Baby Steps Toward Abundance

When I woke up this morning I went through my usual ritual: Coffee, newspaper, crossword, journal, pull amulet, and pull an angel card for the daily message from the universe.  For the first time, both the amulet and angel card I pulled were about:

I was struck by the coincidence, but the duties of the day took my mind off of it.  The duties of the day placed my mind on something entirely different:  my business. It just wasn't as fulfilling as it used to be.
I wondered what I could do to create more ease, abundance, fulfillment, and prosperity in my life. 
Since the kids were adults, and my own work was feeling the impact of the economy, I needed a way to open myself up to a life that would be as satisfying as raising my kids had been or as exciting as beginning my graphic art business.  Been there, done that, now I wanted something new to focus on.
I pondered what that might be as my dog and I trudged up the hill to our favorite walking trail.  I happened to glance in the middle of the street and spotted this little lump of cloth.  Curious, I went towards it and here is what it was:

A very dirty baby's sock.  With hearts on it.  What in the world could this mean? 

In a flash, I got it.  I've been collecting found objects with the intention of creating art pieces with them.  I've found some pretty amazing and inspiring things, and I still haven't moved forward in this work.  This little sock was telling me to begin doing the thing I love to do; Make stuff.  Start small, but start.  Prioritize doing what I love and follow my heart. The very dirt on the sock itself indicated to me that by doing this, I would ground myself more fully in my creative nature. 

I started to think about all the things I was going to make.  I got idea after idea as I continued on my walk, but, as usual, doubt set in.  I worried that I was too old to start making the objects I was dreaming about, that I didn't have time, that they'd take time away from what was more important: making money not things, and that my time to be an artist was past.  Then I saw THIS:

A tiny buckle from a wristwatch.

It told me to detach from any notion of time, that the way to connect to myself was by being in the moment, by doing what I enjoyed moment to moment, and prioritizing doing what I love to do, just as I prioritized the activities of my children when they were small. 

It's my turn to reconnect to myself and my dreams.  That's all I need or want to do right now.  More importantly, it's time to get back to the pureness of my creative spirit: what I felt as a child when I made something, painted something, sewed something; not thinking about anything except the joy of creating, having no idea or ideal of  "being an Artist", but simply doing what I did because I wholly and fully enjoyed it.  That's truly heaven on earth!

Love, Kristine

I found love

I'm a mom.  I have three wonderful kids at various stages in their lives.  I noticed that what I worry about mostly is how they are doing, no matter what is going on in my life. 
Some things have been going on with them that I've got a tendancy to lose sleep over.  So I walk, and worry.  The questions I've been asking are solution oriented.  How can I help my children through this or that problem?  The messages I've been getting in response are hearts. 

Friday last week I got this:

A pencil, brand new, with, as you can see, a heart on it.  Nice, I thought.  Pencil hasn't even been sharpened.  Interesting.

A couple of days later, and in the same place, I found these:

Two hearts.  A big one, and inside it was this little one.  Hmmm.

Then, today, after exhausting my mind with worry the night before, I got this:

And this:

For the longest time I couldn't figure out what the image was in this ring.  Then I saw it.  It's a mother holding a child.  All of a sudden all the hearts I received made sense. 

My job, the universe was telling me, is to LOVE my children, not to solve their problems. 

The Pencil tells me to sharpen my ability to love without censor.  The heart is not an eraser, i.e. there are no conditions that will take love away or activate it.  Real love just IS.

The large heart holding the small one tells me that my children are safe within my heart.  That's all the safety they need.

The brown heart cut-out, clearly done by a child,  helps me to understand that I am loved in turn by my children and by mother earth (brown is an earth color). You can't beat the healing power of that kind of love.

The ring containing the loving mother and child helps me put this all together.  It also reminds me that love is circular.  What you give will come back to you, and, as John Lennon and the Beatles say, "All you need is love."

A powerful message that I am very grateful for.

Much love to you,

Kristine