Day 70: Screw your Golden Ticket, I want rare diamonds!

What once sent pandemonium rippling around the globe has upped the ante! 

Arthur Slugworth, Willy Wonka's arch rival, has just announced a sweet surprise of his own: 

The world's 5 rarest diamonds have been hidden inside jawbreakers!

Once the news broke, chaos exploded in every city.

In candy shops, adults were seen overtaking the stores and using their loot as weapons. Numerous incidents were reported of socks filled with jawbreakers - breaking more than just jaws.

Elsewhere, factories have repurposed their child labor in what should have been the stuff kids dream of - eating candy. But it quickly turned into a nightmare, as secret footage reveals:

******************************************

Factory forewoman (who will undoubtedly be played by Elizabeth Banks once this piece of history makes it to the silver screen) looks out over a large warehouse crammed full of small children.

Child laborer 1: " . . . . my tongue . . .it's bleeding!"

Forewoman: LICK FASTER!!

Child Laborer 2: ". . . my teeth hurt!"

Forewoman: You don't need teeth! Lick!!

****************************************** 

This seemingly innocent marketing tactic is steadily proving to have crossed the line somewhere along the way. 

With no way to know when or where the world's 5 rarest diamonds will be found, the world is beginning to plan for the worst. 

And with the ugly face of greed in broad sight, this is one test we hope humanity can pass.

Day 69: Must Be Spring

 . . . or maybe it's already summer, seeing as I saw a turtle sunning itself in North Pond this morning.

I think we're somewhere in between spring and summer and the trees have started making their own wedding bouquets.

They're still working on growing a little bigger though. But they have a few weeks until the calendar says it's May.

Day 68: What got you here, won't get you there

This quote has been popping up in my head a LOT lately - in virtually all areas of my life.

 

It's so true, yet sometimes hard to remember. 

But if you want to make any changes in your life, be it a new

• goal
• routine
• hobby
• financial status
• career
• relationship (to yourself, anyone, or anything)
• perspective in general

something's gotta shift in your current approach.

Continuing on in the exact same manner as you have been will not get you where you want to be. It will just frustrate, drain, and deplete you. 

At least that's been my experience.

Wanna know more about shifting your approach to get where you want to be? Let's talk!

Day 67: April Fool, Psychic Who?

Boy was I an April Fool, yesterday! 

Not in that I forgot it was April and the start of a new month, but in the fact that I forgot entirely about posting!

I went to a dance show at the Harris Theater yesterday evening. But surprisingly that wasn't the highlight of my night. Instead it was the time before the show that I spent with my friend.

I learned about many paranormal experiences she's had which led me to the conclusion that my friend is a Medium!

I am NOT that attuned to spiritual presence - and boy am I glad. Because some of the things she told me would have freaked me the fudge out!!

A cool and comforting thing to hear was that she's been told by multiple psychics that she has 'strong spirit' - meaning she has a lot of spirit guides and protectors always around her. 

Guardian Angel status?? Ok, now THAT I'm on board with!

It was interesting to learn that, though not a 'religious' person in any sense of the word, my friend always finds herself reciting The Lord's Prayer when sensing or feeling scared by negative spirits. 

"I don't even think about it, it just happens - and I learned [the prayer] when I was little, so it's not even like I really remember it right." 

Hearing this admission solidified even more to me that there are no requirements or prerequisites needed to ask for help or receive comfort/protection from a higher power - regardless of the title you give it.

Day 66: . . . Um . . .

 

I don't get it either.

... even if I did draw it years ago ....

Day 65: The magic of pause during growth

Growth at times can be hard. 

It can be exhausting. It can be painful. It can feel like a lot - maybe too much.

And that's ok. 

It is said that when things get tough, feel like too much to bear, that's when transformations and change happen. Like magic. 

Sometimes though, it is also a viable choice to take a break, to pause, to rest.  

This, too, can be like magic.

Restoration during a challenging time rather than soldiering on. How might this change things?

For me, it provides the time and space needed to feel ALL the feels. Especially the ones I'd rather pass through as quick as possible. But with pause, quick is not an option. 

Think of it as emotional fertilizer.  

It takes some time for the nutrients to sink down through the soil. So much time, in some cases, we may question if anything beneficial is happening at all. But emotional fertilizer doesn't have a set timeline.

And neither does personal growth.

So what do we do during this indeterminate time frame?
Observe. Acknowledge. Grow our awareness. Of everything that that comes up - thoughts, feelings, judgements, beliefs, old, new, good, bad - all of it. 

And then we sift through for what feels best for and within us. And we give ourselves permission to leave the rest.

Day 64: Walking the Talk

Walking the talk is harder than it sounds . . . 

To show up how you say you will.
To practice what you preach.
To exude You in every word, thought, and step.

This requires awareness - a lot of it. Awareness of your thoughts. Awareness of your emotions and (physical) feelings. Awareness of your actions.

This requires courage. To do what is right - for you. Even if it causes short term hurts or discomfort.

This requires taking your life (and brain) off of auto-pilot and practicing over and over and over and over again to drive for yourself.

And after a lot of effort and practice, success and struggle, you find yourself. And get to walk in your own light - and dare I say it, love.