writing

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.

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.

Connecting with My Own Sunshine

Posted by Barbara Techel

Connecting with My Own Sunshine

It’s been a cool and cloudy spring here. While I can usually flow through periods like this, I must confess, it has started to get to me.

And then this morning, with the clouds hanging low again, I remembered my walk out in nature on Monday, on a new trail I discovered. Well, not a new trail, but new to me.

When I was walking along the path I saw these pretty purple wild flowers and picked a few. As I did, my reason for doing so was to put them in a tiny vase on my kitchen windowsill so when I looked at them they would take me right back to that glorious, sunshine-y hour I had on that beautiful trail.

Talking with a friend yesterday I shared how I feel it’s so important to have something tangible we can see or hold to bring us back to those special moments.  Taking pictures does that for me. Writing about my experiences also does this for me. And making SoulCollage® cards and picking one each day as a ritual does this for me too.

And so today, I stood in silence for a few moments staring at these wee little flowers connecting to my own sunshine for the day from the memory of that delightful hour I had in nature.

So sometimes on days like today with no sunshine in the forecast, one has to be a little creative and go out of their way to make their own while holding in their heart that the glorious sun will find it’s way and light up the sky once again.

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.

My Twirling Altar

Posted by Barbara Techel

Last week I wrote about two different rituals I did to welcome in the New Year. One was to pick an animal wisdom tarot card and angel card, and the other was choosing three of my SoulCollage cards to represent past, present, and future. I also journaled with each of them.

I wanted to keep them in a prominent place in my writing cottage to remind me of the experience and what I discovered during my journaling as a guide to move me into the New Year. I had planned to just print them up on one sheet of paper and post on my wall.

But then I came up with the idea to make them into a mobile! I love how they twirl – like an altar in motion – a reminder to keep moving in the direction of my hopes and dreams – knowing I have my cards and my own inner wise self as my guide.

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.