Learning from Trees

The answer to the ninth riddle in the treasure quest was a verse in a song written and sung by a faery.  The adventurers on the quest had to find a lyric in the song that pertained to that day's blog theme.  Here's the verse:  

"Sister tree, you are a friend to me. Sister tree, you show me how to be. In the Autumn time, I watch your colors show. You teach me to let go and you are beautiful. And in the Autumn time, you teach me to let go and let my colors show and I am beautiful."

In the song, the artist tells a story of the profound wisdoms she has learned, through the seasons, from her beloved family of trees.  Have a listen...

Ash Tree Faery

There are many themes found in the ninth treasure quest day that are dear to me.  My sister, trees, my friend's who are sisters and how all three have taught me so much in life, including what Ash Tree Faery sings..."you teach me to let go, let my colors show and I am beautiful".

I'll be turning 40 this year and am embracing even more than I ever have of these invaluable wisdoms.  To let go and release the limitations (worry, fear of disapproval, etc) that may have interfered in the past from me showing up as my authentic self.  Each day that I write to you in this blog, I'm letting go more and more.  In the past, I worried about how you would receive me or not receive me.  I worried that I would be judged.  These thoughts/concerns/worries in the past would have either kept me from continuing on or even beginning.  I'm not saying that these old thoughts have gone away.  I am saying that I am more aware of them and how they have not served my highest good in the past.  Nowadays, I notice them and remind myself that I do not have to let them guide my life.  Instead, I let my heart guide me.  Let my colors show and I am beautiful!  Through the release of what I just described, I open myself to let my colors show, with heart wide open and embrace the unique beauty that I am.

I appreciate being able to share this with you, whoever is here with me.  You are a part of this journey I am on.  I hope as I share about my quest, that it enriches yours.  For today and all of our days, let us learn from the trees, from our sisters and our brothers, from this sweet song - to let go, let our colors show and to always remember we are beautiful, just the way we are.

PS...while I was writing this blog post, Greg calls me in from the other room to see Olympic ice skater from Russia, Alina Zagitova do her final skate.  Now that is one 15 year old who has truly embraced the wisdom I am describing!  15 years old!  WOW.

Thoughts Create

"The magic starts in your thoughts" was the answer to our eighth day of the treasure quest.  Each of the riddle answers were chosen for how special they are to life's journey, according to moi.  This one is especially dear to me.

When I say magic, I'm referring to the indescribable things that make life special.  There will come a time in the near future when I will attempt to put more "describable' words to my definition of magic.  What a tall order that will be, but oh, so delectable.  When I say "the magic starts in our thoughts",  I mean experiencing our life in all it's wonder begins by us believing that it is in fact, wonder-filled.  Take this quote for example:

“Everything begins with a thought, and thoughts are turned into plans, and plans into reality.”— Marshall Sylver 

It was such a mind opening moment when I first read that quote.  I was like..."oh, why yes, that is how it goes, doesn't it?!"  How empowering to know that within our own mind, we have the ability to create our life, as we desire it to be.  Something this simple, you think to yourself, "I'm hungry".  Then, you think, "I'm going to make myself a sandwich".  Your reality becomes you eating that sandwich you made yourself.  I think this kind of "magic" plays out in all our thoughts.  The more we fill our minds with the kind of life we want to live, the kind of world we want to see...the more we will begin to see those very things.

With this blog, I'm sharing my journey and how I enjoy seeing the world.  My desire from the beginning when I first created this platform, is to chronicle this outstanding odyssey I'm on, hoping to become more aware and possibly enhance other's paths along the way.

Thanks for coming along.  💗

A Warm Up

Why not just jump on into a few of my intentions from yesterday - leaping into video and playing.  Just a corny little start, that's all.  You know... to get warmed up.  First, a quick video on the way back from walking Captain.

Then...I thought, I should get one of me actually leaping...since I was showcasing what a a cornball I am.  So, I enlisted the help of my incredible husband to video me leaping into the video intention.

I know these are silly, but it's how I roll sometimes.  Plus, it's a start.  That's all ya need sometimes, right?  Just a little leap, a little step.  I'm envisioning something special unfolding, we'll see how it goes!  Each post since the end of the treasure quest, I've been dedicating contemplation to the riddle answers.  This fits into what I talked about yesterday with riddle 6 and it also touches on riddle 7, which was a frolicsome, playful post with Sparky the Prairie Dog as the riddle answer.

Greg snapped a pic as I sat down to write today.

Looking forward to much more fun in this realm AND diving in a little deeper into life.

From Stillness to Leaping

From stillness, to the thoughts of leaping out of comfort zones.  On the New Moon in January, I was inspired to begin writing in this old blog space of mine.  I decided to hold my feet to the fire by committing to write a blog post daily.  I'm happy to say I've stuck with that intention for a little over a month.  As I type, I'm celebrating with a warm cup of cacao.  Now, it's time to stretch a little more.  One of the ways I'm going to play outside of my comfort zone is incorporate videos into my shares.

Leap, stretch and play were the answers to riddle number 6 of the treasure quest.  They're words that come to mind when I think of moving outside of comfort zones in order to grow and get better.  To leap is to joyfully, with enthusiasm, move towards a goal that may scare you.  To stretch is to inch forward toward growth and achieving your dreams.  To play is to remember that living life to the fullest is one of the reasons we're here.

Whether we're leaping, stretching or playing outside of our comfort zones, it's good to remember we need it all.  We need stillness like yesterday's post, the leaping of this post and everything in between. As long as we are tuning into our heart and body, we'll know what we need in each moment.

Another way I plan to grow, is move a little deeper into the topics I write about.  Sometimes I feel I rush these shares with you.  I'll dedicate more sacred time to this dear endeavor and dive even deeper into what I'm inspired to write about.

So here they are!  Ways I will shimmy on outside of regions that are comfy to me.

• leap into videos in the blog and elsewhere
• stretch into deeper posts
• play, play, play with fun experiences to share with you

Ooooo,  it's even a little out of my comfort zone to list it out like that for all to see.  It means I better get to stepping!

Praying Mantis Pose

Wooooo!  I was able to get the main three treasure quest winner packages out today.  The other six explorers will have their treasure packages go out tomorrow.  The great news is they're all two day delivery with the exception of the international package.  I still need to figure that process out.   😜

It was a whirlwind of a day.  To be extra sweet to myself I'm gonna let the Praying Mantis be my spirit animal tonight.  That means this evening will be all about stillness and patience.  Self-compassion, self-love and self-care are vital.  I don't think many of us were taught to take care of ourselves in this way, I know I wasn't.  It seems this doesn't come natural to most of the people I encounter.

Self-compassion, self-love and self-care is a whole lot of the word "self" but it is far from selfish.  In order to be all that we can be to those in our lives and to the world, we must take time in our lives to relax, nourish and be in stillness.

Spice of my Life

Imagination was the answer to day five's treasure quest riddle -"What starts with an i, ends with an n and in between holds all your hopes and dreams?".  Some of my fellow treasure seekers answered the riddle with equally valid answers, such as:  intention, inspiration and intuition.

Imagination, intention, inspiration and intuition all play a significant role in our lives.  You think of the many inventions and ideas that have changed the world, came from this fierce foursome.  I think of Einstein, his discoveries and inventions.  If he had not been inspired to use his imagination and intuition with an adamant intention in his thought experiments, none of his contributions would exist.

Each of the answers to the daily riddles were(are) of great importance to me and my quest in life.  And these words represent some of my favorite places to be.  Diving into imagination is an incredible treat to me.  It's the spice of my life!  Plus, when I can flow into my imagination, some of the best solutions and ideas come to be.  I also LOVE to watch Greg problem-solve, invent and excel in life from his amazing imagination.

There's twice baked potatoes waiting for me to pull them out of the oven and Greg's calling me from the other room, to see the latest in the Olympics.  I intend to jump into the inspiration of writing from my imagination and intuition again soon.

Love you all!!

PS...I had so much fun using my imagination to put the final touches on the treasure quest prize packages that will be sent out tomorrow!

Secret Passageways

The hidden image in day four of the treasure quest, was a key.  One of the definitions I found for the word "key" was, "provides a means of gaining access to or the understanding of something".  I used the word "portal" on that day, too.  Portal:  a doorway, gate or entrance; providing access.  To me, a portal is the access to a world previously unknown.   I see the image of a keyhole as an exciting symbol of both the portal and the key.  These magical keyholes illustrate moments in life that provide gateways to insight, wisdom, growth and understanding.

One of my favorite things is finding these portals.  When I shared day four's treasure quest post on Facebook, I described it as a "quest within a quest within a quest".  I was realizing by this point that the treasure quest was so much more than I had planned on.  It began as a fun endeavor I was leading others on (quest - I)), turned out I was also on an important pilgrimage myself (within a quest - II) and there were portals along the way if I was open to receiving the key (within a quest - III).

One of the hidden portals during this quest was a passageway into understanding what I would need on the most sacred excursion of my life.  The key that I needed, in order to gain access to this hidden passageway, was the very answers of my own riddles - self-worth, listening to my heart, remembering to open myself to receive the gifts that life wants to give.  A quest within a quest within a quest.

I believe these portals and their keys are all around, waiting for us to open our eyes to them.

"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."  W.B. Yeats

Greg and I found this treasure in Nashville, Tennessee for our sixth year anniversary gift of iron in 2015.

This portal travels with us wherever we go.