My family held a memorial for my brother Jim who passed away on June 4.  It was privately held at my Mother’s.  I shared the following poems and then we released butterfly’s.

I Am Free

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free.  I am following the path God laid for me.  I took His hand when I heard Him call.

I turned my back and left it all.  I could not stay another day to laugh, to love, to work or play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way.  I found that peace at the close of the day.  If my parting has left a void, then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss.  Ah, these things I, too, will miss.  Be not burdened with time of sorrow.

I wish for you the sunshine of tomorrow.  My life’s been full, I savored much.  Good friends, good times, a loved one touched.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief.  Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.  Lift up your heart and share with me.  God wanted me now; He set me free.

While Waiting for Thee

Don’t weep at my grave, For I am not there.  I’ve a date with a butterfly to dance in the air.  I’ll be singing in the sunshine, wild and free.  Playing tag with the wind while I’m waiting for thee.

A Symbol of Hope

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam and for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world, but then it flies again.  And though we wish it could have stayed…we feel lucky to have seen it.

As you release this butterfly in honor of Jim know that he is with you and will always be.  Hold a hand, say a prayer, close your eyes and see Jim there.  Although you may feel a bit torn apart, please know that Jim will be forever in your heart.  Now fly away butterfly, as high as you can go.  Jim’s right there with you more than you know.

 

 

An irritant can be transformed into a pearl.  If an oyster can do it, so can I.

Sometimes all we know is that something or someone is irritating us.  We instinctively move to get rid of it by moving away or attacking.  Flight or fight.

An oyster deals with a grain of sand by taking that grain and creating something beautiful.  So the question is how can I transform this irritation into something beautiful?

We can start by asking why is it irritating me?  The initial response is usually finger pointing in the other direction.  We look outside ourselves and blame the other.  We’re human, we tend to do that.  We’ve been trained to do that.  After that let’s turn it around and look within ourselves.  Let’s take responsibility.

This isn’t a black and white world where one size fit’s all.  There’s no rule here on exactly how you need to handle the situation.

For example if the stove is hot move your hand.  If someone is beating you up, get the hell out of there.  There is a whole world full of people.  You don’t have to live with one that doesn’t treat you the way you want to be treated.  The way to the pearl sometimes means you need to leave.  The oyster doesn’t have that option so it creates a substance that smooths the roughness.

How can I smooth the roughness in my situation?  What would feel better? Change most often feels like stepping into a void.  It can feel empty at first and scary.  We have to make a conscious effort to recognize that what is really here is potential.  The void is fertile ground for creation.

It is important to focus on the wonderful potential you have to create.  That irritation was just the motivator you needed to realize you want to create something better.  What is that?  As you ask yourself this question you are inviting the universe to answer.  As you step into the void of unknown you are creating a vacuum to be filled.

Have a beautiful day.

I finally figured out how to create a book page with the links I wanted.  I’ve been wanting to share some of the great books I’m reading.  Here’s one of several I have going.  What If It All Goes Right? Creating a New World of Peace, Prosperity & Possibility by Mindy Audlin.  Tony gifted it to me and the timing was good.  Have you noticed how that happens?  I’ll stop reading a book for a while, then pick it up when I really need to read what was in the next section.

What if … everything is in divine order right now.  Doesn’t the unknown just scare the bejezzes out of you sometimes?  We hang on, ok I hang on resisting the change.  Ugh.  OK time to let go.  Trust.  Thank you.

I’m feeling slow this morning.  A little like the fog outside.  I shuffled my deck of fairy cards asking for some help.  I pulled Laughter.

How do you find humor when you feel like you’ve just been through the trenches.  I’m going to turn myself around here by finding those things I feel thankful for.  My dog and cat make me smile.  I’m going to put a smile on my face.  I’m going to remind myself that everything is really all right.  I can have everything I want.  Don’t take it so seriously.  I may look life threatening, but is it really?  Trust.  Smile.  Give yourself a hug.  Smile at everyone today.

Make it a great day.

In Love,

Susan

After I had a visit by 6 turkey vultures in suburbia today I decided to look up the totem and see what medicine they came to offer.

The Pueblo Indians saw the vulture as a sign of purification and the Greeks considered it to be a symbol of transformation.  As old decayed flesh was removed, new life emerged.

Trust is one of the main teachings they offer.  They know how to use what is available to them to the fullest extent and teach us how to be resourceful and innovative with what we have.

One of their gifts is the cleaning up of messes.  Many times we create physical and psychic messes that we don’t want to deal with.  The vulture can guide us to the efficient and joyful resolution of such problems.  If vulture has flown into your life you are being asked to remedy a messy situation and turn it into something positive.

http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/vulture.htm

Considering what has transpired in my life this weekend I welcome the Vulture.  I will invoke the energy to guide me toward positive resolutions.

The universe always gives us exactly what we need.

My 18 year old nephew passed away last night in an auto accident. We weren’t particularly close, but he’s family.

I truly believe death is a transition to another frequency of life. He has released his body. His name is Corie. I’m grateful for his sake and maybe my own also that his death was quick. He died of head trauma. The driver was thrown from the car and survived. I believe the driver now has the harder journey. Corie I trust is fine. He is no longer in pain.

Those he has left behind will miss his immediate presence and participation in our lives. His parents, my brother is most challenged by this loss. Working with seniors I’ve seen numerous parents lose their children over the last few years. I don’t want to know this pain. As parents we are challenged enough with our children’s struggles, but to have your child pass before you…sigh. I believe in eternal life, but I selfishly want my children to out live me.

Corie’s transition has evoked contemplation of life. This is the gift.