Outside taking photos one morning, I turned around to see this sweet chipmunk, not far from me. I stopped to watch it and then chuckled to myself as I wondered, who is watching who?!
I really shouldn’t be so amazed anymore how nature and animals show up just when you need a smile or a bit of guidance. But alas, I am. To be filled with such wonder and appreciation is a good thing for the soul.
In this blog post I share a message from Mouse for the month of August and the question posed: How do we make life sacred?
And then below I share some new 3 dimensional shadow box animal oracle art I recently created. They are now available for purchase on my website if you are interested! Each inspired by life’s contemplative moments and how animals and nature offer us their exquisite wisdom to guide us.
AUGUST ANIMAL WISDOM
How do we make life sacred?
Mouse, when outside the house, is larger than life. Inside the house, Mouse represents motivation to pause and explore what it is you may be overlooking that has you feeling uneasy.
Is there a thought or vision playing like a loop in your mind? Mouse encourages you to go deeper and examine why this keeps occurring.
Is there a secret within keeping you from living up to your full potential? It’s time to become the observer of your repetitive thoughts and/or visions and give dedicated attention to that which you have been keeping in the dark. It is there, in what you perceive as the murky recess of your mind, you may find a sacred space leading to insightful pieces of truth.
Taking the time to acknowledge and focus on these persistent thoughts will help bring the details into the light for healing. Trust there is a tremendous growth opportunity when you compassionately examine that which scares you.
It’s the seemingly small details that can either feel like a wedge of concrete stopping you from moving forward, or when explored, expressed, and integrated, become the key to your freedom and have you enthusiastically embracing the journey ahead.
It’s a milestone today, July 18th. My 60th birthday. Though not official until 11:55pm.
A big warm hug and a Happy Birthday wish from my sweet hubby began my morning.
Then an e-mail message that made me smile from long time follower of my blog, a dear man in his mid-seventies named Jerry:
“Yesterday, I passed a restaurant in my neighborhood and noticed, as I have many times, the sign on their awning: Established In 1963.
Am I correct in remembering that someone I know was also established in 1963?
If so, accept my wishes for a very happy day.”
Followed by a message from my dear mom sharing with me how she remembers how she would push me around in a buggy (and of course, buggy is a term that is no longer used!) While I don’t remember per say, I can definitely feel the deeply loving sacredness of that. A part of me wishing I could go back to that time of innocence and in the safe and protecting arms and care of my mom.
And then a video birthday serenade from my 3-year old great niece twins and their two friends. So sweet and special!
As I sat at my vanity in my bedroom getting ready for the day I reflected on my many blessings. It was then I caught the framed photo of myself on the wall behind me reflected in the mirror.
Taken in the summer of 1992 having just turned 31. The collage of photos taken by my mom and a gift I’d given to my husband for Christmas that same year.
A bittersweet moment as I felt emotions flood through me. How a part of me wishes I could go back and love that 30-year old more and not been so critical of her.
Then smiling as I thought about Jerry’s message and the fact that indeed, I was established in 1963. Isn’t that such a great way to think of the day we were born? And now my 60-year old self looking at her 30-year old self and appreciating the evolution I’ve gone through the last thirty years.
How much kinder and loving I am toward myself. How I love myself so much more than I used to. Though yes, I can still have my moments. But it is the wise part of me that reminds me it’s perfectly OK to be a work in progress. And most importantly, to be gentle and compassionate with myself, which I’m apt to do more of these days.
As a birthday gift to myself I had an astrology reading with Martha Alter Hines yesterday. What a blessing that was to see myself through the wisdom of the stars, planets, and Universe. And even better, to understand that the space I am in now, one much like that of a butterfly in a chrysalis – which Martha saw me as and encouraged me to embrace – and to allow what needs to be shed to fall away as another transformation of me is in its evolution until March of 2024.
This cycle of yet another rebirth of another version of myself is in process and this newer version of self that is taking place that will be with me for the next thirty years. How uncomfortable that can feel at times as uncertainty resides beside this birthing process and as I feel reaching sixty is now about the autumn of my life.
But what a gift that reading was as I feel the messages from it moving through me and as I integrate them and also have a sense of clarity taking place though I can’t quite name all of it, but can feel a positive energetic shift occurring.
A deck of my Animal Reflections Healing Oracle cards made it to Australia last week and had a lovely impact on the receiver, who I’ll call, A, that I share with you today. Because, well, this is the magic of oracle cards and the wisdom of animals!
With each deck, I include pulling one card as a personal message to the person. The card I pulled for A was that of Snail and the message of forgiveness.
Forgiveness, one of the hardest things for many humans to do. But yet, the message landed spot on with A and was met with a giggle as she shared how perfect it was for her at the moment, especially around family issues.
Forgiveness is not only for those we have been hurt by, but just as important, it’s about forgiving ourselves. I think many of us can relate to how hard we judge ourselves at times.
Before I share the rest of A’s story here is the message from the guidebook that came through from Snail as I hope it will help those that need to hear it also:
Snail, with its protective shell, asks you to remember a time when you’ve felt vulnerable and put a defensive wall around yourself so as not to be hurt again. Oftentimes these walls are still in place long after the situation has dissipated.
In sending you this card, Snail encourages you to be patient as you slowly and carefully let your guard down so you can start clearing away past distressing experiences. Do so with compassion for yourself and be sure to set judgment to the side, along with worry about where you think you should be.
Carrying its home upon its back, Snail is a wonderful messenger about balancing trust with self-protection. As a child, someone may have said or done something creating in you a conditioned pattern. However, what began as a way of safeguarding yourself against further emotional pain became an unhealthy way of being continuing to play out in different situations. Now is your opportunity to bring the broken pieces back together.
Snail is your partner, helping you liberate yourself by leaning into feeling what needs to be felt while also encouraging you to forgive those who have hurt you. When you arrive at a place of forgiveness you can also shift more easily into understanding they were acting from their own hurts and betrayals — and quite possibly without awareness of the effect their behavior was having.
Seeing this truth, you give thanks to your inner child for doing what was needed to keep you safe and are able to lay down the burden you’ve carried for far too long. Forgiveness opens a pathway to a deeper compassion, not only for yourself but also for those who suffered before you and acted from a place of pain.
The unseen part of you feels recognized and heard while you experience an expanded level of joy and freedom. With this refreshing awareness, you know it’s safe to be you.
That same day A received the deck and read about Snail and its message she went to her friends for a massage. Before getting on the table, she visited the bathroom and was met with this glass snail staring her in the face.
A wonderful example of the outside world sending yet another confirmation of what A was being called to continue to explore, or in case she had any doubts, here was a synchronistic moment sent as yet another confirmation.
She then shared with her friend the fact that she’d gotten Snail for a one card reading and it’s message about forgiveness when her friend commented how relevant it was to her also.
And this is the power of animal wisdom, as Snail so beautifully demonstrated. And how I appreciated A’s willingness to share the message with her friend as not only did Snail provide insight for A, but now for her friend too. Animals and Oracles! So very clever they are in their delivery of guidance.
Later that evening after reading the email from A, I was reading a favorite blog of mine by Maria Wulf. It was in a post about a walk in the woodsthat she shared an exquisite photo of a snail she saw that day.
And it’s the design on the shell that took my breath away…
Photo credit: Maria Wulf
It looks like a tree! It made me think of A and her struggles with family issues, as well as the fact that we all have them to some degree. That family tree that we are born into that can sometimes have some feeling like they don’t fit in, or perhaps they don’t know of their family origin, or whatever the issue may be. But the disharmony and inner conflict this can bring.
I don’t think there is a person on the planet that hasn’t experienced feelings around family and all that comes with that. But here is Snail reminding us to go slow with ourselves, to have compassion for ourselves, to stop carrying the burdens of which we need not carry, and to love that little one within and truly know it’s okay to be you…just as you are.
Thanks so much to A for permission to share her experience!
Mouse, when outside the house, is larger than life. Inside the house, Mouse represents motivation to pause and explore what it is you may be overlooking that has you feeling uneasy.
