Tis’ the Season

Tis' the Season
My Writing Cottage Ready to Welcome in Christmas

In my former life, which seems many moons ago, I was the visual merchandiser for Kohl’s Department store. Decorating for Christmas began in September and every year I decorated many trees, hung many wreathes and banners and decked out the store.

I loved that job, though I must admit that decorating my own house, after all that work at the store, started to become a chore the last few years of my working at Kohl’s.

But now with only my house to decorate, which I wouldn’t even have to do because we don’t have anyone over for the holidays, I find great joy in it. There is just something so fulfilling to my soul to sit and have a glass of wine, candles lit, Christmas music playing, and enjoy the fruits of my labor of decorating.

It’s a creative outlet for me. I found two large birch branches today at a local shop and just knew I wanted to use those in my decorating. I also cut branches from our giant pine tree in the back yard, dried red berries from a shrub, and hydrangeas from my garden which dried to a pretty amber.

Before I knew it, a few hours flew by – I was in my own little world of joy, preparing my sweet writing cottage to welcome in the season of Christmas. To top it off, I added a homemade bird suet feeder to the birch branch so my winged friends can partake in the joy of the season, too. Now all I need is some snow to really make it all very festive!

I can’t wait to see the green spot light glow on the decorations tonight once it gets dark, which won’t be too long now.

I hope your Thanksgiving weekend has been one of joy and thankful moments… I know mine has, and for that I say a grateful thank you for all I have.

From My Home to Yours - Enjoy the Christmas Season

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Open Our Hearts to Peace and Healing. A Thanksgiving Prayer.

Open Our Hearts to Peace and Healing. A Thanksgiving Prayer.
Giving thanks for this gift from nature right outside my writing cottage window today.

Creator, open our hearts

to peace and healing between all people.

Creator, open our hearts

to provide and protect for all children

of the earth.

Creator, open our hearts

to respect for the earth, and all the

gifts of the earth.

Creator, open our hearts to end exclusion, violence,

and fear among all.

Thank you for the gifts 

of this day and every day.

~Mi ‘Kmaq prayer

Wishing each of you, dear readers, a most blessed Thanksgiving. I hope you can feel from my heart to yours how very grateful I am to each and every one of you. Blessings today and always…

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This Thanksgiving – I am Grateful for Hope and More Sparks of Light.

artwork by Shannon Brack Winter

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these – to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.

Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do. – Clarissa Pinkola Estes

I share this section above from an article I read this morning by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, who is also author of Women Who Run with Wolves. I found myself getting choked up reading it because it solidifies once again my own commitment to not giving up on hope and moving forward in continuing to let my light shine out into this world.

I know so many (including myself at times) can feel overwhelmed when situations around us feel so big and out of control like many things have of late— and we can be left to feel helpless and not sure what we can each do. But I’m reminded once again, which has lit a fire within me, that there is hope. You are hope. I am hope. And we can each make a difference by being that hope so that it spreads to another who needs hope.

It just so happened that after reading this piece from Estes today, I had plans to be with a dear, young soul, named Rachel. I’ve known her for a few years, but have had the pleasure of getting to know her better lately. We have come together and will be teaching a workshop that we both happened to discover we were both interested in offering. So we decided to combine our energy and efforts to do so.

We will be teaching a workshop on the meaning of a Native American tradition called Talking Sticks, to be held in December on the night of the solstice. Today we met so we could experience for ourselves the magic and power in creating our own Talking Stick —an experience so rich and beautiful that I am still soaking in all that it brought to my soul in such a positive and uplifting way.

We are both passionate about encouraging others to open to their intuition so that others can experience the many gifts this has to offer and enrich ones life.

After being with Rachel who is twenty years younger than me, having read Estes article of hope, and thinking about Thanksgiving tomorrow, I’m feeling full up with gratitude and a huge helping of hope for the future not only for myself, but for others too who commit to finding a way to be who they are meant to be…and to not lose hope.

While I know it may likely be a rocky road for many, I also know that in order to achieve that light within oneself, the journey calls for looking within, really listening, and honoring those whispers that want to come forth. It’s my hope that my blog, future workshops I offer, and just by being who I authentically am, will be part of that hopeful, positive light that shines out as a beacon of promise, and by default will give permission to others to let the light of their true self shine, too. 

If you are interested in learning more about the Talking Sticks workshop, please visit my workshop page here.

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