It is the first full day of summer!  As I sit here and spend time with you and my blog, I can hear birds singing and discussing the day ahead.  It is beautiful outside, sun shine, fluffy white clouds dancing by.  The temperature in the mid 70’s.  Just perfect.

Finding myself contemplating the last year as I’ve begun writing every day. Yes – every day.  It’s a part of my routine now – a part of each morning after I let the dogs out to potty, fix their breakfast, make a cup of coffee and snuggle into my not so comfortable overstuffed chair.

I prop my computer on the arm and on my knees and log onto 750 Words.com.  It is my way of celebrating myself in small accomplishments.  Seeing the tally of days I have written, the badges I’ve collected, cheering on fellow writers and learning from them when they share an idea, or make a suggestion.

It has allowed me to clear my thoughts so then I can focus on whatever it is I’m working on that particular day.  From poetry, to fiction to non-fiction.

When I first returned from Montana, I picked up the notebook I started with to continue to write each day but found it a little difficult – maybe it was not sitting with the view of the mountains.  Maybe it was not having all the ladies and Laura nearby to lean on, to count on for energy and a shoulder and a smile.  Maybe it was stepping back into the world where I am mom, wife, care giver, laundry washer, meal preparer.  All the things that I need to do – but all I really wanted to do was write!

In Montana I could just write – someone else did the dishes, prepared the meals, answered the phones.  It was glorious!  Although we were all working on or towards something, we were in a sacred space, a magnificent place away from everything else.  It was magical – it was needed to prepare your mind for what you wanted to do – but it was also a temporary ‘haven’.  You took what you learned and then had to apply it to your day to day living.  But listen carefully – it was all up to you to do this.  You could tuck it away as a memory, or you could hold it near and dear to your heart and remember.  Remember how it felt, what it smelled like, how the food tasted, how good you slept – if you let any part of that go – well, you short changed yourself.  And don’t we do that pretty easily anyway and much too often?

It has not been ‘easy’ in the sense since returning from Montana to write – but it has been do-able.  It is possible to hold that spiritual awakening close to you – and remember how it felt – then pick up the pen or start typing.  It is possible.  Yet you must be mindful – you can’t just let it happen – sometimes you have to consciously let it flow, in Reiki we call it channeling.  It will come.  There may be days it comes slowly from your heart or mind to page, and there are days it will come so quickly you have to rush to gather it all up onto to the page!  Each is special.

For me personally, it has been a journey waiting for me to begin.  There has always been a little voice whispering there is something more for you, something special waiting – now it is the time.  Come and see for yourself.

I urge each and every one of you to listen to your voice.  Talk to your heart and acknowledge what it wants.  Then begin your own journey.  Who knows, it may not take you to a million dollar book deal, or a mansion in Beverly Hills, a penthouse in NYC.  But even if it takes you to your own backyard and you see the beauty in sitting outside, feeling the breeze, the sunshine on your face – wasn’t it worth it?!

It is those simple things that mean so much – it does not matter where you live, you can find beauty.  It may not be the view of the mountains in Glacier Park, it may be from a window in a library looking at the Hudson River.  It may be in a park, looking at a willow tree sway in the breeze, watching birds at a feeder, or noticing the breath of a baby sleeping.  YOU must consciously find those little things that inspire, calm and guide you.  That is one example of being mindful.

So as this first full day of summer begins to fade, I wish you mindfulness.  To cherish it and be open to it, take a chance with it.  You may be completely surprised at how you can slow life down just a bit, enjoy it a little longer and find the strength in the stillness you’ve had all along.

Breathe Deep, Think Peace

Patty