It’s a Red Letter Day!

Posted by Barbara Techel

It's a Red Letter Day!

Perhaps you’ve heard of a red letter day?  I’d not heard of it until I started reading author Susan Branch’s books.

A red letter day is… a day that is pleasantly noteworthy or memorable.

I don’t know what makes for a red letter day for you, but this is what has made it a red letter day for me so far  today:

  • The sun is shining after about six days of cloudy and rainy weather. Yay!
  • Going for a walk on my lunch hour with Gidget we saw a mama and papa duck crossing the road with five yellow little ones waddling behind. Yay!
  • Passing the veterinarian in town a black lab and border collie were playing ball on their lunch hour. Yay!
  • The church bells were ringing. Yay!
  • Arriving home I found in my mailbox Jon Katz’ new book, Talking to Animals – How we can understand animals and they can understand you. Yay!
  • It was warm enough to eat my lunch outside on my deck. Yay!
  • Tonight date night at a restaurant on a lake that was closed for a little over a year, which we were so disappointed about – but it is now open again. Yay!

It really is the simple pleasures of life that make it a red letter day for me. And I hope wherever you are you are having a red letter day, too!

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.

What Does it Mean to Be Wiser & Wilder?

Posted by Barbara Techel

What Does it Mean to Be Wiser and Wilder?

What wilder meant to me when I was younger, means something entirely different these days. Wilder when I was in my 20s and 30s, when I look back, often felt disjointed. I was trying to find my way of what it was that mattered, but often found myself getting caught up in how I was supposed to be according to society’s beliefs.

Ack! I’m so glad I know better these days. Though, this being human still can have its moments of forgetting and falling back into old patterns. But here’s where the wiser part kicks in and the work I’ve done to date, and continue to do on my inner world, is what supports me in knowing that the only way to be in this crazy, oftentimes complex world, is to be who I am.

During the month of May I’m honored to be one of five women interviewed for the one year book celebration written by Kaya Singer, “Wiser and Wilder, A Soulful Path for Visionary Women Entrepreneurs”. When I read Kaya’s book a few months ago I felt like someone finally understood me. Her wise words had, and continue to, have a positive impact on me – guiding me to continue to be who I am in the world – one small or large step at a time.

cover1 (1)

Just looking at the cover of Kaya’s book, which is a painting she did, I LOVE what it conveys to me – that growing older does not have to be negative or that you no longer have value – but that it can be glorious in so many ways! It also makes me think about indigenous cultures and how they have always valued the elderly and their wisdom.

And something I’d wished I’d understood when younger, and Kaya writes about beautifully in her book, is weaving into our life and work all the aspects that make us women – whether we are in the maiden, mother or crone stage of our lives. But that tapping into each of these energies can serve us in living our best lives.

So how am I wilder these days? I don’t worry so much what others think of me and my choices – I lean more and more into living by the beat of my own drum…and it’s what I believe wilder is all about.

To join in with all the wiser and wilder women during the one year birthday celebration, come visit Kaya’s special celebration page here.  My interview will be on Monday, May 8th and where you can catch all the interviews. Also, on May 31st there will be a Fire Circle Call where we will all be gathered and you are invited to come share your story!

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.