Squeezed. Then sweetened.

             Another big long painful stretch of work for me, no breaks, no days off.  My (hourly) mantra has been:

attitude of gratitude, be grateful for the job.

             But, ya know, it can be challenging, and I’m not super patient.  Hopefully now that some new folks have been hired (and some of MY suggestions have been heard and enacted), we won’t be going through this sort of torture again.

             At the end of it all, here’s what I heard,

lemonade.

             By which, of course, the Universe means, when we are gifted a basket full of golden citrus fruits . . . .

we are to celebrate.  To bake.  To make healthy juices.  To zest ’em and add to every damn thing we eat.

             Last place is still worthy of a prize.  We finished, we didn’t give up.  Even if we started over, we continued on.  We arose every new day and moved through it.

             And sometimes, we drank tasty lemonade.  Because the truth is, we CAN handle it.  We WILL be fine.  We DID set this all in motion.  We ARE worth it.

             On our card altar right now is an excellent validation, and just the right type of reminder.

“Skunk  ~  7  ~  Reputation

Unlike other predatory animals, Skunk does not threaten your life, but threaten your senses.

Skunk is teaching you that by walking your talk and by respecting yourself, you will create a position of strength and honored reputation.

Learn to assert, without ego, what you are.  Respect follows.  Walk tall, be proud of accomplishments you have made.”

Today’s Deck:

Animal Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, illustrated by Angela C. Werneke

Today’s Sharing:

is this small piece I just spotted recently.  Jot it down, hold it close, I’ll be doing the same.

Forget yesterday,

don’t worry about tomorrow,

enjoy today.

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Currently

             Have any of you ever seen the bumper sticker Everything IS in Divine Order?  Well, that’s kind of what our current message is focusing on.

             Us, being where and who we are because of when it is.

It’s About Time

             I’ve not always had the best relationship with Time, we rarely agree or get along.  But I do understand the concept of Perfect Timing, and how there’s a time and place for everything.

             I mean, I get it, conceptually and logically, I just struggle with it emotionally.  Impatience is one of our most difficult lessons.  We want it now and we can’t figure out why that’s not happening!  (Might just be me on this one.)

             But it takes as long as it takes.  There’s no getting around this, it’s simply a fact.  We can accept that and Be with it, or we can drape ourselves in unhappy anxiety.  It’s all a choice.

             As I stood in the altar room, with my Time notes in my hand, all I kept hearing was “the animals, the animals, the animals,” so I reached out in the direction I was being guided to.  Yep, this was the right draw.

“Ant  ~  32  ~  Patience 

. . .it is time to show a little trust and patience.   You may have forgotten that you will always receive that which you need, at the time you need it the most.

If it is not on the horizon or just around the next anthill, you may need to use some strategy.  How can you put to use your power of creating until ‘it’ arrives – whatever ‘it’ means to you at this time?

Ant is working for the good of the whole.  Are you?  If you are, be assured that the whole wants the same goodness for you, and that it will be provided.”

Today’s Deck:

Animal Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, illustrated by Angela C Werneke

Today’s Sharing:

is to express my enormous gratitude to the folks who have brought me local Spanish radio.  The joy I get from listening to this station is more than I could ever say or type or even sing.  Seriously, it never fails to make me smile.

             (No, sadly, I am not bi-lingual.  I am a non-Spanish speaking Mexican.  And apparently, there’s lots of us.)

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Directionally Forward

              Similar to the messages we’ve been receiving lately, today the reminder is one of strength.  About how we are so much more than we give ourselves credit for, or even take credit for.

             The image that I was shown appeared empowered and statuesque, standing in truth and lovingkindness and acceptance, strong and confident.

Face First

             To show our faces, honestly, we must leave fear and uncertainty behind.  We need to drop away from the physical imperfections and look Life straight in the eyes.

             The better we get at Self-Care, the better we take care of ourselves.  The more we face the beauty and the blessings in our lives, the more beauty and blessings will appear.

             To feel that empowered honesty, is to stand tall, putting our face forward.  Our true and loving face.

             As we return to our regular rotation around the card altar, we’ve been handed a very nice validation.  When we give freely, abundance can’t help but follow.

“Turkey  ~  31  ~  Give-Away

Turkey is actually thought to be the Give-Away Eagle or South Eagle of many native peoples.  The philosophy of give-away was practiced by many tribes.  

Simply stated, it is the deep and abiding recognition of the sacrifices of both self and others.  People in modern-day society, who have many times more than they need, should study the noble turkey who sacrifices itself so that we may live…..

Turkey was the medicine of many saints and mystics.  Celebrate if you have Turkey medicine.  Your virtues are many.  You have transcended self.”

             This draw brings up another layer of being our genuine and true selves.  We can never “give-away” who we are, but we can help others to see their honest faces by showing them ours, and giving it generously.

             (For the full version of this card’s definition transcribed from its guidebook, go HERE.)

Today’s Deck:

Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, illustrated by Angela C. Werneke

Today’s Sharing:

is THIS RECENT POST written by my Seattle girl.  Seriously, I keep thinking that I can’t get much more proud of my damn kids, and then, they each do something else even BETTER.  It’s an embarrassment of riches.

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Endless

             Every day is different.  Every message its own individual type of gift, brought to us in an assortment of ways.  This morning what arrived was a reminder.

             It brought with it Hope, and lovingkindness, and the ever-spiraling-upwards inspiration of options.

Possibilities

             Even when facing what appears to be a dead-end or a road-to-nowhere, we have choices.  Today the Universe wants us to keep that idea close.  Don’t forget it.

             Because, no matter the circumstance, we are continually graced with possibilities.  Limitations are few, options are many.

             Here in The Burrow recently, while removing some physical (as well as spiritual and mental) impedimenta which no longer served, I came across what I was directed to share as our daily draw.

             This was, according to the guidebook, intended for us to draw our own, to add the symbolism or totem which suited us, in a personal way.

             It seems that for our purposes right now, it’s the epitome of Possibilities.  All we need to do is fill in the blank.

Today’s Deck:

Medicine Cards – The Discovery Of Power Through The Ways Of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson, illustrated by Angela C Werneke

Today’s Assistance From Afar:

is this meditation that Corina shared in a recent comment.   Thank you, again, my friend.

“The Sacred Rose

1. Raise the emotion(s) you’re dealing with; in this case anger & frustration. Think about how fucked up it was & how incredibly aggravating the situation is.

2. Take a few deep breaths.

3. Picture a rose above your head, of whatever color strikes your fancy in the moment.

4. Visualize a fine mesh net moving up through your body, and all the “negative” emotion bits throughout your body as little black seeds of energy. As the mesh moves up through your body, all the seeds get dislodged by the net & move up with it. Picture the net catching every one of these black seeds as it moves along. Often for me the net moves more slowly through my heart & head areas, as there are lots of seeds stuck in these areas. I wiggle the net side-to-side to unstick the little buggers that don’t want to move.

5. As the little seeds move up & out the top of your head, they wither & blacken the rose, once the net comes free from the top of your head the rose is entirely black & wilted.

6. Burn the rose in the purifying violet flame. As it is consumed by the flame, picture the ashes as gold sparkles, which have been transmuted into pure love, sprinkling down into your head. You can call on Archangel Michael to help in this burning/transmutation step.”

 

Today’s Gratitude:  

I seriously could not do it without you guys.

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