Joyful Paws Getting a New Look. Come See.

Posted by Barbara Techel

JP banner website

It was time. Time for a new banner for Joyful Paws. I’ve been giving thought to this for a long time.

How to capture all that Joyful Paws represents in a single banner? Not an easy thing to do. I thought much about words, ideas, thoughts, the past, the present, and how I want to move forward.

My last banner had pictures of both my wheelchair dogs, Frankie and Joie. Now both living happily in another realm. Still very much a part of my heart and soul, but residing quietly in a place I hope suits them well.

I felt it time to let them rest even deeper into that feel good place they now are and share photos of my current dogs, Kylie and Gidget which are a joy in their own right to have as part of my daily existence.

In all honesty, it was hard to let go of the photos of Frankie and Joie. It is still a part of what Joyful Paws is about. But because of them I’ve grown deeper into my spirituality and who I am. I will forever have them to thank for that.

As I also have been giving thought to why I became intrigued by the process of SoulCollage®  and completed my training this past November, it is because of how far I’ve come because of the innate wisdom I’ve gained because of the animals in my life. I’ve done much reading, exploring, and reflection the past 12 years to be at this point of living a more meaningful life.

My online journal and my memoir, and children’s books, I hope encourages others to do the same. As I move forward I want to encourage you to pause more often, listen deeper to your heart, and capture what matters most to you (hence the reason for using pause. listen. capture. in my banner).

It is through my writing and offering SoulCollage® workshops in the near furture, in small groups, and one-on-one, that I’m working with as I move forward.

This is in part a big reason for my new banner. I’m growing and evolving and yet, in many ways, still the same — just expanding in new ways.

It feels good to be in this place of new projects and new avenues to pursue. It has felt like a long time coming since I’ve really felt this type of positive movement forward. I welcome it.

I hope you like the new banner. I’m quite happy with it. I’m also working behind the scenes of updating some of my pages on my website too. I hope to present a cleaner, crisper look and one that helps you feel even more connected to me and all that Joyful Paws represents.  Stay tuned!

Gidget’s Winter Perch and The Blessing of Acceptance

Posted by Barbara Techel

gidget's winter viewDuring much of the winter months, Gidget (as all other wiener dogs before her) get the luxury of a new perch to sit upon and enjoy a new view.

It is bitterly cold today, windchills of -20 and expected to be this way all week, getting even colder on Wednesday.

Even though my writing cottage is quite cozy and kept warm with my petite Heat ‘N Glow fireplace, there can still be a chill that comes through with the winds, especially felt on the floor.

“The Queen,” also known as Miss Gidget, can not be subjected to that chill that runs across the floor, so her bed is moved to higher headquarters upon my large wicker chair in the corner (Hail the Queen!). Here she is able to bask in the sun streaming through the windows. I love being able to glance over at her as I sit at my writing desk working, knowing she is happy and warm.

It feels incredibly good to have the holidays a memory as I move into the New Year and a new view of acceptance that has finally graced my heart. A fresh new start this week and I’m enjoying the solitude and stillness of this quiet season of winter.

I feel like I am finally on my way to feeling more like myself again. I’m welcoming it with open and grateful arms.

It was a tough fall. One in which I moved through the grief of a friendship lost. While this friend didn’t pass away, it has felt like  a death to me, because of what sadly transpired between us, with both of us going our separate ways.

While I don’t know if we will ever come back together again, I am finally able to take what it was, and find many blessings from it.

I’ve not written about this before in my journal, but hinted at a challenge I’d been working through in my newsletter a few times. I also won’t go into the details, because as always, there are two sides to a story (and as most likely always occurs, a misunderstanding that went astray).

But the point of me sharing this today is that with any struggle or heartache, there are lessons to be learned and blessings to be found in the challenge.

For awhile, I had a hard time finding the blessings, and when I did, I was struggling with the why of it – wondering why it had to be so painful in order for new blessings to reveal themselves.

I questioned, if I had to do it over again, would I have done so because of the positive that did come from it, knowing I’d have to endure the pain? The answer to that is that I can’t answer that. What happened, happened for a reason – time for me to accept and move on.

And this morning as I briskly ran out to my writing cottage, Gidg snuggled in my arms in a blanket, and as I sat down at my desk, I felt a shift inside.

We’ve only got one shot at this thing called life. I want mine to be the best it can be. I understand more clearly now that difficult and sad things happen to open us even more to appreciating our time on this earth. Without those hard times, we wouldn’t really know joy – true, pure joy.

We also wouldn’t know what we truly want for our life if we weren’t challenged by it at times.

I love my simple life. I love much of my time that is spent in my writing cottage pecking away at my keyboard, sharing my thoughts via my journal and newsletter. Time spent on dreams of new projects. Time spent in contemplation and reflection. Time spent on snuggling with my dogs. Time spent with my Johnnie talking about our tiny house someday we want to build in a warmer climate.

Time– that’s the thing, I don’t want to waste it worrying about something that was and may never be again. I give thanks right here and now in this moment for times that were hard to bear, but I made it through. I stand stronger today. I stand in this moment glad to be alive and have the life I love.

As always, feel free to leave a comment…I welcome them!