Alphabet for Life…

alphabet-for-life.jpgI was browsing a particular mail order catalog for the first time today. I enjoy seeing what other artistic folks are creating and came across an item for sale that touched me. I thought, gee, if everyone decided to adopt this Alphabet for Life, what a wonderful world it would be!

Accept differences. Be kind. Count your blessings. Dream. Express thanks. Forgive. Give freely. Harm no one. Imagine more. Jettison anger. Keep confidences. Love truly. Master something. Nurture hope. Open your mind. Pack lightly. Quell rumors. Reciprocate. Seek wisdom. Touch hearts. Understand. Value truth. Win graciously. Xeriscape. Yearn for peace. Zealously support a worthy cause.

It certainly is worth the effort!

  It can be found for purchase at www.acaciacatalog.com.  Or print it on a piece of paper and carry it around with you. It can fit on an index card, propped up on your nightstand, so you can look at it before turning out the light.

fyi, I am not an affiliate of acacia, although I did think about it. 

Joyous, Happy and Free…

Today, I have few demons. I am filled with gratitude every morning when I wake up and I count my blessings before falling asleep each night. As the days pass, I will postdate the rest of my journey to the present, but, I feel I must also speak of  today. My journaling of my struggles is a way of putting them to rest, so to speak. My past was a huge part of my life. But, I am not that self-destructive person anymore. It has been difficult to recall and write of some of the behaviors. For many years, I was filled with shame about how I lived. It has been emotionally draining to remember some of my stories. The truth is that all those parts of me have made me who I am today. I feel more whole now than I ever have.

I want whoever reads this to know that there is hope. If you have a thread of hope, hold on to it. And ask for help. It is there. The Light is waiting for you, as it waited for me. The more we focus on the Light, the quicker the Darkness will fade. It will lose strength and the Light will win. We have to want it, we have to dream, be grateful for the baby steps of progress and move forward. For too many years I hung on to the past. It gets heavy and will suck you back in if you let it. Reach out and give back. Let go of the fear and embrace the Love.

I decided to start this blog to get all of this stuff out of my head. I want room for the Joy to take up all the space that I filled with sorrow for so many years. I am a living testamony to the Law of Attraction. My goal today is to attract the Light, to see the good, to be the Light, to share the Light. I want the Light to grow and the Darkness to fade for all of humanity. That might be a lofty goal, but, it is the best one I can think of to have today!

My Passion begins to Sprout…

AMother Earth Newss I mentioned yesterday, I subscribed to Mother Earth News magazine, and usually read it cover to cover. The beginnings of my life as the sprout lady began after I read an article from the Nov./Dec. 1978 issue. The front cover had a star with a caption inside which read “Earn $1,000 a month Growing Sprouts”. I can not tell you how many times I read that article, but, I can tell you that I said to myself,”Someday I am going to do that!” I still have the magazine, and I began growing sprouts in my tiny kitchen.

In another issue of the same magazine, I saw an ad for a live-in housekeeper, girl Friday position in Florida. I researched the address, found out the chiropractors name, and submitted a photo of my daughter and myself with a brief letter of my interest in health and desire to some day be a massage therapist. I sent it special delivery. The chiropractor called me several days later and I ended up flying down for an interview. I left Sarah with my folks and took a flight, staying in Bradenton for several days. Although I decided to not take the position, I took the opportunity to hop over to Cocoa Beach and visit friends. Someone there offered to let me stay with them until I could get settled, should I decide to return to the sunny south with Sarah in tow. I accepted the offer.

I packed our belongings and shipped them UPS, purchased a futon over the phone and had it delivered to FL and then bought a one way ticket. Sarah and I moved to Cocoa Beach right before her third birthday. It was less than a month from the time I had committed to return to my second home.

Within weeks of my arrival, I had connected with some of the people at the local co-op, but I was having trouble finding a place for us to live. I got a job with a dear friend, Lydia, who had a lawn maintence business. And then one day at the co-op, I met a guy who was looking for someone to take over his lease. He wanted to go out west and study with Dr. Christopher Hill. Needing a place to live, I bicycled down to Woodland Ave. to check out his one bedroom duplex, 3 blocks from the ocean. It was the perfect place for Sarah and I, so, I told Rainbow Jim that I would take over the lease. Then he said the most beautiful thing to me. “Oh, by the way, I am growing the sprouts for the co-op, if you are interested, you can take over growing them.” Another example of the Law of Attraction happening in my life!

I took to sprouting like a duck to water! I named the business LIVING GREENS …our business is growing. Although the business started with 3 women, it eventually became all mine, and I loved growing my business. I grew sprouts, buckwheat lettuce and sunflower greens and lots of wheatgrass. I also made tabbouleh, raw hummus & raw sauerkraut. At first I delivered only to the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area. Then I got a car and expanded the route to include Melbourne Beach, Melbourne and Cocoa.

It seemed that everyone loved the sprouts. I could not grow enough to meet the demand and I continually shorted the wholesale produce account that I had in order to fill the stores & restaurants that went direct with me. I loved being the Sprout Lady, but, my secret darkness kept coming back. I had an intense fear of success. Making mistakes came easily to me, and when things were going well, I had the uncanny ability to self sabotage. I certainly knew how to do things the hard way.