Change – Be Inspired

This week, we had one of those company wide emails come from the owner with news of change in management. The owner shared a quote from his grandmother and it has been rattling around in my head and really taken root. I do believe her words are a powerful tool to remember when faced with change...

From M. McAdams: “Many years ago my wise and loving 90-year-old Grandmother Ethel told me that she knew her time in this life was limited and that she wanted to share with me a very important observation from her long life: ‘People that accept and embrace change have a happy life and that those who don't, don’t!’"

WOW, I would have loved to have had a cup of coffee with Grandmother Ethel. The simple words of wisdom from her 90 years and how powerful those words still are for us in this crazy technology focused world we are bombarded with in 2015.

I have found myself sharing this quote with so many of my friends this week…amazing how when you really look at change and how you deal with it. You realize you can choose one of two options:

Fight it and be resistant

Accept and move with it!

How will you face change today?  Are you making changes in your life from the inside, or are all the changes just happening to you from the outside world? Is change knocking on your door? And is it time to make it happen?

A friend at work got her hair cut and was upset…WOW!!! I realized…change…it is okay, it will grow back. But, it changed how she felt. She is gorgeous with short hair or long hair, but for her it changed her appearance and that change hurt.

What is changing in your world? How are you facing it?

Change: No more sun…the days of winter weather, days filled with gray, drizzle.

Change: Illness…I have a friend that is fighting cancer and has been undergoing treatment for a couple of years. Oh, so much change…oh, so much.

Change: Growing up…teenage years and hormones invade your precious child and all of a sudden words are different, behaviors are different…

Change:  Budget cuts at work…different procedures and your responsibilities shift.

Change: Choices. Wanting to make changes in your life with intention and purpose – from the inside.

Change:  Someone you love is gone…and you are left to live without them.

I guess for me the hardest piece about change is acceptance. How do we accept this new way of being? Can we stay the same as change shifts our reality? How can it still be your life when someone you love is gone, or something in your landscape has changed?

I found these words this week that felt like such wonderful guidance…

The author said,

 “Be sensitive to the changes both subtle and dramatic around you – and in you.  

Give yourself time and freedom to adapt to these changes and figure out what they mean to you.  

Give yourself time to catch up.  

Be gentle with yourself.  Listen to your needs.  

Let yourself adapt to the changes that are right for you.”

( M. Beattie, Journey to the Heart)

Change is always happening…how can you meet it with love and acceptance?

One Wish: 50th Birthday Party Favors!

On this Tuesday in January, there is sun shining on this little corner of the world that I live in. Hope sunshine has been a part of your day…or week. It certainly helps lift our spirits.

This weekend was a busy one around here. Healing Knots has been invited to be party favors for a 50^th birthday party….so we were making lots of bracelets, lots of knots and putting together lots of “one-wish” birthday bracelets!

What a surprise and amazing honor that everyone coming to this birthday celebration will leave with a single wrap or a triple wrap….One Wish Bracelet.

The party host wanted everyone to have something that would remind them of what a special circle of friends they have been for his 50 years….and also, take something to let them fill their heart with one wish for their coming year.

Here are the bracelets that are GOIN’ TO CALIFORNIA.

Happy Trails and may these bracelets bring us more friends in our precious circle of love, healing and celebration!!!

If You Are Lucky

If you are lucky you will get to celebrate your 50^th birthday.

If you are lucky you might be able to ride bicycles by the ocean and let the sea breeze be your birthday song.

If you are lucky you might have one special person that asks you what you want to do to celebrate the amazing milestone of seeing the earth go around the sun for the 50^th time.

If you are lucky you will know that at this point in life presence is more important than presents.

If you are lucky you will get a phone call from someone that you have not seen in years that is making a 50th birthday party list and you are included.

If you are lucky you will get to be counted as one of the “ presence” for someone else’s special 50^th mark in time.

If you are lucky it will be a trip back in time where you made memories as a 20 year old, got married, and spent those carefree days of being young and foolish.

If you are lucky you will see people you have not seen in decades and all of you will feel like you never missed a beat.

If you are lucky you will feel that 50 is better than 20.

If you are lucky.

If you are,

You will know.

-Corinne Cargnoni 

Inspiring Words

Earlier this month I shared some words from Sandra Magsamen’s book Living Artfully. Well, it is one of those amazing little stories that keep landing in my lap. Whenever I write or feature someone or their work, I like to reach out to them and introduce myself and Healing Knots. And most of all, ask permission to share their art or message.  

Also, I often offer to make them a bracelet so that they can be in our circle of friends and also, to thank them for sharing their gifts with me.

So, I wrote Sandra an email.  She responded and was so gracious and kind.

Oh, how I wish she lived around the corner and we could meet for lunch and she could share more of her many years of making art and her wisdom that feels so inspiring to me.  

She is getting her bracelet this week and I hope to share pictures with you.  It might be our first bracelet in Maryland….certainly the first in Glen Arm, Maryland where she lives. 

Please look at more of her art on her website – www.SandraMagsamen.com.  She has been so supportive of Healing Knots and shared more of her pieces. 

They are so refreshing…we wanted to share with you…

Have a great weekend!

My Friend TJ

“People come and people go, they take and they give.

They build you up just to tear you down, that’s just the way it is.

All you need is one friend, to get you through the day, one friend that will never go away…..”

-Keb' Mo' 

(Note to readers: I wrote this back in December and thought maybe this is just for me, but I realize it is still so important and I wanted to share…)

Oh, this song was going through my head last Friday. I started working at a new job in 2012.  A couple of weeks after I had been working there a new hire showed up. His name was T.J. He was quiet. He also had the same haircut as my brother, bald. 

I started training him and we both felt like the new kids on the block, so we started helping each other learn the ropes. I loved making jokes to him that I had seniority over him because I started 2 weeks earlier…that is all I had over him. He has more skills, experiences, certifications and brains than I could ever dream of having. He is a retired cop from upstate New York, he graduated from Culinary School, he is a personal trainer, he teaches so many fitness classes and can educate you on how every muscle works, he raised his two children alone and is an amazing father, and most of all, he always “had my back.”

His mother was a nurse, poet and chaplain. He speaks of her with such tenderness. One day we spent the day going to every Celtic store and jewelry store in Austin to try to find a cross she had given him years ago but he had lost. I just had this feeling he needed to wear that again to keep her love with him.  

I guess most of all, TJ feels like family.

When my brother passed away I immediately called TJ and told him I could not get to work. He said, “Do not worry, I will cover.” He probably covered my shifts for the next two weeks. I don’t even remember hearing about what happened. He just did it.

Well, we have been work friends now for 2 years and even my family loves him. He drives a motorcycle, loves dogs (oh, I forgot he is a dog trainer, too). He had a Great Dane that passed away this year and I made him a bracelet the same color as his dog. He loved that dog and was heartbroken that he was gone. TJ wears that bracelet every day. It is one of those tender things that surprises me when I see him sporting a bracelet made with wood beads and those knots of mine that truly connect straight to my heart.

Oh, the stories could go on and on….he tolerates all of my pest-like behaviors. He has actually told me that one of his ears is hard of hearing from a gun-shot during his detective days. Now I am not certain that is true, or if he needs an excuse to not listen to half of the things I tell him. 

But, I know that angels land in our path when we need them. He became the brother I needed at just the time I needed him. His life is going great places….I know it for sure.

TJ landed in my path when I needed someone to step in and be my friend. I am so thankful for meeting him and knowing him. He is a gift I will be thankful for forever. Good Luck TJ….go fly!

I wish him luck and know he will do great things.  Most of all, I miss him already.

I emailed this to TJ the day he left…it is true and makes me cry. 

If you have a special “TJ” in your life, maybe this poem would make their day...please share.

Kindness

Naomi Shihab Nye

Before you know what kindness really is

you must lose things,

feel the future dissolve in a moment

like salt in a weakened broth.

What you held in your hand,

what you counted and carefully saved,

all this must go so you know

how desolate the landscape can be

between the regions of kindness.

How you ride and ride

thinking the bus will never stop,

the passengers eating maize and chicken

will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,

you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho

lies dead by the side of the road.

You must see how this could be you,

how he too was someone

who journeyed through the night with plans

and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,

you must know sorrow as the deepest thing.

You must wake up with sorrow.

You must speak to it till your voice

catches the thread of all sorrows

and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,

only kindness that ties your shoes

and send you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,

only kindness that raises its head

from the crowd of the world to say

it is I you have been looking for,

and then goes with you everywhere

like a shadow or a friend.

Honor Winter's Lesson

"'See the pine trees and learn their lesson,' a friend once said. 'Pine trees are nature's reminder that growth continues even in the winter.'

Winter is an important season in our lives. It is more than a time of coldness and snow. It's a time of going within. A time to rest from the work that's been done, a time to prepare for the lessons ahead. Long for the sun on your shoulders, but let the frost and cold come. The ground has been left fallow in preparation for nourishing the seeds of new life. 

Honor winter's lesson. Despite the time of lifelessness and inactivity, this is still a season of growth. Trust what's being worked out in your soul. The snow will melt. The sun will shine again. The time will come to remove your heavy garb and return to the activity of life.

Cherish the winter. Cherish its quietness, the time of going within to rest and heal. Cherish this time of preparation that must come before new life. Cherish the hope that lies beneath the snow."

-Melody Beattie, Journey to the Heart

Friends

We are loving this "Into Your Own" card from Curly Girl Design! Oh, how the message is so true.

"We all let people into our lives, but you will find that really good friends let you into your own."

"friends. whose faith in you could lift you right up out of yourself."

"Life is funny."

Let the Universe Help You

"Let the universe help you. You are not in this world alone. You never have been, although your belief may have created that illusion.

Tell the universe what you want. Tell a friend. Tell God, too. Tell yourself. Write it down on a list. Be clear and forthright about what you need and want. Talk as if you were talking to a friend. That is not control. That is learning to own your creative power—power to help create your life. Then let go. Do not stand tapping your foot, impatiently waiting. Simply let go, the way you would if you trusted your friend to respond positively, in a way that was best for you.

Go naturally about the course of your life. Listen to your heart. Listen to your inner voice. What you are guided to do, where you are guided to go, where your attention is directed, the people you meet, the phone calls you receive, the experiences you have—even the problems that arise—these are some ways the universe can respond to you.

Open your eyes. Look around. See how the universe responds. Watch how it dances for you, with you. You are connected to a magical loving universe, one that will come alive for you, dance for you, in ways you cannot imagine—but in ways you will come to know as true.

Look within, too. Sometimes the most gentle, quiet, flickering thought— that glimmer of an idea, that awareness of a need or desire, or that small bit of inspiration or intuition—is how the universe prepares use for what it wants us to do or receive. Our inner voice, the one in our heart, is an important part of the way we're guided and led down our path.

You stand at a gateway now. 

It's the door to universal love."

-Melody Beattie, Journey to the Heart

You've Got a Friend

Dear Healing Knots friends,

Today in yoga, the teacher finished the class with this song….and Carole King wrote this many, many years ago (1971 to be exact). It is still an amazing song to listen to and you can feel that these words are coming straight from her heart.

Feel these words in your heart and know that they are true.

Happy Friday, friends!

"You've Got a Friend"

Carole King (Tapestry, 1971)

When you're down in troubles
And you need some love and care
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you got to do is call
And I'll be there
Yes I will
You've got a friend

If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together
And call my name out loud
Soon you'll hear me knocking at your door

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
Ain't it good to know that you've got a friend

When people can be so cold
They'll hurt you and desert you
And take your soul if you let them
Oh, but don't you let them

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend

January Lift Me Ups

For many people, January is a difficult time of year. The dark days of winter weigh heavy on some people’s hearts, and it is a challenge to face their usual life this time of year. Just one of the seasonal side-effects for some, with the holidays over and the fun behind them and back to the daily grind life just isn’t the usual game.

For me, it is the anniversary of both of my parents’ deaths. My mother has now been gone for 41 years today. My father has been gone for 6 years come the second week of January.

It is truly an odd thing that they would both have left this earth in the same month so many years apart. 

So for me, this month can sometimes tip my happy scale. But, I try to take this time to really be present and aware that life is precious and loss is a lifetime experience. 

Every year I find myself in a different space regarding my parents no longer being here.  Some years I completely forget to even acknowledge that January holds these powerful dates in my life. Other years, I range from low impact to high impact emotions….just depending what the moment holds.

As I ponder this day and grasp my feelings of appreciation for a new day, I do feel the reality that it holds for me and my family history. Though it is not always easy, I do think it is important that we own our stories, all of the pieces. So in a loving tribute and celebration to my mother, Carolyn Mitchell Pruitt, I want to send love and inspiration to all that struggle to get through this first month of the new year. 

Know that Healing Knots is always here and we want to lift you and hold your hand, heart and wrist through these times that are not always easy. If I could throw bracelets out of your computer screen that would land on every single persons’ wrist right now I would.

We are all connected, and being there for each other is so very valuable. As I was thinking about today….I wanted to send some ideas to remind us how to make a list of “lift me ups” for January and any month that might hold some hard family history, current history or times when our hearts ache.

Just maybe one of these will get you through a day that is a little challenging:

• Go outside, nature will fill you with wonder!
• Find an animal to play with or pet.
• Find a child to talk to or hangout with; their thoughts are usually more uplifting and they are always happy to share.
• Wear white!!! Just wearing light colors can lift your heart.
• Grab a piece of fresh fruit.
• Light a candle and say a prayer, or make a wish.
• Write in your journal, even if it is sad news, putting it on paper helps release the hold.
• Call an old friend and ask them to tell you a joke or share that your heart aches.
• Buy some flowers to put by your bed.
• My favorite – do a headstand.
• Curl up by a fire….and just BE. Sometimes that is enough.

Hugs to everyone that has lost someone in January!!!

And most of all, remember it is just one day at a time….you can do it!!!

Emotional Wellness: Be Your Fabulous Self in 2015

The best bracelet idea yet...one word for every bead...54 beads I believe...make each one of these part of your year, month, week, day, life.

Thank you to a dear friend Lou Lacey for sharing this fabulous list. She is the Director of Wellness at the Children's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.

I have known Lou since I was a tiny girl in Alabama. Her mother and my mother were best friends. We used to paint tree stumps together...for hours.

She is a gift in my life and to all that know her. 

Happy New Year, Lou...keep sharing. 

Laugh

Hug

Give 

Remember

Forget

Forgive

Dance

Smile

Breathe

Invite

Paint

Explore

Accept

See

Cry

Jump

Cook

Join 

Giggle

Hike

Watch

Ask

Strive

Whisper

Inspire

Create

Sleep

Cuddle

Dream

Help

Allow

Doodle

Slurp

Celebrate

Listen

Grieve

Sing

Nap

Clap

Savor

Enjoy

Offer

Cheer

Heal 

Soothe

Holler

Grow

Read

Soar

Believe

Release

Skip

Hum

Pray

Protect

BE

LOVE

Living Artfully

On Saturday I woke up and realized I was not going to let the real world take my day away…I was going to cling to the thought of one last weekend of “the holidays.” Today I was going to read. So I sipped my coffee and started looking at the bookshelf…OH MY GOODNESS…out popped the most amazing book that I had not opened in years. Living Artfully by Sandra Magsamen. This is exactly what I needed to inspire my new year.

Sandra Magsamen is just who could help me remember what I wanted 2015 to be filled with and how to not let the “busy” life sweep me away and disconnect my soul. Her words just jumped right into my heart and started warming my soul. I love everything she says about art and spending your time loving people.

I stepped out onto the deck…brought some beads, and started reading and smiling…from head to toe. I stayed there all day, the sun was shining and I was loving this day.

She is just who I wanted to fill my day and my cup of happiness on this final Saturday of the Christmas break.

I will stop now…because her words on the page say it all.

One more inspiration to start the New Year!!!

Another Trip Around the Sun

Another trip around the sun…such a fascinating way to think of a new year. 

As we all ride together on this earth, we take a trip around the sun and it takes 365 days.

This helps really see the year as a journey. So here we go on our 2015 trip.

The number 15 has me thinking of how we can remember this year. What can we do to make it a year that stands out? Some of us are looking for a new year of new ideas, new jobs, new habits, maybe new ways to do the same old thing.

So I started to ponder this 15 idea….

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And 15 is a fascinating number.  Just a couple of fun facts:

• The International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies, 2015 is a United Nations observance that aims to raise awareness of the achievements of light science and its applications, and its importance to humankind. 
• Fifteen is a triangular number, a hexagonal number, a pentatope number.
• The atomic number of phosphorus.
• Group 15 of the periodic table are sometimes known as the "Pnictogens".
• In sports:
• All four of the major Gaelic games—hurling, Gaelic football for men and women, and camogie—each team has 15 players on the field at any given time.
• In tennis, the number 15 represents the first point gained in a game.
• In rugby, each team has 15 players on the field at any given time. The jersey number 15 is worn by the starting fullback.
• In baseball, the National League and American League within Major League Baseball will each have 15 teams.
• In age:
• The age of a quinceañera, a Hispanic girl celebrating her 15th birthday. 
• The age for obtaining a driver's (or learner's) permit in certain jurisdictions.
• Fifteen is: 
• The number of days in each of the 24 cycles of the Chinese calendar.
• The number of guns in a gun salute to Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force Lieutenant Generals, and Navy and Coast Guard Vice Admirals.
• The number of checkers each side has at the start of a backgammon game.
• The number if balls int eh eight ball variant of billiards.
• The number of minutes in one quarter of an hour; 15 minutes past or before an hour is known as quarter past and quarter to, respectively.
• The number of letters in the words "uncopyrightable", "dermatoglyphics", "misconjugatedly", and "hydropneumatics", which are the longest words in the English language that do not repeat a letter.

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Oh, truly, I found this fascinating. We must not forget that 15 is the year of the learner’s permit in America…and those that are interested can start driving a car with their very nervous parent sitting next to them. My daughter is 15 and trust me, it is a year to remember!!!

But, I keep thinking how can each of us make this a year to remember? How about a list of 15 things you want to make sure happen this year in your life?

It can be really simple. Maybe 15 books you want to read, 15 movies you want to see. Maybe you can walk 15 minutes further on a daily basis and start chipping away at some of the holiday bulge that has snuck onto your waistline…

Maybe 15 handwritten thank you notes, for 15 people who helped you make it through 2014!
Contact 15 people that you have not talked to in the past year.

Maybe adding 15 more ounces of water to your daily routine. 

Walking your dog 15 minutes each day.

Promise to get 15 more minutes of sleep each night.

Adding 15 new recipes to your weekly menu that has become so boring and predictable. 

Or, promising yourself to do 15 random acts of kindness this year. Oh, these are the moments we want to remember and bring into our lives and the lives of others.

Maybe it is time to clear out the clutter and get rid of 15 things in your closet that do not serve you or make you look your best. Even something really simple like promising to do 15 push-ups every day so those arms are buff and strong by summer.

Well, I could keep going and going on this idea of 15 somethings to make this next journey around the sun one that we remember.

Most of all, I have 15 things I want to write on a pad of paper to remind me that it is a new year…and it is time to make sure we are doing the best things we can to make this world a better place!!! 

Of course, I am going to make a bracelet for the 15 ideas that I want to carry with me on this trip around the sun.

New Year's Bracelet: 20 silver and 15 copper beads as a reminder of the 15 things to make this year count!

2015- The International Year of Light! Oh, how I love that. 

Happy New Year to everyone!

Be safe and may your heart be filled with light.