Ask Astrid Fridays ~ The Rabbit’s Corner: The Worth of Waiting

I was reminded yesterday when I gave Astrid the first batch of her holiday gifts, just how much joy it brings to my heart to see her happy and giving her the things she deserves. This continued later in the evening over conversation with my sweet friend, Lynne, who is visiting, as I shared with her about the first time Astrid saw her Wonderland realm I’d created just for her and she dropped into a deep state of heartfelt gratitude. She stopped in her tracks and took it all in, then sat in overwhelming feelings she had always believed were possible, but hadn’t materialized outside of her belief until now. That was the most moving moment for me when she looked at everything then turned to me and wanted to snuggle – if her eyes could have shed tears they would have, but mine sure did. I heard her expression of gratitude and felt her love, as she thanked me for seeing her and making her dreams a reality.

We both dropped into a timeless shared moment that is etched in my heart forever.

Last night I went to bed knowing today was Astrid’s share time and asked her to let me know what she wanted to write about.

She said, “the worth of waiting.”

So, I went to sleep with the intention to hear her message and bring that through now.

Astrid knows that so many of us feel like we are waiting forever for the things we want. That constantly we’re told to be patient just a little while longer. To keep believing. To not let go of our dreams. And to keep moving forward when all we want to do is give up with disappointment, exhaustion, and feelings of overwhelming sadness.

She knows I have so many times gone through that myself – feeling like nothing was ever going to happen. That I kept working on things, giving my all, making changes, devoting myself to figuring out what I’m missing, and still had only my hope to go on.

She knows that so many times I wanted to give up and was brought to my knees in painful soul-felt tears and couldn’t understand why.

And she knows somehow I kept going.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons she and I connect so much. Because Astrid has been through the same in her life.

Her background is filled with disappointment, fear, sadness, the unknown, and yet she kept fighting and kept going.

This eventually brought her to SaveABunny where she was finally treated with respect and tenderness, and at least was out of danger.

Yet, she still had a couple of years ahead of having people come and go, but never seeing her, nor wanting to adopt her.

She kept believing when all seemed hopeless.

And although she was there one of the longest of any bunnies, awaiting a forever home, it did happen.

We found each other.

Two souls who kept believing.

Two souls who have never given up.

We found our happy ending in each other.

Astrid says, she easily could have let her health go and gone into full-on depression, but she kept strong, took care of herself, and remained a robust picture of well -being.

She knew one day….one day….her dream would come true.

And she wanted to be at her best when it did.

I can so relate, as so many times I wanted to give up on things in my life I hoped for and never saw evidence of getting closer to.

And yet they did come and I was reminded, like Astrid, that time is an idea we attach to. The spirit and heart don’t experience it the same. There is no timeline for when things unfold. There’s the journey and how we embrace it.

No matter when something happens in our lives, even if it’s just for a minute of blissful depth, that one moment will be worth all of the pain, struggle, and work we put into our lives.

Astrid says, “It needn’t be that way though. If you embrace that the future is now and live your life backwards with the beauty being in your heart to experience whenever you want, then you will know how to ride the eternal.”

In essence, we don’t have to suffer, as the only reason we do is the acceptance of separation from that which is in our heart awaiting our opening to.

Hard to embrace when your physical reality seems to say something else, but that doesn’t have to be the story if we tell it differently.

And this provides the hope and the ability to experience life more fully now with whatever our situation is.

It makes what we desire more tangible and draws it in as a manifestation.

Astrid knows this isn’t easy to embrace when heartache becomes overwhelming.

But she knows it’s possible, as it’s been her experience.

And I do too.

I keep using these techniques and keep listening to her reminders, as I continue to embrace hope for manifesting more things my heart is feeling.

I see and experience them as done and so the journey is much sweeter. It also makes it so that if they manifest or not, it’s not as important because I already am enjoying the possibility within my heart where it counts the most.

It creates a feeling of wholeness and from there anything is possible.

Astrid says, “You are a timeless being living a blip of your immensity. Open to your fullness and you’ll open to the potentials in greater ways than you think.”

There are reasons things align as they do and if we remove the time constraints, the worth of waiting reveals itself.

You might even find that you’re living rather than waiting.

Take care of you. You are worth it.

Dear Meltdown: Welcome, & Meet My Friend Mindfulness ~ Camilla Downs

This article written by my amazing friend Camilla Downs is one I just had to share, as the story I feel is one that can support and inspire so many others.

A little background bio on Camilla and her beautiful family:

Camilla Downs is best-selling author of “D iz for Different – One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance,” blogger at Mindful Musings, and inspirational speaker. Her passion is writing, sharing her life experiences, mindfulness, meditation, emotional connection, and nature photography. She is a single parent to 14-year-old Lillian Darnell, and 10-year-old Thomas Darnell. She and her kids call themselves Team TLC to correspond with the first letters of each of their names. They are six months into a living-in-a-tiny-home adventure. Lillian has a rare chromosome deletion called 18p-, and although Thomas has not been officially diagnosed, he struggles with sensory processing issues.

I left this comment on the article, which I’ll share here, followed by the link to Camilla’s article.

Much love and gratitude Camilla for sharing so vulnerably and to your magickal daughter Lillian and fellow Faery, whom I have come to adore through our Facebook friendship and seeing her posts of all the amazing things she continues to accomplish.

“Such a powerful and meaningful story for us all Camilla. Thank you so much for sharing this and for being such an unconditionally loving and amazingly brave mother, woman, and soul. You and Lillian are such gifts to each other and your story is a true blessing for us all to learn from and remind us of the need for mindful presence and ways in which we can practice this within our own lives, as well as with those in need of our support. Lillian is a magickal soul and with your loving guidance, is blossoming into the amazing being she came to be, with so much to offer the world. Much love to you both.”

Dear Meltdown: Welcome, & Meet My Friend Mindfulness by Camilla Downs

 

 

Patience Creates Magickal Flow – A Return to Natural Harmony

Me with my butterfly friend

Today’s blog post share is a new article I wrote for Mindful Muscle Blog at the request of its Founder, Chris Willitts. Mindful Muscle was created from Chris’s intention to “research meditation and to carefully observe its inherent capacity for personal development, fulfillment, and thriving health,” as well as “introduce other complimentary initiatives that ultimately can lead to a more altruistic society.” I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Mindful Muscle’s focus and for Chris’s interest in my work. This is the second article I was able to share with Mindful Muscle readers. I hope you enjoy:

http://www.mindfulmuscleblog.com/patience-creates-flow-harmony/

And if you are interested in reading my previous article titled, Reiki – Redirecting Energy to Support the Now, you can find it here:

http://www.mindfulmuscleblog.com/reiki-redirecting-energy-support-the-now/