Second Chances

Do you ever wonder how your childhood friends are?
How your old neighbor is that you lived next to many years ago?
Or what ever happened to the cutie you used to have a huge crush on?
Sometimes,as I sit working on a new painting, these types of questions would start going through my mind and so I went in search of friends that I haven't spoken to in far to long and to my wonderful surprise I have been able to track some of them down. In the last month or so I have located and emailed and spoken with almost 10 long-lost friends who all used to be a huge part of my life.
It is amazing how easily the conversation flows and how wonderful I feel after hearing that old familiar voice. We share stories, both the good and the bad, and somehow you know that there will be no judgment as these are the same people you used to share your secrets with and that have seen you through the days of bad hair, pimples, and terrible attempts at first love.

I am incredibly blessed to have made some wonderful friends in my adult life and now I am increasingly blessed with the reignited friendships of my youth.
I think that as we grow up, get married, have kids, and settle into our careers it is easy to loose touch with those that we once promised friends-4-ever to. Life gets complicated and the days are not nearly long enough to accomplish everything so sadly we put our friends further down the priority list and in no time we can barely remember the last time we spoke to them.

For me, finding and re-connecting with these friends is a gift to re-visit my younger self and to further understand just how far my friends and I have come in the years gone by.
Friends are an amazing gift and a rare commodity so I for one will do all I can to keep in touch with these fabulous folks.

Reaching out to someone after months or years of not speaking can be terrifying but trust me when I say it is worth pushing through the fear. I am so grateful for this second chance at friendship and I only hope that some of you may be encouraged by this post to do the same thing.

Blessed be, love and light

Raised the bar

Today was a wonderful sunny day and the rain we were expecting was moved on by the soft wind. Out at the stables I found Countess in her paddock and spent ages grooming her until she shone in the bright summer sun. It was a tough lesson with lots of work without stirrups but after a grueling 45 minutes it was time to start jumping.
Today was the day when the bar would be raised for the first time. Not by much but enough that Countess and I had to work a little harder. It was so great to feel her strength under me. She barely had to increase her effort but now I could feel her tighten her muscles and hear her breath a little deeper. I remembered everything that Mary-Ann, my instructor, had been teaching me and I could tell that Countess trusted my ability more this week than she had before. It was a wonderful feeling to connect with this lovely mare and know that she was starting to trust in my commands and that we were becoming a real team.

We were up to the last jump-round for the day. The full course consisted of a small cavaletti to start then down and around the arena to a oxer, a loop at the far end of the arena and then back down to a flower box wall and then up over a 2 fence straight to finish. We jumped a clear and it felt great to go further than we had before......Then the unexpected happened. Countess tripped, over what I don't know, but she tripped on the right and I stayed firm in the saddle but then as she tried to right herself her left leg gave out and she banged down on the knee. I lost my seat then and landed heavily but luckily wasn't hurt. Countess and I were righted and up in a flash and luckily neither were any worse the wear. Back into the saddle for a quick work out to make sure we were really both fine and then we called it a day.
Taking a spill is expected in horse riding and today was certainly not the first time for me but what I didn't expect was the instant worry I felt about a horse that I don't even own. My concern for my self was far out waited by my concern for Countess, the horse I ride only once per week. Today Countess and I raised the bar in our jumping, and then we raised the bar in our friendship.
Goddess bless you beautiful Countess!

Love and light,

Recent work

Take a Chance, See an Angel

When we were young most of us thought nothing of going off to a new friends house or going to a place we'd never been before but often as we age we become less social, more comfy in our small group of close friends, our families, and our co-workers. We reach out far less to the stranger on the street who we instantly feel a strange connection to and rarely invite people into our homes but recently I was introduced to 2 people who break this mold and trust their instincts about people.

This lovely couple were given my name by my Father who thought we may like meeting each other and after a quick phone conversation my husband I were invited to their home for dinner. I'm a very private person and while I love to meet new people my first reaction to an invite like this is typically no BUT on this occasion both Eric and I said yes with abandon and are so glad that we did.
We followed our intuition that these people were people we needed to meet and we are so grateful that we listened to that inner voice. The evening we spent with this bright and warm couple and their wonderful friends re-ignited a passion in me to find a project to work on, to become clearer in my thoughts about the type of community I want to be a part of and opened a flood gate of ideas in my mind and heart.

Now looking back on the last few years I can see that every time I have taken a chance and had a conversation with someone that I typically wouldn't of, I have been given a great gift and a joy-filled memory that I will carry for a life time.

I remember a couple of years ago, sitting in a coffee house in a soft cozy arm chair by the fireplace. I never seem to be gifted with the "primo" spot in a coffee shop but this time I had snagged the best seat in the place and was lingering over my coffee and scone. I was a million miles away when an elderly man came up and asked if I minded him taking the arm chair opposite me and sharing my table. He was thin with long gray hair and beard, carrying an old beat up back pack and looked like he'd been living on the street. He also had the most lively Aztec blue eyes I'd ever seen and a smashing smile that you could get lost in, so I offered my table and let him know that I was almost finished anyway and would be leaving in a couple of minutes. Instead of rushing through the last of my coffee, as I had intended to do, I ended up sitting for almost an hour chatting with one of the most fascinating people I have ever had the honor of meeting. The old man was actually a song writer and author who spent 9 months out of each year trecking through a different country. He was well into his seventies and the sun had deepened every line on this face like the cracked Arizona earth. He exuded life and the cliche of living every moment to the fullest. After sharing stories with each other and discussing everything from travel to religion, to his greatest love we bid farewell without ever even exchanging names yet there is no doubt that he will live eternally in my heart and I in his.

It is wonderful moments like this, moments that confirm your intuition, that spark your creativity, and leave you feeling more alive than you did a second before, that are the greatest gifts we can possibly be given. Many people ask why they are not sent an Angel by the God/Goddess to which they prey but I say; Look around. You are sent angels every day. They ride the bus with you, they live across the street and sometimes they invite you to dinner after a quick phone call or ask to sit with you in a coffee shop. We are surrounded by God's angels and to someone else we have the opportunity to be an angel as well.

Reach out, take a chance, listen to your inner voice!

Blessed be, Love and light,

A visit from myself

Something moved and caught my eye but when I turned, it was gone.

I forced my shivering body to remain still in the hopes of the magical being returning.
Again, something moved at the corner of my eye and this time I managed to quell my curiosity and remain perfectly still.

Slowly and purposefully a shimmering form circled around me until it was positioned only a breath away.
The image was blurred and I struggled to see past the confines of my mind so I could understand what stood before me.

Moments passed; I'm not sure how long. It may have been hours, days or perhaps even years as my body felt older now and I noticed streaks of silver in my hair.

"Who are you?" I asked with all the courage I could muster. But the being only glittered more brightly in answer.

"What do you want?" I now demanded in both fear and impatience. Again the glittering and shimmering increased and then it whispered to me in a voice; so familiar.

"Am I so unrecognizable to you?
Has it been so long since I entered your mind?
I am your dreams and desires, your goals and your passions.
I have been patient while you dallied in other things and were absorbed
in your daily life but now I refuse to wait any longer."

With that, the now glowing entity rushed towards me and enveloped my being. I openly wept for joy at the feeling of this missing presence returning to me and I laughed at my own ignorance for not even knowing it had been lost.

"I am glad you are home my friend. Tomorrow we shall create our dreams as we had
planned to so many years ago" I whispered to my own ear.

"Why wait another moment?" I heard myself reply!