I just love the way the Universe works! When you ask for guidance and a sign, you get it in ways you couldn't even imagine if you tried. Sometimes we're just not observant enough or focused enough to see those signs, and when we miss what's right in front of us, we wonder if our prayer were even heard. Happily, this was not the case last week. If anything, I got signs that I couldn't miss if I fell over them.
On a day when I had trouble deciding what to have for breakfast, let alone where I was supposed to be going in my personal as well as my creative life, I tearfully threw up my hands and addressed my Creator, my angels, my spirit guides, and anyone else who was willing to listen: "I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing next. I know I need to break out of the box and challenge myself to do something different. Doing what is comfortable is very nice and safe, but I know I'm here to do more than that. So if the new direction I've been considering is the next right step on my journey, could you please send me a sign so I'll know? And could you make it something I can easily recognize? Thank you. Amen."
I love it when the Universe has a sense of humor. The first sign I saw was that very afternoon. For anyone who is a fan of the work of the late Wayne Dyer, the teacher of my heart for over 20 years, you will know what I mean when I talk about his "Butterfly Story." For those of you who don't, Wayne shared a story about a very lengthy visit from a monarch butterfly he had immediately after writing a story about a friend of his who had died and how the last conversation he had with that man was about monarch butterflies. He immediately took that as a sign that his friend was communicating with him from the Other Side. Well, I had a visit from a monarch butterfly. In case you don't think that means much given that I live in the country surrounded by flowers, let me just say that in the two years I've been here, the only butterflies I've seen have been all white ones. So when this big, beautiful monarch butterfly not only flew into view, but attached itself to the screen right outside the window where I write ... and stayed there for an hour ... I could not help but get the message. Even my cats could not scare it off. I called him Wayne. We had a lovely one-sided chat for the hour that he hung out with me. (Side Note of Interest: the anniversary of Wayne's death is coming up at the end of this month).
The second message was literally the answer to a prayer. A brown and red squirrel decided to take a quick shortcut across my front walkway and up the hill towards the pine trees. If you've been following my blogs for a while, you know that I've written in the past about how much I missed the squirrels from back where I used to live, and about how I could not believe that in two years I had not seen a single one. The locals told me that too many predators had moved into the neighborhood, like the eagles and hawks from down near the pond, while the dozens of barn cats from the farm up the hill had probably killed or chased off the rest. I had refused to believe that I was going to spend the rest of my days here surrounded by trees of all kinds and never see another squirrel. Lo and behold, when I asked for a sign, one came scampering across my field of vision! So naturally I went right to my books on animal totems and here is what it told me: if a squirrel has crossed your path, it is telling you to lighten up and not take life so seriously. At the same time, it is reminding you to lay your foundation for the future, to bury your acorns. As the old poem says, "mighty oaks from little acorns grow." This little guy was telling me that, while I needed to remember to lighten up and enjoy life, it was time for me to bury my acorns and start growing something new.
I came away from all of this confident that the new direction I had been thinking of taking was what I was meant to do next. So for the next several days, I went to work with a new enthusiasm and on August 29th, my new "brand" will be launched. It will consist of: 1. The release of my new ebook, "Second Chances: Lessons in Wisdom From a Life Well Lived,- Book Two In the Third Age Trilogy ("Song Of An Extraordinary Life" was Book One)" 2. My first very own website: Barb Parcells, Writing A Life ,with a new blog by the same name, and, 3. A sale on my first two ebooks to celebrate the release of Second Chances (more to follow on this next week). For those of you who are followers of Flower Bear's Garden, please know that it will continue as always. Life would not be the same without taking the time to visit the garden and see what lessons it has to teach all of us each week and throughout the seasons of the year. That means I will be writing two blogs a week, plus working on the final book in the Third Age Trilogy. I think I'm set with projects for a while, don't you?
I will admit, it was scary to think about starting a website and another blog. I am not technically savvy and my Geek Squad (my oldest granddaughter and her husband) no longer lives a few blocks away as they did when I started Flower Bear's Garden. While I know that the website may be a bit rocky getting started as I learn to do this on my own, I figure if Creator has so much confidence in me, who am I to argue? I am excited and a bit breathless by it all, but at the same time I look forward to the new journey I am embarking on. I hope you will all go on this journey with me, as you have for the nearly 4 years in the garden with Flower Bear and me. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your love, support and comments. It has given me more joy than you know.
See you all next week in the garden, as always. And so it is.
P.S. Nice flying, Wayne. Very impressive, but then everything you do soars! Blessings!
