“she shed

Cheerful and Deep. Thank You, Kathryn.

Posted by Barbara Techel
Cheerful and Deep. Thank You, Kathryn.
My writing cottage – the space that supports my heart.

It occurred to me today as I began writing this post that I’ve been blogging for ten years now, having started in 2007.

When I first started, while I enjoy writing, there were times, I’ll be honest, it felt like a chore. I’d come to realize the reason for that was that I bought into the template of what I should do shared by those in the industry that set a specific standard for building an author platform. While that may work for some I often resisted, but was too afraid to follow my own inner guidance for fear no one would read my blog.

Oh, how I’ve grown!  The moment I let go of the should and surrendered to my own process, I’ve come to love coming to this place to share my thoughts, hopes and dreams. And I say a deeply, grateful thank you to each of you for having stayed with me on this journey.

I was reminded of all of this because of a lovely comment yesterday from reader, Kathryn who shared with me that she loves reading my blog and finds it “cheerful and deep.” It brought tears to my eyes and made my heart soar! Thank you, Kathryn!

I loved it and feel it truly represented what I hope my blog is for others — part of my mission is to be a positive face in the world while at the same time the more I come to understand about tuning in and listening to our hearts, I love sharing that deeper wisdom with you, too.

So thank you again, Kathryn. And thank you to all of you who are here. It means so much to me.

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Put on Your Winter Skin and Come Walk with Me

Posted by Barbara Techel

Put on Your Winter Skin and Come Walk with Me

The landscape now changed with winter upon us, it whispered to me to come out and capture it. At first I didn’t want to, pouting to myself that burrrr, it’s just too cold. But the whisper got louder with a promise that it would reward me if I just listened.

And then I heard this song play on Pandora which I’d never heard before… and so I put on my winter skin…. and captured the beauty of what this season has to offer. So listen along, in the cozy and comfy of your chair… and walk along with me in this photo gallery below of photos…

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Spring Time at the Zen Writing Cottage

Posted by Barbara Techel

Spring Time at the Zen Writing Cottage

It’s what I imagined when I dreamed about a little space of my own over nine years ago. A room where I could feel like I was part of the world, separate from our house, yet secluded with lots of silence except for the rustling of the leaves blowing in the wind and birds chirping or splashing in the bird bath. And a place where my dachshund could snore away the day while I did my writing. First Frankie, then Joey, and now Gidget have been my faithful companions in my 10 x 12 cottage off the southeast end of our deck.

With our new landscaping, now in place for about a month and the plants really beginning to bloom and come to life, has brought with it new life also. Last Saturday I watched as a Robin built this nest in the limelight hydrangea tree right outside the front east window of my cottage. Complete with streamers as you can see in this photo below!  Isn’t she so talented?

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And then I watched for the eggs to appear. And each day a new one.  Right now there are four eggs in the nest as you can see. I’m not sure if she will lay any more. But I’m so excited to watch as they progress and soon little fuzzy heads will be peaking over the top.

While I was writing this post I looked to the left of my writing desk where I have another long window and two finches were happily eating their breakfast.  These are the moments that make up a life full of simple pleasures. The moments I can’t ever get enough of. The moments that fill me with gratitude.

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