Look how full my gratitude jar is getting! Are you expressing gratitude every day for all that is going well? Gratitude for all the good people in your life?
Spirit inspired me to write to you today on the Summer Solstice, which is the day of the year during which we get the most sunlight. It is a perfect metaphor for the abundance of love and light that is all around us.
Although our calendars say that this is the first day of summer that makes no more sense than saying that the Winter Solstice is the first day of winter. All of us have been doing summer things before today, haven't we? And we will certainly have experienced cold and snow long before December 21, won't we?
This is the day on which Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream is set, because according to the older calendars, this really is mid-summer, not the beginning of summer. Of course, you all know that this appeals to my Puckish/Pannish sense of humor.
I just got back from spending two weeks in Chicago to visit my mother and spend time with other relatives I have not seen in a while. My mother just had surgery to clear blocked arteries in her legs as well as having her 93rd birthday. She is recovering well and her spirits and attitude are returning to normal. She is doing her rehab work and is determined to get back to getting around and living her life the way she wants. Some people do not like to do their rehab work after surgery, and this is important. I mention this to all of you because whatever challenges we face in life, our frame of mind, positive thinking, are instrumental in recovery.
While I was gone, I responded to those of you who were contacting me for appointments so that I could see you when I returned, and my attention stayed focus on visiting with family members. While I was gone, there were some people who wanted appointments with me or wanted me to come to their parties and so some had to find someone else for those readings and events because they could not wait. There is a lesson in abundant thinking and perspective here. I knew that I made this journey to spend time with family and simply trusted that spirit would send me more people when I returned and got back to business. And they have. My spirit guides always help me and I am grateful for them and keep in touch with them every day. Gratitude is the first step in that process.
It was very satisfying to see how magnificently the younger ones are progressing. Quite amazing to see my granddaughter developing her career as a CPA and my nephew and his girlfriend developing their successful bodybuilding business. I did not want to deal with the heat and traffic downtown, so one evening one of my sisters and my brother-in-law went to the Irish American Heritage Center to enjoy some music, accompanied, of course, by Guiness.
My sisters, one of my nieces and I enjoyed a walk on a brilliant trail that Chicago built on some old unused railroad tracks. The 606 trail is above street level and the old tracks are paved over so that people can walk, run, bike, skate or skateboard on a smooth cement path. The edges are beautifully landscaped with flowers and trees and there are rubber tracks along the edges for walking. You know, that spongy kind of material that the tracks in gyms feature. And this path is through some of the vibrant, artsy in town neighborhoods. Lots of people were using it. And there were lots of new apartments or condos being built alongside it and many people built rooftop gardens and patios at eye level with it.
Spent time with my sister from Montana who made a radical career change late in life, starting her own art studio and gallery and getting a whole second wind, letting her creative juices really flow. She and my other family members are creating vortexes of joy all around them.
Had a visit with a cousin who introduced me to folk music and guitar back when I was in high school, and had lunch with an old friend I had not seen since we were in Boy Scouts together. Discovered that my daughter's advertising agency is producing some of the campaign materials for the Colorado elections. She and my son-in-law made a hobby out of completely remodeling the house they live in when they are not doing their day jobs, and it is beautiful. Also enjoyed a first meeting with a great granddaughter who was full of the midsummer spirit.
The light of this season has really bathed me in a reflective mood, just as it casts its spell over the characters in Midsummer Night's Dream.
Since I have returned, I have been busy keeping the appointments I made while I was gone and reconnecting with all those I can catch up with.
Two really incredible developments among all those of you who are reading this that I want to reflect on are these: the amazing young people who have been increasingly coming to me and those of you who I have not seen in a long time renewing contact.
Earlier this year, I wrote about 2018 being a 2 year, a year in which partnership is emphasized, and these are certainly examples of it.
I am feeling a tremendous amount of gratitude for all of you.
Summer is a time of youthful feelings.
One extremely noteworthy development is that some of my new clients, who are 17, 18, 19 and in their 20s, are quite amazing. It is inspiring and joyful to see these young people thinking ahead about creating the life they want, acting from a higher consciousness to improve themselves, asking great questions and really focusing on creatively following their path taking steps to bring their visions into reality. They know things now that I did not know at their age and this will help them have incredible futures. I wish I knew this stuff when I was 17 or 18. Wow!
The other heartwarming note that I would like to convey to all of you is this. I always welcome your contact, not only when you are making appointments. Some of you write notes back when one of these newsletters happens to touch on an idea or development that is timely for you, or note that a suggestion I have made really worked for you.
All through this year, I have had individuals contacting me for new readings, healing sessions, house blessings and parties who met me years ago and enjoyed and got value from their sessions, and then decided to get back in touch after a long time. Some of you tell me that you have enjoyed reading my newsletters all these years, but had not mentioned it until recently. This really makes my heart smile!
Sometimes I really have to jog my memory to remember when or where we met. Often I remember someone better when I see them than just hearing a name. Even when I am doing long distance readings, I like doing video calls so that I can see a person when we are talking, because seeing is another way that spirit helps me communicate.
So for all of you who enjoy these newsletters, you do not have to wait so long in between to contact me if I can help you and you do not need schedule another reading to say hello.
I like hearing how you are doing, and I am always willing to answer a brief question from any of you at any time.
I love all of you and encourage all of you to bask in this great light of gratitude that is all around us, all the time. Love, joy, healing and happiness are within our reach, every day.
I promised my spirit guides that I would help whoever they send me, and so I do. I love what I do and being who I am and every one of you has contributed to this feeling. So thank you for being part of my life!
