Category: Grandmothers

Which, oddly, is a good thing!!!

As I mentioned the last time we were together, I did a thing.

A thing I very much wanted to do.

A thing which, having done it, is terrifying on so many levels…

And, yes, we’re talking about the thing with passport numbers and plastic money.

Ironically, I’m not at all surprised to have fear show up! It happens a lot when we give ourselves permission to want what we want, even though – on several levels – wanting whatever it is may not seem to make much sense.

Which means – drum roll, please – it’s Medicine Basket time!

In order to follow along, you’re going to need a few details…

I, of the 6 knee surgeries in 9 years, am going to France this summer! The boonies, if you will, of France. The part where they like their centuries-old buildings the way they were built! The part you can’t get a direct flight to from the ATL!

And, ironically, that’s the – mentally – easy part!

Then there’s the I don’t speak the language part! (And a memory of the airport in Paris – the big, old, strung all over the place one – that has taken up residence in the box in my brain labeled Nope! Not again!)

Oh, and the minor bit about learning things which are, at the very least, not the way we’ve always done them.

And, yet, I am intending this trip with all my heart.

How???

Well, with filters and metaphors and a text message to my youngest granddaughter!

You see, she has a thing on her phone which she said, while we were together for Thanksgiving, was helping her learn French. And this young woman loves to explain things! So, clearly, Grammy needs a thing-on-my-phone lesson!

Then, a bit of good old-fashioned red ink for the filter which insists that anything this scary is utterly unsafe. It now reads:

Fear is sometimes just a signal that it’s time to learn new things.

With a bit of button pushing, I’ve already discovered that there’s at least one way to get where I want to be without the scary airport in Paris!

Then, a good sorting of my metaphorical Medicine Basket. (The actual one is full of stick weaving at the moment!)

What goes in is a bottle of courage oil. A few old-fashioned medals for Saints. Ancestors, oddly. Seriously brave women. Then, the really cool red boots in the photo, which help sort both the mobility concern and a few others about who we are and how many of us have actually always done it!

Winner-winner-sushi dinner! as you’ve no doubt guessed! (Chicken being a non-starter with Tay at the table!)

There’s more, of course. Including a clever intention for an indoor walk on this cold, cloudy day!

For now, though, a question… for you!

What’s holding YOU back from your dreams???

Now, the spoiler alert. There’s a new quiz coming, and some cool videos full of goodies for your medicine basket. At the moment they exist metaphorically.

AND inside me… which means I can share them with you now! The low-tech way!

So, if this adventure saga makes your heart beat a bit faster… if it blows the dust off any of your dreams, let’s talk. My gift to you. And, some options which already exist for next steps. For tools for your medicine basket! We’ve got this! Hurry, though… the calendar elves are starting to feel swamped!

ps… nope! It’s not your imagination! The very cool red leather boots go really well with socks covered in prayer dots!

pps… look fabulously unique, stay warm, and help send an artist to France! There’s a special sale going on at FierceArtWithHeart !

Once again, I seem to be the work-in-progress on this Wednesday!

And, yes, I’m hearth tending in the Red Thread Cafe, which I love doing. The art and the community are glorious.

Then there’s the whole notion of #Inquiry which is one of my favorite things. And it was my task, as hearth tender, to pose an inquiry for the community this day.

We’ll get to that, in a bit.

First, though, some – you guessed it! – context.

And, yes, Grandmother Moon has been whispering in my ear. (I love it when she does that!)

So, last night I officially signed up for a really big adventure, coming up this summer. The whole on-line form, passport number, and plastic money thing.

It wasn’t a snap decision. I’ve been dreaming and planning for this for months now. The only thing that’s changed is that it’s a big step closer to official.

Part of that dreaming and planning has had a lot to do with how I see the work I do in the world.

I won’t bore you with all the details and history.

Instead, I’ll share a really helpful inquiry I’ve been hanging with as part of the make-it-real adventure.

An inquiry from my genius friend who helps with everything from which button to push on my laptop to make xyz happen, to really big questions. Like:

Who are the people you feel most called to work with? The ones who are most aligned, for you?

The answer, which appeared in my awareness about 4:00am, a couple of days ago, was:

Women who are okay with wanting what they want!

That felt really true… and in need of just a smidge of editing:

Women – and a few very brave men – who have given themselves permission to want what they want, and go for it!

All of which goes hand in hand with the practice of Intention!

And that Intention has already turned into a whole list of related thoughts and next steps.

The externalizing work – the getting the new language and options out in the world – is in progress. (It’s Wednesday, after all!)

The cool thing, though, is that I’ve already made space for a few more travelers on an intentional path from here to where they’ve given themselves permission to want to be!

(Even if that’s not the way we learned it!)

The very next right thing is even more helping my granddaughters learn differently!!!

ps… the image at the top could be an ancestor! Technically, she’s a basically life sized bust of a woman I’ve christened Our Lady of Fierce Intention who followed me home a few months ago. And, as it happens, I’ve recently discovered several actual ancestors who might have looked a lot like her. Her message, in the moment, is “eyes on the path”!

pps… since I’m in the start-right-where-you-are mode, let me know if you’d like to chat! The calendar elves will gladly hook you up with 45 minutes as a gift from Our Lady of Fierce Intention, and me! A scrap of red thread and a cuppa would be great! For now, Anointing and Awakening the Open Heart!