tasha tudor

Tasha Tudor – A Special Oracle of Mine

My “think and tinkle” station in my bathroom

As I began to write this post I thought about calling it “Think and Tinkle” and then thought with a grin, perhaps I could title it “Ponder and…” But as the day has unfolded, alas, the title I chose is much more in alignment with the message I want to share. And don’t mind me, I can have a silly sense of humor.

While I can be downright serious and a deep thinker, perhaps it’s something you don’t know about me, in that I do believe I have a pretty good sense of humor. I feel like I developed it being married to my quick-witted hubby, John, or perhaps I had it in me all along. Who knows? But I guess I kind of digress…

ANYways…seriously. It’s such a beautiful way to start off my day by randomly pulling a card from Mark’s inspirational deck, which sits on a small stand in my bathroom. The deck is The Book of Awakening, which by the way, is the same name of a book he wrote. If you’ve not read it, you might want to check it out if it calls to you. Now I’m wondering what Mark Nepo would think of my private pondering time on the commode with his card deck?  🙂

Today’s pull was, “Be Who You Are” and says, “You do not have to do anything to be loved, and being who you are does not let others down. This needs to be repeated, and often. Simply be who you are, and love what is before you.” 

There was a time when I would have read this and thought, but how do I do that? Missing the whole point that there is nothing to do, but to just be. And it was because I worried so much about judgement from other’s. But now I am so much better at living my life in the way that feels right for me.

But being this spiritual being in a human body with a mind and an ego that tries to sometimes convince me otherwise, the need for reminders through pondering moments such as today and Mark’s gorgeous and thought-provoking cards keeps me walking a journey of embracing all of who I am.

And was I ever tickled about a synchronicity that unveiled itself as the day went on that I saw in relation to this cards message!

Tasha Tudor in my favorite season of Fall

I received an email from Bob, an editor in Brattleboro, VT doing a story for their local newspaper, the Brattleboro Reformer, about author Tasha Tudor’s Advent calendar. As you likely know if you’ve been here with me awhile, I’m a devoted fan of Tasha’s, though she’s been gone since 2008. If you don’t know about her, just Google her name.

In doing some research, Bob came across a blog post I wrote in December 2012 about my dream vacation John and I took to Vermont around that same time. While I wrote many blog posts about our time in Vermont in the Fall, one post I’d shared two month’s later was about the advent calendar with Tasha’s simple, but endearing illustrations. I had purchased it from the museum in Brattleboro that honors Tasha’s memory and I had been truly enjoying opening a new little door of the calendar each day in anticipation of Christmas approaching.

Bob asked if I could chat a few minutes about what it is I love about Tasha and her advent calendar. I don’t know if he was prepared for the enthusiastic, bubbly gal he was going to have on the other end of the phone! But indeed, I was willing to talk to him as I could talk about my love for Tasha ALL. DAY. LONG.

After a delightful conversation sharing my love of all things Tasha with an emphasis on what appealed to me about the Advent calendar and how I loved Tasha’s philosophy of life in living by the beat of her own drum, I hung up the phone and the “Be Who You Are” card popped into my mind again.

Every day there are oracles for us if we pay attention – oracles that act as mirrors or reflections to help us along our path whether we are feeling challenged or as confirmation we are heading in the right direction. And while I continue to make strides forward with writing my third memoir, I’m Fine the Way I Am, I’ve had a few moments wondering how it will all turn out.

But as I was reminded with the card pull and Tasha as my oracle, to keep following the truth of my own heart as that is the only way to truly be.

XO,

Barb

A Serenade to Fall

A Serenade to Fall
A vinette of Fall on my writing desk – with a photo of illustrator, Tasha Tudor at her home in Vermont – who I adore for living to the beat of her own drum

Every year it happens.

Fall calls to me.

The yearning so strong I can’t ignore it.

It seeps quickly into my bones.

And it takes hold ever-so-gently

though I hold on tightly as I never want it to fade.

I scurry like a squirrel to take in all its goodness.

Vignettes popping up here and there as I answer the creative call to capture its beauty.

Its whispers.

Its colors.

Its dancing light.

Its cozy warmth.

And then a fear enters my mind.

What if when my time comes I die in the fall?

I couldn’t bear it.

To miss this season I hold so dear.

But then I catch myself so as not to lose what is now here.

And yet for a moment I wonder what it would be like.

Fall in heaven.

So utterly breathtaking I imagine.

Beyond what I can even begin to comprehend

magnified beyond what it is here on earth.

And then I hear them

the crickets

softly calling me back to where I am now

here, in this moment,

as the light changes again moving from afternoon to early evening soon.

But not before I remember the promise

that fall will dance before us for quite a few more weeks.

A reminder to truly enjoy it.

Deeply savor it.

Give grateful thanks for it.

And let its magic continue to unfold and enrapture me.

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.

Take Joy!…and Squeal with Delight!

Take Joy!...and Squeal with Delight!

The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take Joy! ~Fra Giovanni

I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but feel exuberant joy watching everything come to life with spring upon us.

Walking out my writing cottage door at lunch today, just after we had a soft rain, I squealed out loud, and said to Gidget who was tucked under my arm, “Oh look, Gidget!  The Willow Cherry tree has begun to blossom! I must get a picture.” 

In that moment I felt my love for Tasha Tudor bubble up again to the surface, imagining her delight in her exquisite garden that she too felt every spring.

This week in my newsletter which comes out on Sunday I wrote about the Wild Woman within each of us — Tasha was definitely the epitome of that!  She is one of my mentors because it is what I strive to continue to embrace more and more everyday…to walk to the beat of my own drum…

and to Take Joy! in all the simple pleasures life has to offer.

I recently learned of a Wisconsin Chapter for the Tasha Tudor Society. I was so excited to receive a response from the woman who organizes events in WI to celebrate Tasha Tudor letting me know I’m now added to her email list. I hope to attend an event in the near future!

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.