Osteoarthritis

Hip Pain.

Osteoarthritis in my left hip has gone from being an intermittent nuisance to a chronic pain problem this past year and some days I can barely walk. Some days the pain is so bad I want to throw up or cry, and most nights are spent desperately searching for any position that feels remotely comfortable. The old me would have been to a doctor already and had pain and sleep meds in hand. The old me would have complained morning, noon and night. The old me would have resigned herself to a life of misery and would have eaten herself into an early grave. 

Now.

I am so beyond grateful just to wake up every day and see what Life has in store for me. Pain, is not going to beat me. There are so many more worthwhile things on which to focus my energy. My journey has only just begun! Healthy eating, daily mindfulness and meditation are cornerstones to better living for me. Choosing natural alternatives over pharmaceuticals is also the norm for me now, and you would be amazed at how much better they are—it’s mind blowing! 🤯 I’ve just started using magnesium spray for the hip and can already feel that it’s working. I’m thinking about making my own, maybe starting a little apothecary, who knows…

Yeah, the new me, she’s got this. 

#hippain #hippainrelief #osteoarthritis #womenover50 #postmenopause #healthyliving #magnesiumbenefits #apothecary #ivegotthis #mindfulness #journeytohealth #journeytowellness #plantbased #organic #natural #naturalhealing #plantsasmedicine #herbalmedicine #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writersofig #blog #blogger 

Time to Rewrite the Rulebook: Newsflash, There are no Rules!

Your parents told you to                                             

Go to school and

Get good grades so you can

Get into a good college and 

Decide what job you want to do 9-5

For the next forty plus years, then

Find a spouse

Buy a home

In a nice neighborhood 

With good schools

Have children

Rinse and repeat

Who decided this was the societal norm, the standard equation for a happy life and why do we  think that anyone doing it differently is wrong? 

Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo. There is more happiness and unbridled joy than you can possibly imagine on the outside of that box in which you’ve been conditioned to live. Stop pining away for whatever it is you wish you could do and go do it! You’re not too old, and it’s never too late. 

Abundance flows where energy goes—follow your heart. Follow your passion. 

LIVE!! 

Words of Wonder

When was the last time you stood barefoot and alone in your backyard and beheld all the wondrous colors of the sky, changing each moment with the setting sun. Blue-gray popcorn clouds drift aloft on gentle wind currents and the last rays of the day paint pastel pink and orange in between. The sky is alive, canvas moves as breath. Colors become muted and fade entirely as the sun slips away, leaving hues of purple and gray against dancing shadows overhead. 

My joy is absolute, my smile radiant, and in this moment I am born again. I am free—free from worry, free from stress and struggle, free from anxiety, free from depression, free from pain. In this moment I am free to feel Love and simply Be. My Life has become an expression of gratitude. I am connected to Divine Spirit and Mother Earth in such a palpable and profound way that I am forever changed, raising my frequency and stepping into the fullness of who I truly am. 

Protect your energy and as ever, be well. 

 

Three-Quarter Moon: Original Poetry

 

Meet me at two-thirty, said the three-quarter moon to me                                                               On the back porch in the shade where we’ll watch the chickadees

Rising in the daytime gives me so much more to see 

Snow capped mountains, fields of green, dogs and honeybees 

Quietly, we sit together observing nature for a time

The moon high up in her world, and me below in mine

I wonder if she has memories, because we’ve sat right here before

Two old souls just passing time, until our lights shine bright no more

Thank you for your company, I said, I’m alone too much these days 

Visits are few and far between, I whisper, as tears occlude my gaze

Sweet friend you’re never alone, I’m always here with you

A constant presence in your life, though I’m not always in view

Come back tomorrow to this shaded porch, and we’ll watch the birds awhile

That sounds lovely thank you, I nod, and gave the three-quarter moon a smile

Who is God

Someone posed the question to me, who is God? As if I could possibly know the unknowable—no one knows who or what God is. If you believe that God fits nicely boxed into any one definition that mankind has assigned, then I dare say you need to check your hubris and open your mind. 

For me, I prefer using the term Source or Source Energy, Spirit, Divine Consciousness, Divine Light—being neither male nor female, but also both, because there is nothing that God is not. Like Yin-Yang, Life is balance.

Who is God?  

God is everything we don’t understand and all the things we do.

God is the most delicate wildflower unseen and the honey bee who pollinates it.

God is a river rock at the bottom of a woodland stream, polished smooth by eons of cascading mountain water. 

God is the red tail hawk soaring in a clear blue sky and the cottontail bunny who burrows in the green grass below. 

God is the wind and the rain, the sunshine and the rainbow. 

God is the unfathomable eternal universe, and the scientific mathematical equations of quantum physics trying to prove its existence. 

God is the crying newborn baby and a grandmother’s last breath. 

God is Kundalini rising, seven chakras and the third eye.  

God is the sinner and the saint. 

God is Unconditional Love and abiding faith. 

God is You.

God is Me. 

Whistle While You Work

 

A tree removal company was across the easement early this morning removing a dead pine tree. I sat on my back porch, sipping English breakfast tea, watching an agile man, donned in bright orange, as he slowly climbed that hundred foot loblolly pine. He would pause long enough on his ascent to fire up his chainsaw, expertly dropping limb after limb. His saw and his voice carried across the expansive electrical valley. He was speaking Spanish—jovial and infectious. I had no idea what he was saying, but his cadence implied happiness, which was confirmed when he began to whistle and then sing like a beautiful bird on high. I wish I could thank him for the company this morning and for being the very best example of someone living in the moment. 

Be well friends.  

#presentmoment #presentmomentawareness #liveyourbestlife #pinetrees #treeremoval #whistlewhileyouwork #focusonthegood #allwehaveisnow #morninginspiration #seizetheday #goodvibes #motivation #writer #writersofinstagram #writersofig #blog #blogger #bloggerlife #gratitude #lifeisgood

20,277

Today, I opened my eyes for the 20,277th day in a row. 

Never have I been more grateful to realize the dawn breaking through the cracks in my window blinds, or how glorious that first big morning stretch feels, ending in tremors just like a cat’s tail after a long nap. My sleepy, cozy dog next to me mutters in protest, but she gets up, scream-yawns, does her own stretches, wags her tail and smiles up at me before we head outside. Our morning ritual. 

I forgot to turn the heat on last night and it’s chilly in here—I set the thermostat to 68 and the furnace kicks on for the first time this season, the familiar “what’s burning” smell wafts through the registers.

Winter is quite literally in the air this morning. A blustery wind and falling temps makes it feel like 24° and I am in heaven. I inhale deeply, the sharp cold air hits my lungs and I am invigorated. 

Every moment of my life is an act of mindfulness and gratitude and it has profoundly changed me. I have been elevated and awakened, experiencing the fullness of Life and the daily miracles that come with it. I am at peace.