Stretch Into It

Here's what it looks like when it snows on the mountain...a lovely enhancement to the colors of the sunset.

These days, it doesn't snow as much as it did in earlier years.  It makes it a bit easier to navigate the middle of winter, when everything gets stretched.  It's a time of quiet, of reflection, of challenge.  How long is it going to stay cold?  

What is there to DO???

Over last autumn, I had some visitors who were from the Yukon.  On a cold and blustery day, they told me this was like an August day, for them.  And, they suggested that I should visit their lovely area...Wow, it really is all in the way you look at it! It made me think, what could it be like to be in the winter eight months a year?

Stretching what you are, and what you have, is something you need to do in order to grow.  Staying in a place of snugness is good for nourishing your spirit, and making your heart strong.  However, in order to really be satisfied in life, you will need to do more than you are comfortable doing.  Reaching out to someone who is hard to deal with, making difficult choices...these are the stuff of real soul growth.  

When you are ready to take on the challenge of choosing to be more than you are today, of "taking the road less traveled", as Robert Frost put it, you will find that your life becomes immeasurably richer.  

Think of a possible dream that you may have put aside, thinking it was too difficult to make come true.  What made you decide that?  Are you being true to your own highest good by not giving yourself the chance to find out?  Are you hiding from yourself?

I've done that, and it really doesn't help.  What happened was that I stayed in a place of feeling like less, and kept happiness away.  I'm here to tell you it is worth stepping out, and making a stand for your dreams.  Since I dropped out of my belief in my own pain, and of the idea of the value of loneliness, and showed up for myself, I am far happier than I could have imagined being when I "played it safe, by playing small". 

In invite you to have a chat with me about what you REALLY want, and what is holding you back.  
Stretch yourself....You are worth it!

                Give yourself a chance! 

Yours in service,

Betty 

 

Old Wood and New Fruit

These pears are an example of what happens when everything goes right in the orchard.  Full of juice, smooth of skin, and tasty, they are the result of a happy tree.

To have fruit like this as the result of the season, certain things need to happen. There must be good rain in the winter, and during the dormant season, the tree must be nurtured and given direction.  Old wood needs to be removed so that new and vigorous growth can take place.  New buds are forming, and the energy of the tree is needed to support strong and healthy tissues.

The soil needs to be cultivated and given key minerals.  
A mysterious process of growth begins as soon as the old leaves begin to fall.  The bark of the tree takes on a different color while it is growing the new cells and shedding the old layers to allow for  growth.  A beautiful light green, it has a quality of seeming to be lit from within, showing the vigor of the tree, concealed by the seeming barrenness.

The same kind of process is taking place in human life, although it looks different.  During the winter, evaluating, planning, and enjoying what has been gained in the last season.  The rest of this season gives energy for the hopes and aspirations for the new season ahead, when nature will once again amaze us with her many gifts.  

It's a time of using up what has been set aside, for removing what no longer serves.  It's a time to notice every little thing that is good, as we make the efforts to keep ourselves comfortable.  Staying warm, staying dry, staying fed, these basic needs have much to teach us.

And, it's a time for looking ahead, setting goals and holding up to promises.  In this coming year, I promise to bring as much value as I can to the world, serving the creative spirit.  I am here in support of you, my reader.   Thank you so much for being part of my world.

As I recognize the power of change, and the power of language to create connection and change, I renew my commitment to women who want to make a difference in the world.  Do you have a project or an idea that you want to launch?

                What is it?  Let's talk. 


May your 2017 be filled with meaningful interaction, quiet joys, and rich fruits of the spirit.

Betty