Happy Friday!!

Well, we made it through another week. This one was a doozy!!!  School started for some, new chapters opening for others, saying good-bye happened too.

Today the two words that I am looking for are Patience and Grace! Oh, those two go hand in hand and are so hard to find sometimes.  So make today extra special and see if you can find those special sisters that are in your heart….Patience and Grace…I know they are there just waiting to hold your hand!

Happy Friday wear your favorite bracelet and know…Patience and Grace are waiting to walk with you.

Smile

Smile! Every day is a good day!

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Live It, Love It

"Other people may be there to help us, teach us, guide us along our path. But the lesson to be learned is always ours."

-Melody Beattie

Stop and Feel Grace

Yesterday at work a man walked in and he sounded just like my Uncle Bill.  His accent, the cadence of his sentences and he even looked like him a little bit…So I started asking him questions…are you from Atlanta? NO, he answered. But, I went to school outside of Atlanta growing up. As it turns out he did know my Uncle Bill. They went to prep school outside of Atlanta and were boyhood friends. He lives in Washington DC now and grew up in North Carolina. We continued to talk and he shared so many wonderful tales of growing up. The whole time he spoke it was like I was with my Uncle. The song of his voice as he shared more of his life history filled my heart with the love for family, history and sharing our stories. I took a picture with him and his wife and texted it to my Uncle. He instantly knew his classmates name and had not seen him since those days in high school some over 50 years ago.

All of this just made me realize how a total stranger can walk into your life and bring you to a place of joy…taking the moment to feel the Grace of every moment…the Grace to stop what you are doing and listen, listen to someone’s voice, listen to what they want to share from their heart, and the grace of having people in your life that you love. I mean really love. This moment of remembering my Uncle Bill made my whole day. I called him on my way home. His wonderful southern voice was like music in my ear and reminded me of how much I love him and appreciate his love for me and our entire family.

Uncle Bill and Keith

Maybe today you will slow down and feel that moment of Grace…where something really deep in your heart will connect you to a special memory or person that you have not seen or talked to in a long time.  

Grace is everywhere…slow down and feel the power it can bring into your heart.

Make today a day filled with GRACE!!!

Take Notice...

I went to the coast this weekend and a Blue Heron landed in a plant right next to where I was sitting.  I immediately texted Emily the picture. It was only 9 months ago when Emily shared those gorgeous pictures of a Blue Heron that she and her father had taken at dawn on Thanksgiving Day. This was a time when Emily was changing jobs and the gorgeous bird had such an impact on her, so I made her a Blue Heron bracelet to help carry her to her next chapter. The Blue Heron is a spectacular animal. It is like a gorgeous piece of art to see up close. It has been said that the Heron crossing your path could be a message that it is time to look deeper into aspects of your life that will bring out innate wisdom and show you how to become self-reliant. How could we not want more of that in our lives???

Just to bring the message to my attention yesterday at work a woman from out of town came in. I noticed that she had a bracelet on that looked like Healing Knots. But, it was a color I had never seen. As I got closer I realized it was one of my Blue Heron designs. This is a Special Occasion Triple Wrap all of the beads are the “sky” blue or in my brother’s favorite terms “Carolina Blue” with one silver bead for that special wish, moment or prayer you are carrying. As I spoke with her she explained how she had been given a bracelet when she was working on something really hard in her life. She then found my website and ordered this bracelet. The beads had no blue tint any longer. She had been wearing this bracelet to carry her and help her “not worry.” And it was helping. I said, “Maybe it is time to give this one away, it looks like it has been with you through a long chapter.” Her response, “No, I can’t.”

Something was still holding her with that bracelet. Something deep in her heart was still needing the comfort and the healing. It was a glorious day to meet someone that I had not known….and that I felt so close to. One bracelet at a time. One day at a time. One breath at a time.

With love to all that wear a bracelet…may the Blue Heron be with you today and bring you wisdom.

Go fly!!!

Three Types of People

I think there are three types of people...those that roll out of bed and exercise, those that sneak a quick workout into their lunch hour and then the people that muscle through the day and make the evening their time to unravel the stress with a good sweat. Well, I am usually a morning sweat girl, but yesterday I had this idea that I would go to the 8PM yoga class. Night time is a different time on your mat. Your body tells you all of the things that you did that day, mostly, how you tortured it. The feet remind you how long you were standing. The back reminds you that it is ready to snap, crackle and pop if you try to twist it, and the shallow breathing that made it past all of the hurdles in the day is ready to take some deep conscious breaths to really saturate your lungs with fresh air. So last night I dropped a car full of 15 year old girls (and one boy!!! Poor child!!!) off at a concert in the park and I drove straight to yoga. It was like I had a date. I was so excited and felt like I was almost doing something naughty. Taking a night for myself, to really stretch out my body and really relax into the evening.

The studio is full, I am late. I sneak into the back of class. The teacher is working us hard…that is not fair. I came to chill and unravel. The mat feels so cozy, so much like home. My mind tries to stop chattering about the day….I made it. It is done…”shut-up” I tell it over and over again. The sweetest part was seeing who comes to class at night. It is strange for me…but, I look up front and I see a friend from preschool. Oh, that makes me so happy I have missed talking with her this summer. To my left is another dear friend that always has something funny to share. So I keep moving and sweating and feeling so lucky that I stole this hour of my day to step into my body. To appreciate that another day is done. That my legs carried me and that my heart feels good. 

At the end of class the teacher said to all of us, “Promise me one thing. Promise me that this week you will smile to one perfect stranger. Really smile, from the bottom of your heart. Send them the true depth of caring and love that you would give a loved one.” And that was worth it all. What a great idea. Go out find someone that you can just love…with a smile.  See how it feels.  

Smiles are contagious!!!  Go out and share yours.

Peace

Yesterday one of my favorite messages appeared on my phone… "I gave a bracelet away…" is how the text began. It came from a  sweet girl in Missouri that I have met because she is a friend of my son's. She shared how dear it was to be able to give it away to someone and how happy it made her feel.  

Healing Knots holds so many moments of joy for me. When others feel the energy that giving a bracelet away can stir in their heart and soul is where I know the true meaning of this mission is brought to life. I always ask people to write the story of how giving away their bracelet happened...reading the words are always the most powerful heartfelt stories.  

It is not often that people actually put their words on paper…but, yesterday I know my brother was smiling down on us. You see…he was an English teacher and I know part of the mission of Healing Knots is not only to feel the deepest level of compassion like he always had, but it is to keep sharing the craft of writing. Not just writing. But, sharing from the deepest corners of your heart.

So in the spirit of my brother and fulfilling the true mission of Healing Knots, I am so proud to share the story that Mackenzie sent me yesterday. 

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Last night I decided to meet up with a good friend of mine, Tori, and an old friend from high school, Paige, who I hadn’t been able to spend time with for a while. We decided to go to our favorite local sushi restaurant then for a sunset bike ride next to the river. We ate and caught up, learning all of the little things we missed out on during the past year of each other’s lives.  The bike ride went slowly—it’s not easy to chat while riding bikes without falling! We made our way to a spot by the river, with a lovely swing and astounding view of the sunset. The three of us sat and talked for at least an hour about everything under the sun. I was wearing my Healing Knots, and Paige commented on how much she liked them…so of course, I had to tell her the story behind them and gave them to her. The bracelet was gold with three blue beads, which had faded since I received the beads; however, Corrine told me a few months ago that “the more the beads are faded, the more wisdom you have gained and the stronger you are.” The more discolored the beads, the more strength and memories in the bracelet. Paige fell in love with it and was so deeply touched by the story.

When I first met Corinne and received a few different bracelets, I was very hesitant to give them away. I formed a deep connection with each one and wanted to keep them as a memory of the time or reason they were given to me. Nathan had to remind me that the meaning behind them was to heal, or to “let go” of the sadness or grief within the bracelet. I had to let go of each bracelet, and with the letting go came the healing. Once I started, I couldn’t stop—I realized the feeling of giving away a bracelet and seeing the look of shock and excitement on someone’s face when you give them one and tell them Corinne’s story is a feeling of euphoria.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

As I was driving home, it was one of the most beautiful nights I’ve experienced all year. There was a blue moon that night so it was extra big and bright in the sky. With all my windows down and one of my favorite songs to relax and reflect to playing, I felt so at peace. It was one of those moments where every problem in my life was irrelevant, it was a moment of complete perfection. In that moment I realized I hadn’t felt this tranquil in a long time. It had been so long since I had taken the time to be with myself inside of my own thoughts. I thought to myself how thankful I was to have these knots, a simple bracelet with a world of meaning, that aided me in re-connecting me with a friend, and turned a simple summer night into a spiritual experience—giving me a feeling of perfect happiness I almost forgot I could feel.

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Mackenzie, thank you for sharing with us. Peace to all on this glorious Sunday!

Happy August

Happy August & happy Saturday!!

Love,

Healing Knots