSES


Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss & Life
http://www.healingheartaches.com/

How Why When ~ Healing Heartaches Across The Wind With Thoughts

Wilma P Mankiller

Chief Of The Cherokee

Warrior, Wife, Mother, Grandmother,

Friend, Sister, Advocate

MisChief-Maker, Author, Hero,

"Weaver of the Great Threads blending

History, Wisdom and Cultures together~

Wado!"

~ ~ ~

And morning comes softly with so many thoughts.

Thoughts of so many as I await the days break through the Spanish Moss this morning, thoughts of gratitude, thoughts of sadness and joy and prayers being sent with the winds to those that need and will feel and know they are in our hearts and on our minds! Prayers for a happy and pain-free Friday for our beloved Wilma Mankiller on this early morning, along with mindful gratitude for all that she is and has always been to so many.

~ ~ ~

And so I will let you know as we are becoming those brilliant and beautiful threads of community here;

Chris is heading North to be with her family and to see a top-notch Oncologist that her daughter has lined up for her! Her daughter has taken the "proverbial lead" and is running like a wild but focused mustang getting things ready for her Mom. Chris is a strong woman, a warrior in her own right; SHE has decided to travel North, to fight her battle with Breast Cancer that has just been diagnosed. She is strong, her faith in humanity strengthened even more since her brief but intense meeting with the Walmart Angel that she shared in her comments and was immediately interpreted by so many!

Her conviction was made stronger still by all the thoughts, well wishes and comments made right here on this page, by YOU... those who read this page and have reached out from your hearts ~ ~ ~ from parts unknown to Chris; your intentions clear, your hearts filled with honest caring and concern and your prayers and strength being felt with each word. She is honored and she is fueled by your caring and soaring like an eagle!

Chris has on her warpaint ~ and she knows deep in her heart that she is not alone, she knows and she "gets it" that we all are with her. Blessings to you Chris, we will be with you each step and beat of the drum.

~ ~ ~

FIRM: Stand strong, stay FIRM, laugh often and smile much! Good to hear you are wearing your feathers and dancing while playing the flute!

***

Jeanne, congrats! No more treatment!!!

CANCER-FREE

LIVE - LOVE - LAUGH - PLAY LIKE A CHILD

(*)

COB IS COMIN TO FL MAR 10!!! YAY!!!

<3 (wish I knew how to make those fancy artworks)

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Wilma Mankiller sent a letter to many yesterday. I would like to share that with all of you here:

"I want my family and friends to know that I am mentally and spiritually prepared for this journey; a journey that all human beings will take at one time or another. I learned a long time ago that I can't control the challenges the Creator sends my way but I can control the way I think about them and deal with them. On balance, I have been blessed with an extraordinarily rich and wonderful life, filled with incredible experiences. And I am grateful to have a support team composed of loving family and friends. I will be spending my time with my family and close friends and engaging in activities I enjoy. It's been my privilege to meet and be touched by thousands of people in my life and I regret not being able to deliver this message personally to so many of you."

For those who didn't read yesterday's blog, Wilma Mankiller was the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation and a Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, she has stage IV pancreatic cancer, her husband confirmed Tuesday. Wilma was principal chief from 1985 until 1995, when she stepped down because of health problems.

~^^~

Today Wilma is having a good day; a day with family and friends. She is blessed by this day, enjoying each moment of it, each sound, each laugh, each experience.

Mankiller received many honors along the way, through the journey for women, for the Cherokee people ~ She fought many fights for women and rights of all.

~ ~ ~

"We've had daunting problems in many critical areas, but I believe in the old Cherokee injunction to "be of a good mind." {Wilma Mankiller}Today it's called positive thinking, and positive thinking, is positive mental attitude and positive mental attitude is:

body-mind-spirit connection!

Body-Mind_Spirit Connection is what provides us with the ability to read, to be mindful to absorb each moment each day and to give thanks...

And So It Is!

It was in the times before the Cherokee learned the ways of others extraordinary respect was paid to women... As Wilma reminded us and as the Elders would tell us, when a man married, he took up residence with the clan of his wife! The women of each of the seven clans elected their own leaders... and the leaders would convene the women's council and sometimes they would raise their voices in judgment to over-step the authority of the chiefs when need be!!!

So there you go... a little Cherokee history for the reader who asked of last night!

But look around in your communities of today . . .

Do you see that in today's' workings?

The Chamber of Commerce perhaps?

The matriarch in your families?

Your community leaders . . .

Who is stepping in to lead and heal the Heartaches?

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

So many thoughts today, so many whispers on the wind...

Blessings to all who enter here.

As we continue to look for life around the leaves and grasses of winter; as we look for sun to warm and soften the hard earth, let us always remember, the words of Jenny Leading Cloud, White River Sioux

"We Indians think of the earth and the whole Universe as a never-ending circle, and in this circle man is just another animal. The buffalo and the coyote are our brothers, the birds our cousins. Even the tiniest ant, even a louse, even the

SMALLEST FLOWER YOU CAN

 FIND ~ THEY ARE ALL RELATIVES."

As I end this for the morning, I am hearing her strong in my mind... Gotta go turn on the stereo or Youtube.com and find Dolly to sing it...

It is so fitting for right now it seems:

Can you guess what song I am hearing in my head?

To all of you:

Wherever you are,

Whatever life is handing you,

May you

Walk In Beauty

Each Moment

Each Day

With

Amazing

Grace

DRSES

Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss and Life

http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/

Healing Heartaches Inspired Jewelry by Joan

http://etsy.com/

In the search bar type: healing heartaches

and then just look for jgrusso2010 to see her beautiful jewelry!

As always, I am honored by your comments, enjoy them all! Please use the "moccasin telegraph" aka, word of mouth and tell all who will listen about:

Healing Heartaches!

Truly Amazing ~ Healing Heartaches ~

Lily The Black Bear's Baby,

HOPE

Alone in The Den!

WoW... Thursday morning . . . and I am truly amazed. Filled with just joy, grace, gratitude

feeling like a little kid at Christmas!

Thank you one and all

Thank you Researchers in Ely MN for allowing the world to witness Lily as she prepared for and gave birth to her cub via live web cam... for the wonderment of being "glued" and listening for those sounds of the little one, of watching and participating in each moment! The world has been able to put "self" aside and join in as a bear in her den does what bears do, without human interruptions or efforts at helping!

http://www.bear.org/

Did I mention that Lily the Bear now has more than 86,000 fans on her Facebook fan page?

HOPE is our cubbie's name... and hope has been the theme of my thoughts for the last several days . . .

I just love it!

WOW ~ Been reading the remarkable and amazing comments from around the globe?

I am amazed; and I am honored.

Now I have to tell you... the artwork on these comments really took my breath away, how bout you?

To our reader who missed was re-reading Healing Heartaches from the upstairs office ~

What a wonderful image I got reading your words, and how wonderful that your posters arrived right to the door on a cold and snowy day

Very funny indeed, and

hope you liked the posters and bookmarks ~

New Zealand? I am so very happy to hear that... Perhaps other readers will post their states/countries to give an idea of where they are reading/writing from.

~ ~ ~

There is a remarkable woman that I would like to introduce all readers to this morning. I would like to ask all to "whet your breath" and send strength, love to this remarkable woman today, and in the days ahead.

Wilma Mankiller

The first woman Chief of the Cherokee People

was diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer yesterday; she is a Warrior, a Woman of greatness, a Woman of the Cherokee

A Woman who will hear your prayers and feel your strength.

To you all I say "Wado" and so it is!

Mankiller, I am grateful for you, your vision,

your love and all that you are to so many,

I love you.

~ ~ ~

My thoughts are many this morning, but so much to do, so I must be brief... not my strong suit with my thoughts though...

Regarding COB... hahahaha

C

Ole

B

~~~

As we tend to matters of the heart, warming ourselves, our homes, our hearts on yet another cold day across the country . . .

I keep thinking of the importance of being present, be mindful of all that is within in order to fully appreciate all that surrounds us.

I am mindful of the aroma of the coffee, the wonderful steam that is coming from this cup and am grateful for it, the taste, the smells that fill my senses and the many memories that it calls forth.

I can remember a time when the Elders could measure a perfect pot by the hand; no spoon or fancy gadgets required, just a hand or fistful!

Perhaps many great decisions have been made across the globe over a cup of tea, a pot of coffee... many discussions of both great and small held gathered around kitchen tables; coffee smells filling the rooms, cups and boxes of kleeenex nearby, just in case they may be needed.

During those times, it just may be that great and small seeds were also planted at those times, those moments of reflection, times of mindfulness, times of meditations and mediation's !

Whether drinking a cup of tea, a cup of coffee; partaking in a fresh piece of fruit ~ It is possible to live in the here and now. It is possible to experience amazing grace within and nourish self  and in turn fertilize your seeds and burst forward to others with rich and cultivated ideas and rich and cultivated blooms of beauty with each smile, each breath, each day ~ being really alive, really present.

Of course there will be those times when "escaping" to the more pleasant moments are also a great release from the stress of your day! Dolphins and butterflies and days on the water come to mind; as to great times of music ~

The absolute best you will ever give to another is your presence, your ability to really be able to be there without distraction of the past, or fear of the future.

Yes, the seeds are buried and safe from the cold and windy weathers of winter... the extended and tiring cold that so many are continuing to cope with. Snow in Atlanta, Asheville, Charlotte? Fear of more? Anxiety?

Recognize the fear, the anxiety... Look it in the eye whatever it is. Embrace it tenderly, like you would a soft bloom trying to make its way from the cold and hardened ground... As you do this you will find ways to handle that emotion, you will face it, you will control it and you will find relief.

~~ ~

When you do those things you will notice the anxiety lessens, you will nurture the soft bloom of troubles and you will nurture you through the cold and into the warmth of our own light.

In a way you will transform your anxiety and fears into your garden of hope ~

Think of anxiety and fear as your little seeds that you must nurture and care for in order for them to grow into something beautiful and wonderful, something that you never dreamed possible!

And with that in mind...

I wish you a great Thursday!

Wherever you are

 and

whatever you are up to today,

Take Best Care Of YOU,

Walk In Beauty

DRSES

author of

Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss and Life

http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/

http://www.etsy.com/jgrusso2010

How To Drink Coffe With Healing Heartaches On A Wednesday!

SURE is COLD this MORNING

Good The Seeds Are Underground!

~ ~ ~

Good Wednesday Mornin' to me and you all ~

From the comments of last blog, it appears we have some new folks stopping in who have NOT read

HEALING HEARTACHES, STORIES OF LOSS AND LIFE!

QUIZ TIME: If you read Healing Heartaches, what does "Wado" mean? and... Is there a place in Healing Heartaches that allows the reader to contact the author?

~

Welcome!

And, how do I know you don't have your very own autographed copy? heehe.... you ask?

A. You ask what is a "Donelewega"  B. You ask what is "Wado" C. You do not know the answers to the quiz C. You say you have no sense of humor!

~

WELCOME TO THIS PAGE FRIENDS ~

It may be helpful to all to re-read some of my thoughts and it may be fun for all to "go back" and re-read the comments and thoughts of others on previous blogs and comments at later hours than you post yours!

I am finding that you post your thoughts/feelings/reactions, comments on past blogs, present blogs at all hours and times!  And I say to you...

GREAT! And I am filled with great appreciation and often amazed that you are finding this blog at all!

~ ~ ~

Brrr, another cold morning here in "Sunny, Warm Florida... where the tourists come to escape the cold winters...  Furnaces are running all over the country, kids in their mittens sick to death of snow and chapped lips; tired backs are seeking gifted Chiropractors like Dr Kevin Gallagher, and sniffling noses are being heard here in Florida where pale skin and crazed surf boarders are hitting the Gulf and not heeding the warnings of rough seas....

And I'm wondering how Tink plans to keep that caterpillar safe and sound! haha

~ ~ ~

But for now, let us get to mindfulness, to the moment and be present.

So right here, right now, let's embrace this moment, be it cold, cloudy, windy or otherwise. 

B-R-E-A-T-H-E and feel the power of that breath, the beauty of that moment, the absolute joy of that moment that is yours!

Yes, we wait patiently for what is to be, without forgetting to celebrate this very moment.

 While we hold our dreams of tomorrow in our hearts, we must not forget to live in the present. To be present in whatever space we find ourselves. While we hold sacred our unique histories, and the memories they evoke. We honor precious memories of those who have gone before us, we, must live in this moment.

This moment is precious. This day is valuable. We have an opportunity to touch another life. To give thanks for the life we have. To treasure the memories of loved ones, and to appreciate the people in our lives now that we hold dear.

With this sip of coffee/tea/cocoa; enjoy it, be mindful, be present of its aroma; it's taste; enjoy, really enjoy it. Cultivate your soul with it, right here and right now.


So while we value the future, dream each dream with color and passion. Fill the canvas with all the details of that which we are creating for tomorrow. We must honor today, right here, right now ~ Perhaps with that coffee or tea you have beside you as you read this! Meditate with it, find your joy... dig deep within you for the light to warm your seeds and nurture your very soil. 


As we catch and feel the breeze that fills our lungs with today’s chill air. Watch, yes I said "watch" the wind as it will chase the clouds across the sky. Hear the sounds of nature around us. We celebrate today. Clouds that once were in your vision will always be... they do not go away, they are just gone from your vision. What was once, always is! Always nearby, always moving and changing, but always a thought away... watching us from a distance.

Practice patience. Practice random acts of kindness. Be kind to ourselves. Be kind to others. Wrap this day in tenderness with your breath, with mindfulness, plant that seed deep within, it will burst forward into the light and seen by others its beauty brilliant to all ~ 






Speak softly, feel deeply, dance if you want to, hold up the sky because you can. Offer up an affirmation for peace, contentment, and gratitude, because we should. Defy Gravity, you know that you can if you choose to ~ ~ ~


Because we are deeply caring people, and the world is better for that. Our caring matters to others. Others matter to us.

"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand" {Mother Teresa}  I hope you will enjoy fruit with your mindful tea or coffee this morning and throughout your day.

Wherever you are ... Whatever you are doing ...

I wish you laughter, I wish you joy, I wish you enough


Walk In Beauty

DRSES

author of

Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss and Life

http://www.drsherryeshowalter.com/

http://www.etsy.com/jgrusso2010

HOW TO WITH HEALING HEARTACHES~ CHANGE MAY COME SLOWLY~

 ~ ~

Finding The Beauty

~

Before I begin... Have you read yesterdays' blog? OH MY... and the comments? WOW... So before we begin... let me say this, Lily's cubbie is officially named... HER NAME IS

"HOPE"

and what have we been talking about ??? haha

And of all the many names submitted, guess what other name was in the running??? Go ahead... just guess???

Visit Lily and HOPE at http://www.bear.org/

 

I’d like to stay with the idea of seeds germinating and bringing forth a unique bloom as we move into Tuesday. For though each bloom for the same plant is similar, each is also unique. Changed by the seasons, the soil it is grown in. The amount of sun the season brings, the rains, enhanced by fertilizers, pruning…

As are we... If we are surrounded by light, nurtured by kindness and love, showered with affection and caring. Thought of kindly and often. Though we have been changed by the seasons, and our own journey, we, in some ways, remain as we have always been.






Richer, brighter; more wonderful threads woven into the tapestry that is our life, but deep in the very fabric of our being, we are ourselves. Now we emerge; our selves, with new texture, a different hue. Perhaps we look the same, but are somehow a bit different this season. And so we grow; we change, we are diminished by the changing of the seasons, and we are renewed by them also.






As the caterpillar morphs into the butterfly, we become renewed. For it is in the struggle of the butterfly to be, breaking out of the chrysalis, the frantic beating of it’s wings; the butterfly comes into being. After a season in the cocoon, a long wait, this difficult effort to escape the cocoon; we open in the warmth, to at last gently move from bloom to bloom. Taking in the nectar of life. Finally, enjoying a new season, with new purpose. To fly, to flutter, and to reach our full potential again. Tink has a caterpillar just hanging out remember? She is tending her seeds, nurturing them well... and we wait!






Life, struggle, illness and Grief can be understood through nature’s metaphors. As we experience the coming change of the seasons, the end of this long cold winter, we are hopeful that this new spring will warm us, uplift us, re-energize us. The days will be growing longer. Offering more light, more warmth.






I wish each of you long days, the warmth of the sun, rainbows, butterflies, and lighter hearts for all that have been in the darkest days of their journey whatever your journey may be.


I send you love, I wish you enough, I send you whatever it is that you are needing right here... right now.

Know that though my heart aches for your loss, for the struggle you may be facing, for the diagnosis you have just received and for the energy you will need to fight the fights that are ahead.

I am right here fighting with you; I have my warpaint on... do you?

We together will enlist others; we will fight, we will not falter, we will not fail, together we will enlist the help of others and the spirits that appear from out of nowhere; we will find comfort in the arms of the angels... and we will find strength and comfort there; we will rest and then we will defy gravity once again ~  We will do it one heart beat at a time; and we will stand with our heads held high, united by the brilliant threads that make us interconnected in all that we are.

I believe in your ability to weather this arduous journey and emerge stronger. With the full understanding that you have been loved, and that the depth of your pain is a reflection of the great love you have given, and received. Remember that great song... "Ain't no mountain high enough" haha, just thought of it!






Be kind to you. Step back into the light when you are ready, or when you grow tired of the dark.
We are here to enjoy your rejoining this new season. We respect the path you have been on and hold the hope in our hearts that the spring will bring you back to us. We will dance slowly at first, the music soft and distant.
Then, as you feel the rhythm of life beckoning, calling to you, we will be there as the music returns to your heart and you dance in the light once again. Sometimes slow and sometimes with wild and crazy abandon ~






We will celebrate the shedding of the cocoon, the drying of your wings, the flight we know you will take. For in honoring the journey, the battles, the struggles and also in death, you will return to celebrate your own life, and the memories of your loved one with a lighter step, a lighter heart. Sorrow settles more gently on your heart with time. Soon it will be time to move in sync with the universe again. I promise.






And so with this promise, of tomorrows yet to come, better days ahead, I leave you dear readers for now, there is much to do ~

To my friend Joe G., thank you for your stories of yesterday, may you feel the spirit of your beloved Dad in all that you are and live the legacy ...

To my dear Chris... we will fight, we will wear our warpaint and we will stand tall with our heads high even as Granny says when our butt may drag the ground!

To Apex NC thank you again for spreading the news of Healing Heartaches... perhaps a book signing and speaking engagement will have to be on the burner for the warmer months...

To DC.. I'm coming :)

To those that are wondering, yes I am seeing clients again here in Palm Harbor on Fridays by appointment only ~ and yes I do also have clients that I journey with by phone sessions as well. I may be contacted at info@drsherryeshowalter.com regarding individual sessions as well.

"To listen compassionately, to honor someone along their  journey, and to ask a question with honest intention is at times the best talk therapy one can provide"

Or as Francis Bacon once said, "A prudent qustion is one-half of wisdom"

To all... I wish you warmth, I wish you enough...

Walk In Beauty,

DRSES

http://www.healingheartaches.com/

VIsit Joan's jewelry and leave her a note so she will know you were there!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jgrusso2010?view_type=gallery

HOW YOU CAN HELP HEALING HEARTACHES ~ MARCH 1

MONDAY MORNIN

Here comes the Light, He/She Did It Again!

Little Seeds ~ From the darkness

Into the LIGHT

Let the light in, always. The little seed huddled in the dark is protected from the cold. It germinates silently in the dark, moist soil. Then, when it is ready, the warmth of the newly strengthened sun brings it forth to the surface, to form a bud, grow a wee bit stronger, soak up the light and eventually burst forth and bloom.

There are times when you must plant a seed and wait. Sit quietly and let nature nurture the seed. For by doing nothing, the seed will germinate and bring forth it’s bloom. We do indeed reap what we sow. When circumstances have sown the seeds of grief, they burst forth at their own pace. For each journey back to the light is unique. There is a season for everything. And so it is with grief. We cannot rush the seasons, nor dictate their length. We must allow the seasons to come, and to change. Just as grief can be a long dark night, eventually the sun will rise again. The hope for tomorrow will return.


Slowly perhaps, but the hope flickers dimly at first, then grows stronger over time. We must maintain hope, faith, belief...


The message being.


Lend a light. Be the light, for someone in the cold dark space of grief or depression. That space moistened many tears. They too will benefit from the pull the light has on all of us. Provide them with warmth and light. A waiting bright space where they can feel the warmth. This is in my opinion best done with a warm smile, a cup of coffee, a gift of your time, a gift of your caring friendship, the gift of presence without judgment, presence without time-restrictions.

We do not know the moment when the light will reach them. So stay strong, be patient, and just offer caring and support. For many, the grief seed is planted deep. The flower cannot be jerked form the soil on demand, nor can the heavy hearted be dragged from their grief, but must be coaxed by warmth, and light and time. Gently nurtured….


And so my friends, provide the light. Gift the warmth of your caring and nurturing to someone in pain. Be not demanding, nor dismissive of the very real sorrow and the desire to linger longer in the comfort of grief. For when the griever is ready, you may have provided the light needed nudge them into the warmth of healing.

Know that just because that you and society want them to re-join the dance of life, they are on their own time in their journey... and quite often it will not be the same as what others want.

“A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the heart” Author Unknown.


Wherever you are and whatever you are doing today,
I wish you enough...
Carry your copy of Healing Heartaches with you, as one reader says... "Put it in the hands of another, talk to them about the life affirming stories that are between the covers"!

OOPS... almost forgot!

Lily and cubbie are doing great and cubbie stood up on the 27Th! http://www.bear.org/ to see them! Boy does she have a great set of "pipes" when she screams ~

Apex NC is planning to start a book club at their local Borders called?  HEALING HEARTACHES !!!

A reader in Asheville NC asked ladies in her book club about Healing Heartaches as the next selection.... Answer?  "I think we don't need a depressing book!" And of course, wouldn't you just know, this from someone who didn't even look at the book, but makes the "final say" on selections... :)  Sent them bookmarks for their "bestsellers" selections anyway! That's how I roll!!! 

And finally... thoughts or questions? Send me an email or leave them in your comments! I do read them you know!!!

Blessings to all from chilly Florida. NO right COB answers... and no.. no clues! haha, COB is coming to FL in 11 days! The four-leggeds' are up to all their mischievous behavior in wild anticipation of ways to make her crazy!

Thanks To Tink for caring for the caterpillar and tending to the seeds, reminding us that 30 seconds of light is approaching earlier with each waking...

Bravo to the Olympians... through tragedy we witnessed triumph and glory ~ Well done. 5 RINGS ~

Walk In Beauty,

DRSES

author of

Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss and Life

http://www.healingheartaches.com/