Bare Footin'

"If you aren't grounded, you're like a leaf in the wind: 

very vulnerable and thrown off balance very quickly. 

But when you are well grounded, you are like a big, strong tree. 

If something happens around you, 

it doesn't influence you so much 

and you are able to feel much more peaceful 

and balanced in your daily life."

Some people call it grounded,

some call it centered.

Either way, it's not always easy to pay attention

to those little things because we find ourselves

too busy.

And when we begin to feel off balance, un-centered,

it makes everything else feel that much worse.

Or it could just be me.

I'm not myself if I don't take time for a walk,

just to sit and listen to birds, wind in the trees,

to watch the clouds, or the sun setting.

Today, I shucked off my shoes and socks,

stuck my feet in the grass.  When's the last time

your feet were tickled by blades of grass?

Do you feel the thrum of the Earth

when you take a moment to slow down?

Happy with Me!

Crowds.

Noise.

People.

These are the stresses, the triggers,

that drain me by the end of the day.

Go Shopping?  Go to a party?

Those aren't things that bring me a lot

of joy or happiness.  Sure, I've done my

share of both,   But knowing now that I'm

a sensitive person, in an empath sort of way,


that looking back at the hours I would spend

at the mall - I was never in the center of things.

Parties?   You'd have labeled me a wallflower

back in the day.  And even just wall-sitting, I'd

go home exhausted, without knowing why.

It was easier not to go at all.

Thankfully as I get older, I don't go to parties,

or hang out at the mall, just to please a friend.

I go when I need to, or want to.  And the rest

of the time, I don't care if people label me "odd"

(or any other adjective) -- I'm happy being myself!

The Pyschic - Q&A

The Psychic

The year was 1980.  A group of girls just out of high school, learning to find their way in the world, decide that instead of the usual Tupperware Parties they wanted to have a Psychic Party.

The hostess of the evening found a woman who does those readings at parties, and set it up so that each reading would take place in a neutral spare bedroom, away from prying eyes and gossipy mouths.

Early evening had the girls all gathered, candles lit around the room, bottles of wine open, sharing and laughing - some of it nervous laughter.  This was something definitely outside the norm of our upbringing!

I remember being skeptical about the whole thing, and made sure that I didn't wear any tell-tale jewelry, my makeup was subdued and I dressed casually in jeans and a sweater.  I was certain she wasn't going to be able to "read" anything of my future!

About half hour into the wine, the woman named Alaine knocked and entered.  She said polite hellos, gazing at each of the girls gathered. She made eye contact with each one, a polite nod in each direction.  Then her eyes met mine.  While I'm normally shy, I brazenly met her eye contact and she pointed a finger at me and said "I'm doing you last - you will take all of my energy."  I remember swallowing hard, and telling myself that of course I will be a difficult read - I don't believe in this stuff!

The other girls went before me, each having a 15 minute reading.  They all came out smiling, some of them joking about the number of kids they were told they would have when they hadn't even met their future husband!

Then it was my turn.  I went into the bedroom and closed the door, sat down across from Alaine.  She had a deck of tarot cards on the table.  She asked me to shuffle them, then took them from me and started to lay them out.  Stopping in the middle, she laid down the stack of cards, and took my hands in hers.   "Your husband rides a motorcycle."   I was silent, not wishing to give anything away.  "But not to worry, he will be safe, he's cautious.  Sometimes overly cautious."   It was a little bit on the predictable side to start.

"You didn't marry your true love, he was much older than you.  Did you part ways under a bad situation?"  I nodded yes.  I didn't tell her, but reality was I had fallen in love with him while engaged to another, and my secret hope was that he would rescue me .....  ahh, those little girl fairy-tale dreams!

"You're very creative, and you will have a girl first, then a boy.  Make sure you teach them the arts, they will be creative like you.  But down the road, I see you with six children. How very ... odd.  They appear as yours but they aren't biological."

"In your work, I see you staying long term at your jobs, first one, then a long break, then another job."

"Is there anything specific you would like to know?"

I shook my head.  No one can foresee the future.  I smiled politely and thanked her, ready to scoot out the door.

"I was right," she told me.  "You have taken a lot of energy for me to read."

Now how was I supposed to take that??

-----
This was my first encounter with something other than what I'd known all my life, being brought up going to church every week.  I'm sure you get the picture.  But how accurate was this reading?  I hadn't the forethought to ask her about the time line, so this is my perspective about 24 years later. Yes, my husband rode a motorcycle to and from work, and was definitely the overcautious type.  No, it wasn't a HOG or anything fancy, just a simple Honda.  hehehe

I will always remember Ronnie Parker.  Yes, we parted on bad terms.  I ended up married to someone else, not him.  But that's another long involved story :)

I did have a girl first, then a boy.  They each have my creativity, but not the love of doing crafty things.  That's ok, they're perfect the way they are.  As for the other four children, I married again to someone with four children, 2 boys and 2 girls.  We were the "Brady Bunch of Ohio" for a number of years.  I loved them as if they were my own, they called me Mom.

As for the jobs, my first full time job after high school, I was with the company for 22 years.  I left to be a stay at home mom to six kids, then started my current job in 2001.  I'm the kind who sticks with it for the long haul!

Sorry this was such a long read, hope I didn't bore you :)

Foot Soak

Having a foot soak

with epsom salt

is an essential part

of my routine.
















and you may be wondering why.  Epsom salts are made from the mineral magnesium sulfate, an essential mineral for the body.  Add that to the fact that I'm delving into learning about empaths, and how a good soak can make a person feel better.

"Have you ever wondered why people who are strangers or people you hardly know open up to you and share their most trusted thoughts? Do you have an instant connection with animals? Are you unable to watch violence, cruelty, or tragedy on television or in the movies because your soul just can’t bear it? Do you have an instant knowing about the character of the people you meet upon first meeting them? Are you highly spiritual and find the physical world and everything in it heavy? Are you often tired and have physical ailments that cannot be medically explained? If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions you may be an “empath"."  (quoted from The Mind Unleashed)

And I answered yes to a few of those, but they're a little vague so I found another place to take an empath test ( here )  I am intuitive, love nature, and at the very least, I have empathic tendencies (is that a word?)  I'm sure my doctor would not agree with this assessment, but I've known for a long time that I'm not 'normal' in many ways.  Maybe there's something to all this.  And maybe its hooey.  But its worth a little exploration!

This is the Valley of the Sun.   Sedona specifically is known for its spirituality and vortexes of energy.  Me, I find peace and grounding when I am at Superstition Mountain.

Here's some Q&A:  I visited Arizona back in the 90s (Tucson, specifically) and hated it.  Lived in Ohio for 10 years, and visited the Phoenix area in 2007.  The second day of my visit, I knew I needed to move here.  I went home, packed up, lived with stuff in boxes while I waited for a transfer to come through (a year is a long time to have your belongings in boxes!).  I have been here for 7 years now (boy how time flies!) and love it, can't imagine living any where else.