life lessons

Life is all we have

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What really matters?

Tiny new plants claim hairline cracks in stone to spread their roots. Small mammals survive on discarded crumbs. Insects hatch in a dribble of water. They choose life. They cling tenaciously to life. They do what is needed to survive and thrive. They apologize to no-one for living!

Grasshopper on purple coneflower

Life will find a way.

When you have passion for life you will find a way to live fully. You are stubborn, a survivor. Even if others wish to impede your right to life, to instill fear, to diminish you, you will find ways to carry out your life purpose and be who you are meant to be.

Your dreams desires and plans all depend on you being here now in your body. On your taking your rightful place at the table, partaking of nature’s gifts, breathing deeply of Earth’s fresh air, walking freely upon our beloved planet.

You belong here in this vast teeming web of life. I repeat. You belong here. You are meant to be here. There is no mistake!

New grass shoots after a fire

Life is the spirit’s way of experiencing what it is to be in a body– plant, animal, insect, or human, and receiving an education like no other. Life imposes limited conditions on the body while teaching perseverance, endurance, and making the most of what you’ve been given.

Make your life count. Live in your body. Open your heart to those you trust, sit in the sun, breathe deeply and give thanks for your gift of life in this body at this time.

Life is not easy, your days are not guaranteed. You may suffer, you may hurt you may grieve. Yet, even still, life is the most precious gift of all.

Live fully within the conditions of the life and environment your spirit has chosen for you.

You are meant to be here

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You have been given the ultimate, the highest gift – life itself. Your spirit has chosen this path: Life in your body in this very place at this particular time.

You are meant to be here – with all that means.

Living in a body is not easy. It means you will experience grief, loss, and despair, sometimes happiness and flow and joy. You will know the pleasure of creativity and at other times you may feel stuck and alone.

You will experience illness and health, love and connection, you will know what it is to feel peaceful and calm, to rest at times, and be restless at others. You may know what it is to be injured in body or mind and to recover and feel whole again.

You are meant to know and experience the full spectrum of emotion to know all the joy and sorrows of life. You are meant to be fully present, knowing and trusting the process of living.

Life on this planet is not for the faint of heart!

Life means asking for help when you are unable to stand on your own. Life means lending your strength when others need your support. Life means heartfelt connections with other living beings that share this earth with you.

Life means paying attention to your body, mind and spirit, living by your heart and intuition, taking care of yourself and your needs, learning to love and accept yourself.

As an inhabitant of this planet, life means that you will know great loss that will take your breath away. And you will know many blessings that fill you with joy.

Source hears you, loves you, answers your heartfelt prayers throughout your life.

Breathe deeply and gather courage and strength for your unfolding journey.

GCW speaks, continued

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These words of Grandmother Cottonwood’s are continued from the previous post…

This Earth, this home is so very dear to me… Words cannot capture all I know, all I feel…

I know, too the flow of the stream, the flood in spring, the ice in winter, breaking and grinding during a thaw… I know the rocks and sandbars of the creek, the elegant s curves of it’s southward course, the downed trees, uprooted by the current, changing the flow of the water .

I am familiar with the creatures of the water, the tiny silver fishes, the earth hugging turtles, the insects that skate and float…those that come to drink.

Spider web

I know the worms of the soil, the fungus that consumes rot, the spiders patiently weaving their silver webs, the bright butterflies and nodding wildflowers full of nectar, the sharp trilling call of the red winged blackbird in early spring.

My world is made beautiful by the deep shade of my companion trees in summer, the bark of the sycamore, dark and rough near the roots, creamy white and peeling near the crown…I know the cushiony moss, growing in the cool damp places, a green to remember.

GCW and sycamore

From my home, I feel and know the heartbeat of the city, the town, the homes and all those creatures inhabiting this place. I feel the rushing and impatience of some, the peace and contentment of others.

I experience the students who hurry past me on their way to school, their thoughts and attention elsewhere, forgetting the lesson that life is lived in the moment, one breath at a time; that hugging a tree will help them feel better.

Come to school with GCW and you will learn an age-old yet always fresh curriculum – Observe without judgment. Breathe. Notice what you are feeling. Notice what happens in your body.

Be present to what you see, hear, taste, touch feel, smell – be present and allow yourself to know what you know, to be who you are. Become friends with your own self. Listen to your heart – the dreams of your heart.

Now, put the shiny blinking thing down, for if you let it, it will block out everything but itself. Turn it off for a little while and just be.

Know that you too are a part of this magnificent tapestry! Above all, hug a tree.

This is only a test

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This is only a test!  Will you trust yourself, your inner voice, your true guidance when others around you choose differently? If not, more chances to follow your guidance will be provided.

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Red wing black bird

This is only a test: Will you love, honor, cherish and accept yourself body & soul when others ask you to violate your ideals? If not, more chances and opportunities to be a person of integrity will be given to you.

This is only a test: Will you stay aligned with your light when circumstances seem to be pulling you into the shadows with magnetic force? If not this time, all-that-is will provide another chance, and another and another to live up to your light.

There is much to learn, fellow earth dwellers. Allow yourselves the gifts of patience, commitment, courage and willingness to take yet another chance on yourself. Learn new ways of being thinking and doing that will light up your life in breathtaking ways.

This is only a test! You are dearly loved and you can never be separated from that love which some call all-that-is. All-that-is is love. All-that-is is patience. All-that-is believes in you. All-that-is will never give up on you.