Tag Archives: #followyourheart

Keep Showing Up

The Done List is so much more than getting things done. It’s saying yes to your heart more. It’s when you hear that still small voice give a reminder of what’s good for you.

I have access to a morning meditation via zoom, every morning at 9:00 am. I’ve attended before, and it was nice, but there’s one issue. I’m in the wrong zone in more ways than one.

It’s at 9:00 am to accommodate various time zones. The man I work with lives in CA, so by 9:00 am, I’m already planning what to do for him, before his day begins. (He’s pacific time, and I’m central.)

girl in green jacket holding potted plant
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

I’m sitting quietly at the coffee table with coffee.

Looking up at the clock, it’s says 8:50 am, and I sense, “You should really sit in on that meditation.” All life really asks of us is to just show up. Otherwise, I’ll sit here and think of all the excuses not to, or put it off until tomorrow, so I joined in.

My Zen community is so peaceful, and serene, but I only lasted about 10 minutes. It’s just the wrong time of day for me to be fully present, but maybe I’ll get there. Disrupting patterns to make room for what the heart wants.

The heart knows even when we don’t.

I wrote it down on my done list, because I did the immediate thought. I listened to the heart, and followed through with no expected outcome. I was disappointed for a moment for not completing the mediation, but it’s progress, not perfection.

I was happy with myself for just showing up.

It’s uncertain if I’ll begin to thoroughly enjoy this 9:00 am community meditation, but I’m learning to live with the uncertainty. For what the heart wants, just keep showing up.

Sharing is Caring

My daughter and I love receiving packages.

We’re slowly getting our life delivered to us, instead of going to public places. Bath and Body Works came in the mail, and my mail lady walked it up to my front door. (It wouldn’t fit in the mailbox) She does that with a lot of our packages, no matter the size.

She laughs when I squeal over the package.

Opening the box, I felt God nudging me to give some away. It was just lotion, but it was my favorite lotion, and this scent has been retired. I’ve worn it for years, and it’s become my smell, but why would God be prompting me to give a bottle to my mail lady?

We don’t know each other very well, and I didn’t know if she would like something so girlie. This is me looking for a reason.

red

I wrapped a bottle of the lotion in a note and placed it in mailbox. Then went for a walk.

About halfway through my walk, I looked up to see the mail lady’s car coming down the road. She was beeping the horn to get my attention, and I walked over to her car. Her window was rolled down a bit, and looking inside, I could see she was rubbing her hands together.

The smell of the lotion, tickled my nose through the open window.

She was so excited! She thanked me and said, “I never buy myself girlie stuff like this!”

When God gives us more than we need, give it away. This has a different feel than giving something I don’t use anymore. With it being out of the box new, it’s more like sharing.

As I finished my walk home God reminded me, sharing is caring.

chances

A Thrilling Place To Be

A friend found out today that he didn’t get the house he had placed an offer on. He found this house last year, and fell in love with the property. It would be a perfect place to live, and house his business, but God has other plans.

A lot of us prayed fervently about this house.

But, we all prayed in accordance to God’s will.

Sometimes God’s ‘no’, should be our ‘thank you.’

thankyou

I told my friend, ‘Answered prayer.’ It may not seem like an answered prayer, but it is. The house was perfect, and maybe it all looked that way to us, but something wasn’t right.

We couldn’t see it, but God could.

What my friend did right was clinging to his faith. He was patient with the back and forth about the house, for months. I’m sure he became frustrated with waiting, but God was watching, and I believe my friend won today.

He didn’t get this house, but he’s better equipped for the next one that comes along. I encouraged him to keep looking, and to follow his heart to what he really wants.

I think that seems too big to us.

But, it’s not too big for God. What He has planned for us is more than we can ever imagine, and that’s a thrilling place to be.

A Dreamy Bed

My heart beats a little bit faster for a dreamy bed.

My daughter was home over the weekend, and I wanted to let her catch up on some sleep. As I closed her bedroom door, this quote came to mind, and I remembered this photo on my vision board.

lethersleep

The two combined became a meme.

I’ve been pondering linen for my bed, but have you priced linen sheets? The real ones are not merely a purchase. They’re a freakin’ investment! A linen bed-skirt would be a sweet touch, and keep the dust bunnies out from under the bed.

I have really good sheets on my bed.

I laid this napkin on the sheet this morning before making up the bed. Yes, the sheets feel as good as they look. The quality of mattress, sheets and pillow reflect the quality of sleep.

How you sleep, is how you feel the next day.

napkin

The napkin is for a bar, but we use them on our coffee bar. Whoever said you need alcohol to get buzzed has never drank our coffee!

Hey there little mountain mover. If you’re gonna wake and move some mountains you’ll need really good coffee, and a dreamy bed.

The Water Bottle

She drove to the store to pick up a few things. I had written ‘Hydrangeas’ on the list, but she spotted daffodils and instinctively knew which to buy.

Daffodils are displayed on the table.

I have this thing about pretty water.

When I see a pretty bottle of water, I purchase a couple. One for her room, even though she’s not normally here, and the other one rests on my bedside table.

I call it my ‘weekend’ water bottle.

weekendwater

Today, as my daughter was leaving for the store I said, “If you see any pretty water bottles at the store, grab us a couple.”

When she returned home, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the water bottles she had chosen. I think she outdid mine.

But, you know? I can’t help but feel like something really good happened here. She knows what a pretty water bottle is, and she knows what to look for.

waterbottlebay

This shade of emerald green sparkles from across the room as the light hits it.

She’s on her way to a beautiful, adult life my darling. Even with the water bottle.

Worth the Drive

My daughter said, “That was the most magical shower ever! Between the soap, the razor holder and the Waterpik…it was amazing!” Yes, I bought a Waterpik at my hygienists nudging. I’ve always put off buying one because they spray water everywhere, but she showed me a cordless one for the shower.

In yesterday’s post, I revealed the soap at a local shoppe that is my new love, but what really caused me to revisit the shoppe three days later?

It was this dish.

dish

I saw it last week, but try not to make impulsive purchases. I’m particular about what comes into our home, but this little dish spoke to me about the tea cart.

Our home offers a coffee bar and tea cart. The cart came to us through a neighbor. It’s been used as a chopping station for her kitchen, but I saw it as a space for tea. The wood surface reveals stains and scarring, but I see it as evidence of serving it’s purpose.

In our home it holds a new purpose.

teabar

I bought the dish to hold our tea utensils, and give space for the tea bag to rest and cool before discarding.

It’s like that little dish knew where it’s home was. All I had to do was say, ‘Yes’, and go back and get it. I’ve learned there’s power in the pause. If I would have walked into the shoppe and it was gone, then it wasn’t meant for me, but it was still there days later.

My friend Julie knows the power in the pause. She was a witness to it recently and you can read her story here.

Driving back to the shoppe for this dish, also gave me a new soap to love. Follow your heart. It’s worth the drive.

Trust Your Crazy

I do some crazy looking stuff.

Like molding butter to fit the butter dish.

Yes, I have a Pioneer Woman Butter Dish, and it’s a little wide for one stick of butter to fill, so I buy a slab of butter. Let it get room temperature, and mold it with my hands to fit the dish. It’s crazy, I know! It takes a bit to get all of the butter off my hands, but it’s worth it.

When I left my marriage, everyone I knew gave me a look, or told me, ‘That’s crazy!” Well, we see how that turned out. I’ve had the most fulfilling years of my life to date. When people heard I moved to a tiny house on 40 acres, with my teenage daughter in tow, it sounded crazy, but there again… Best experience ever!

I have friends who own local shoppes that I love to visit when time permits. It’s a no rush type thing, where we catch up, as I look around. I saw this sign a couple of weeks ago, and it made me smile. I told myself, “Barb. Like, you really need one more sign.” So, I left the shoppe without it, but couldn’t forget about it.

I told myself I’d go back the following weekend, and if it was still there, I’d buy it. Well…

trustyourcrazy

It makes me smile every time I see it.

Sitting here on this dreary, rainy day, looking back over the last several years, it’s been crazy. It would seem some of the best paths are. That first step is always scary, and some may call it crazy, but from where I sit, it’s an extraordinary life.

I’ll continue to trust my crazy.

Making a Mistake

white ceramic cup
Photo by Saif Selim on Pexels.com

To follow my heart a little bit more.

That’s what I want to do, but that voice of reason came calling this morning and warned me of past mistakes. Was it really a mistake, or just part of the path that landed me here?

This quote was in my FaceBook memories.

I’ve learned so much from my mistakes, I’m thinking of making a few more.

My daughter and I have made so many mistakes, we have a little book entitled, ‘Never Again.’ In the book is a list of things we’ve tried, but they turned out to be mistakes. It’s quite humorous.

If you’re making mistakes, you’re a doer.

You’re consistently trying new things and that’s good. I don’t dwell on the word, ‘mistake.’ If that were the case, I’d still be in an unhappy marriage and my life would be completely different. I’m not sure I’d still be sober.

If we confide in others with our decisions, they may say, “You’re making a mistake.” If they have experience in that area, that’s wisdom. If they don’t, it’s merely their opinion sprinkled with fear.

It’s called blind faith for a reason.

As my daughter often says, “If it isn’t scary, it isn’t brave.” Don’t be afraid of making a mistake.

Just Be Sweet

There’s memes floating around this time of year about, ‘finishing the year strong.’ It’s tiresome being strong all the time and I want to finish the year more gently. I’m taking the rest of the year off from being strong.

theend

I’ve been told, “You come across a little strong.” Well, that’s what I’ve become, but it doesn’t have to be who I am.

I’ve also been told, “You’re so sweet’, and not solely from my daughter. Even though she tells me, I’m not very accepting of it. It’s like the words won’t sink into my skin, they swerve.

This morning I had a message from SC Lourie waiting for me. She’s so sweet and that is why I started following her so closely. I tend to follow the heart I want to have.

There’s two weeks left in the year. In what way do I want to spend it? I’m going to just be sweet.

Iron Sharpens Iron

It was years ago when I first saw one of SC Lourie’s memes and thought, ‘I want to make memes that look like that.’ They are beautiful and well loved. She designs her own paper, so there’s a lot more here than meets the eye.

I’ve mastered the art of making memes, but they don’t look like hers. It more than the paper, it’s the words poured out onto it.

I couldn’t duplicate her heart.

butterflies-wise-words

She was the main reason I rejoined Facebook one year ago. To support her in her FB group for the November Soul Reset.

At some point this year she asked if I would assist her on Facebook. It’s an honor to be there for her in pursuit of her dream. Our friendship has grown into trust and a mutual admiration. She sent me her End of the Year Soul Reset as a thank you.

To celebrate where we stand.

We need to hang out with souls who inspire us. We never know where the path may lead. This began as a love for memes and believing hers to be extraordinary. We’re present for one another because even the Encourager needs encouragement.

Iron sharpens iron.