Lend a Helping Hand

Remember to be helpful this time of year. 

Helping is Healing, Empowering, Loving, Peaceful!

Three things to be thankful for

November is a magical month for me. The month opens a wonderful season of giving -- around the globe. Like the trees that give us magical colors this time of year, we come out of our "me" cocoons, spread our wings and share. We look out rather than look in. 

We think about others. We are helpful. We extend a hand. 

Here's my best advice for November. 

Name three things to be thankful for. 

Do this right now. Do this every day for the month of November. 

Don’t make it complicated. Take in the essence of what is surrounding you. 

The power of this exercise will stay with you long after November has passed. 

Welcome in the New Beginnings of the Harvest Season

Just when I thought the summer season of gardening was over, we were given an extra blast of record breaking heat! What a reminder for us all, that just when you think you are finished, you never really are. There is always something to do.

At the end of each summer season, I often share with my gardener and family, "We made it, we survived another summer of combating some of the mother nature’s challenges!"  Every summer, I'm thrilled by the joys of greater sunlight and longer days but they go hand-in-hand with a lot of extra time in the garden, just to stay ahead.  There's a lesson in there somewhere: Summer gardening is like getting through another season of life. 

Plenty of times in my life, work has felt endless, but the garden reminds me to stop and count my blessings. How much true joy has this garden brought me over the years? It's immeasurable -- just like the joy reflecting on cherished memories spent with family and friends throughout the years.

The summer season opens up a perspective in one’s heart to be able to withstand new challenges. Are we willing to work in the garden day-to-day with an open heart or does it become a drudgery? Are we so busy keeping our heads down, focusing on the weeds of life, or are we taking a moment to smell the many gracious fragrances?  

At times, life-- like garden work --may feel a bit too much, yet, when are faced with a challenge, I've learned that a little extra work with a loving heart will strengthen us to grow. Enjoy each glorious season of endearment that can rekindle the soul and spirit!

This month, let go of any doubts or confusion and welcome in the harvest.  There is much to nurture. The joy and loving relationships with family and friends prepare our landscape of life for the next season.  

Where will this season take you?

I am reminded of Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling, when a swan egg accidentally rolls into a duck's nest. Fate unfolds unfortunately for the duckling who feels ostracized then faces hardship and solitude. When Spring arrives, he throws himself in with a flock of swans, expecting to be attacked, but when he sees his reflection, he realizes he is one of them.

The swan always reminds me that personal transformation for the better is always possible!

Embrace Change

Why do we avoid change?

So often we look at change as negative.  Yes, change is not always a choice; it may be a loss, or something we had not anticipated to take place in our lives.  How much my life has changed this last year and, even more recently, these last several months! And though some of the changes seemed to be ever so difficult, many of the changes have really helped me to grow, learn and stretch myself in new directions.

The more I welcome and embrace change as a gift of opportunity, I find I actually think differently. Change simply means not getting “stuck” in the routine.

Every six months, I like to do a self-assessment to make sure that I am tuned into the changes that are happening around me so that I am still reaching and growing. It’s a lot like pruning and cleaning a garden to keep it fresh and healthy through the seasons. During a process of change, take a moment to be quiet and listen.  You’ll start to enjoy the new precisely because it is different! 

As we begin to welcome in the cooler air and rich colors of the autumn season, I encourage all of us to embrace the many changes ahead as a positive experience of “newness”—a refresh and refill for one’s soul.

A Mountain of Challenges

Don't let a mountain of challenges block your path. 

Endurance and the Summer Garden

The utopia of a Spring garden—its newness and bloom surprises—is quickly followed by the Summer months of July and August. The garden grows double-time, basking in the vitamins from the sun and warm weather. This is the season that puts me to the test. Longer and more frequent days are are required in the garden, trying to stay ahead of the growth, the bugs and other challenges. The peak of summer gardening is all about endurance.

I often find myself asking, “Can I ever get ahead of the upkeep and care?” And, the funny thing is, after a long week of labor in the garden, I am always rewarded.   When I sit in my favorite spot over looking the garden at dusk, I relax and take in all of the joy it brings me. I know that it is never fully complete or finished. I accept that it is a work in progress. Actually, I love that it’s always a work in progress. Isn’t it all? The splashes of colorful flowers dotted across he varying hues of green are a backdrop for a very special kind of dance where humming birds and butterflies flow to the rhythm of the gentle breeze.  And it’s never the same performance twice.

We must all endure through seasons of extra work, some emotional or physical strain, and longer hours at different times in our lives. But no two days are the same. Each day is a new performance in the greatest work-in-progress of all: life.

As we endure through the peak summer months of a garden in full abundance, we welcome in the cooler and shorter days of the autumn season. In these periods of rest, we rebuild, prepare and find the strength to endure through all that is put in front of us -- every day and in every season.