My Declutter Journey

In 2019 I was living in a 3 bedroom home that was full of books, memorablia, and normal household items.  In addition my garage was totally full.  I rarely had room to put in a car. I also had an office at Unity Spiritual Center of Denton that was totally full of books, file cabinets, etc.  My mother who had moved in with me for 3 weeks died and I had all of her items in my house too.

In 2020 covid kept everyone from coming to church and finances were tight for the church.  I spent one night praying for what to do.  The very next morning I received an email from a minister who had a church in the area asking if we perhaps might be thinking about selling the church.  It seemed like an answer since our church was located by a train track which made it difficult to sell.  I brought it up to the board and it was decided that we could have a congregational vote and after all the legalities were out of the way the church sold.  

I moved in with Lowell in his one bedroom apartment and put things in storage after letting go of most of my household items.  In addition it took about 3 months to empty out the church.

My goal is to close down my storage unit which is full of mainly scrapbooks and books.  Everyday I continue to work towards this goal.

Life is good for me right now.  I am enjoying my time with Lowell and am making a lot of progress in storing my photos on my computer.  

The key for me is to always realize that I have "guides" who help me from the unseen world.  I stay connected with a prayer group so prayer is important for me.

We all have access to this "place" of peace and guidance.  You are not alone.

John Denver and Creativity---Part One

My youngest daughter gave me an Echo Dot which means that I can connect it to my iPhone and Amazon Prime in order to "talk" to an imaginary "Alexa". 

The other day I asked it to play soft 70's rock music and it started playing John Denver.  This stirred up memories of John Denver for me.  He went to high school in the Ft. Worth area.

When I went to Texas Tech he was in a trio that sang at a concert which I attended.  Later he went solo and launched his incredible career as a singer and song writer. 

I have been picking out music videos to play at church and came across a beautiful video about how he struggled with music and lyrics for one of his most famous songs.  I am not going to name the video until after tomorrow as I want it as a surprise for the congregants.  I will post more about his process of creativity after tomorrow.

The Mickey Mouse Club and Me

When I was growing up, one of my favorite TV programs was the Mickey Mouse Club with Annette Funicello and others.  I had a Mickey Mouse Club hat and I loved to sing M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-E at the end of the program.

My parents subscribed to the Mickey Mouse Club magazine for my sister and me and I remember being mesmerized by an article about the Incans in Peru.  There was one article about the Indians taking all of their gold out to a lake as part of a ceremony and dumping it into the lake.  Inside I felt like that this was an important article and worked on memorizing it.  I probably was about 8-10 years old at the time.

I remained fascinated with the Incans, Peru, and South America so I went on to major in Latin American Area Studies with a minor in Spanish.  I also went to Peru for 3 weeks and visited all the sacred places as part of a "shamanic journey".  By then I had combined my interest with Peru with my lifelong interest in spirituality.

All of us are so different in our likes and dislikes.  If you are wondering about your life purpose, take time to think about your childhood.  Hidden inside are clues about who and what you are and what makes you unique.

Waiting for the Storm--This Too Shall Pass

It is so interesting to know in advance that stormy, icy and extremely cold weather is on its way when you are experiencing 70 degree warm spring like weather as I am experiencing in Denton, Texas.  There is a feeling of wondering how bad the weather is going to get and I question the best way to prepare for it.

I joined a lot of people at the grocery store because I know I won't want to get out in the morning when the brunt of the slush and cold descends upon us.  I am willing to bet that tons of chili cans and comfort food was sold today.

As I was shopping one of my favorite songs came on in the store which is "I Can See Clearly Now".  Hearing that song brought me back to center and made me realize that storms come and go.  This is also a metaphor for our lives.  Storms come and go but things will be ok.  All we have to do is breathe, relax, trust God and know that no matter how bad the storm we can make it through to "sunny weather".

Using Talents and Abilities---An Example

All of us have unique talents and abilities and I believe that life gives us opportunities to use them.  I think we all have a purpose and reason to be here on this planet at this time.

I am watching a demonstration of this at Unity Spiritual Center of Denton with our new bookstore and gift shop manager, Belinda Toornburg.  She has combined her artistic talent with managerial skills which has made the gift/bookstore a success.

She has the skill to know how to negotiate with people who display their items and the ability to creatively display items.  She is an artist in lots of mediums and does magic with ribbons, bows, displays and signs.  Every week when we walk into the store we never know what treasure we will find.  The prices are right.

Her husband, Ryan, is a master in making displays and with help created a door out of a solid wall.  They make a great team.

She has the talent and ability to do all of this and was at the right place at the right time to use her creativity.  I believe that all of us have the opportunity to be at the right place at the right time but sometimes don't recognize the opportunity or think we can't handle the opportunity.  The universe will support us but we have to make the first step.

Being open and receptive is the first step and this is best accomplished through prayer and meditation.

My Back Fence

One day about 6 years ago a big storm came through and a portion of my back fence fell down because a tree from the neighbor's yard had fallen over knocking it down.  An elderly very nice couple lived behind me and I did not want to bring it up with them since I knew money was an issue as well as their health.   I kept thinking that I needed to hire someone to fix it but my finances were strained at that point so I just let it go. 

One day there was a knock at my door and there was the elderly man who lived behind me.  He scolded me for not letting him know about the tree and my fence.  I told him I did not want to bother him with it.  He said I have 3 strong sons and several grandchildren who help me with my harder jobs and I will get them to work.  Soon there was a buzz of activity in my back yard as they sawed up the tree and put back the fence.

This incident made me realize that sometimes there are solutions to situations that come out of the blue if we just release and let go.  We all sometimes rush to fix things that can be fixed without our having to fix it ourselves.

The Magic Timer

On cold days I love to stay warm in a chair and drink coffee.  I find it very difficult to get moving.  I think I must have the genetics from the time long ago when ancient people took winter refuge in a cave with a blazing fire to keep warm.  

Several years ago I decided to set the timer for 10 minutes and assign myself a task to do in the 10 minutes.  I found I not only had the task done but several other things accomplished also.  My motivation to stay moving would activate and I would be active for most of the day.

When I face a daunting task that seems overwhelming, I also use the timer.  I will do 15 minutes and then do something else for 10 minutes.  It is amazing how the change of pace helps me get a lot of things accomplished.

I also find it very worthwhile to start the day in a positive way with prayer, meditation and affirmations.  I see the day going well and this sets up an emotional tone of expectancy and good that helps bring in the energy.