Where Is Your Hidey Hole?

Starseed_SageCrystalsToday’s card reminds me of the peace I find when I am alone. I am a gregarious enough girl. I like going to dinner with friends, talking to my love on the phone, joining in the fun at pool parties. But there comes a point when enough is enough and alone is all I want.

Chatting with my honey on the phone yesterday, I blurted out, “I have to go. I’m done talking for now.” Just boom. No warning. Luckily, after nearly three years, he gets me. He just asked when we might be talking again.

I laugh now but I used to suffer through long conversations on the phone even when it was unpleasant.

Not the person I was talking to. Not the subject. Just the fact that I couldn’t find silence when I needed it. And I don’t just need silence. I require it. If you put me in a situation where it is constantly noisy, I will wear down. I get cranky. I’m like a napless toddler. Never a good thing, right?

So I’ve learned to make space for myself. Quiet times when I can do for me. This includes animals as well as people. Right now I’ve got the dogs out in the yard. 😀 Poor babies. Having to run around a well-fenced, grassy yard with water and plenty of shade. I know, right? Cruel!

But see this lovely Sage of Crystals (Sirian Starseed Tarot)? She’s taking in some me time by the edge of a lotus-filled pond. I imagine there are frogs and koi in the water while brightly colored dragonflies skip from pad to pad.

I imagine the only sounds she hears are the wind and the waterfall. And her own heartbeat.

When I was a girl, I would take the family canoe (truth be known, I considered it MINE) out on a nearly daily basis. Most often I was alone. Just me, some sandwiches, a book and some soda. I would paddle out to a spot that I knew and then just drift and read. I sometimes wish I could do that again. But that spot is now a subdivision so I’d have to find a new hidey hole.

Where is your hidey hole when you need it? Do you find silence offensive? Do you need music/sound/action to make you feel peaceful? Isn’t it brilliant of the Universe to make us different? So we can not all need the same place?

Your challenge today is to journal for 180 seconds on this thought, “When do I feel safest?”

Sage of Crystals, Sirian Starseed Tarot, North Atlantic Books, 2012 [aff]

#Seekjoy, y’all. Pass it on!

How Will You Recharge Today?

What if we are afraid that in accepting help–much less asking for help–we are admitting to failure?

SirianStarSeed_13CupsToday’s card reminds me that we can only give so much. Sometimes we must stop and fill ourselves back up. I see caretakers and parents and teachers and so many others who do,do,do for others and rarely allow others to give back.

“No, that’s okay. I’m fine.”
“Oh I’d rather you gave that to the children, the animals, the planet.”
“Please don’t worry about me. I have it all under control.”

Then I read this quote from Lissa Coffey  in her daily Wisdom email.

“We put such expectations on ourselves! And look at the expectations we put on our children, our parents, and all the people in our lives. We are human. We are here to learn. We are going to make mistakes, it’s all part of the process. When we relax our expectations and just go with the flow – approach our challenges as lessons rather than failures – then our experiences in life are more meaningful.”

And I had to wonder if this doesn’t go hand-in-hand with giving and not receiving.

Stick with me…I’ve got a point.

What if we are afraid that in accepting help–much less asking for help–we are admitting to failure? Let’s explore that though, okay?

If I say to you, “I have a toothache, please send Reiki”, do you think, “Oh that Arwen. If she would just brush more/floss more/eat fewer sweets, she wouldn’t need Reiki.”?

Do you think I am a terrible person because I have a toothache?

Yeah. So! Why do you think I or anyone else who loves you would think you were a failure because you lost your job, had a house fire, overspent your bank account?

Sure, if it’s constant, then there is an issue but I don’t think that issue is that you are a failure. And that’s not what this post is about.

This is about learning to stop. Learning to fill yourself up. Learning to say, “I need some me time right now.”

The Sage of Chalices (Queen of Cups) from the Sirian Starseed gazes at an overflowing cup. She relaxes in water and is a part of that water. She knows that by taking time out of nurturing others she recharges herself to go back to that important work.

Important work needs people who know how to stop and refill.

How will you stop and refill this week? Put it on your list and don’t skip over it because of someone else’s crazy. That will wait. You will be of no use to those who REALLY need you if you don’t.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

A great tool I’m using to help me realize where I need to recharge and refill is this workbook+planner.

Or maybe you just want to get some of the free goodies she offers.

Sage of Cups, Sirian Starseed Tarot, North Atlantic Books 2012

Athletes, Energy & Release

This figure is releasing beautiful orbs. I like to think of them as thought bubbles. You know, like in a cartoon. In each one is something that I’ve said where someone else could hear.

Today’s card reminds me to ask myself one simple question each day. What do I want to release into the world? Now this isn’t a question of loss or of what I want to let go of. That’s a good question too but this is different.

This is the energy I want to put out in the world. This gorgeous card from the Sirian Starseed has been haunting me. It’s the first card that I cut to when I first opened the deck. It’s turned up when just randomly shuffling. So, I think it has something to say to me.

I don’t look at the book until after I’ve thought about the card. I show you how I study/learn/read tarot in my free book. If you want that book, just sign up for the newsletter and it’s yours.

But back to the question. This figure is releasing beautiful orbs. I like to think of them as thought bubbles. You know, like in a cartoon. In each one is something that I’ve said where someone else could hear.

So I have to think, “Were my words positive?” “Was I being negative?” “Was I focused on the good or the bad?”

What did I just release into the world.

Now this isn’t about shame or blame. I screw up. We all do. No one is perfect. For me, the reason I’m here is to make me a better human. So I accept that sometimes I call a customer an idiot or curse at another driver. Life happens.

So I start my day with “what do I want to release into the world” as a focus for myself. Just like any athlete, I have to have a goal in mind. A marathon runner doesn’t just wander into the road thinking, “I’ll just run until I’m tired.” They set a goal and work to achieve that.

What is your goal today? What do you want to release into the world? What thoughts will you try to spread to others? How will you rise higher?

Seven of Orbs, Sirian Starseed Tarot, North Atlantic Books, 2012

Get yours here.

Seek Joy, Y’all. Be a joy athlete and pass it on.