HOPE – Page 13 – Daily Muse

Spiritual messages and reminders come in many forms but no matter how or when they come it is important to learn what they are trying to tell us. Our spirits must be nourished and filled with dreams, passion, enthusiasm and creativity or they eventually shrivel up into an empty shell and die of thirst…

A few days ago I was ready to let go of the last remains of a cactus I (barely) kept alive for over 25 years. Truth be told it’s been sitting dead on my windowsill for some time but I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. That cactus was the first thing I bought when I moved out of my parents house. Perhaps it represented a right of passage or perhaps it represented life itself. Whatever it represented at any given time my heart is saddened by the realization that I killed what was once a living, breathing thing.

I remember when I bought it and if memory serves it was only about 12 inches high. I cared for it faithfully. It outgrew its pot, was replanted and grew some more. I was quite proud of how it was flourishing with new “arms” sprouting all the time. What started out one taller spine with one little arm was over 5 feet tall with dozens of arms! It was a beautiful shade of green with little leaves constantly sprouting from the end of the arms and main spine. Although it started to fall over to one side and I could no longer move it, I would turn the pot so it would rest against the wall. I felt and communicated with the spirit in that cactus and knew that as long as I gave it nourishment it would stay happy, healthy and growing.

One day I had a cleaning person come to my apartment and when I returned home from work, there was my cactus tipped over on the floor. The main spine had split and a few of the arms were dangling from the place where they were once firmly attached. They oozed white liquid and I clearly remember crying hysterically about my broken and obviously bleeding cactus. Sadly I could not save the main spine but I did replant one of the small arms. It took root quickly and season after season it sat on my windowsill and grew although not as full or tall as its mother.

For whatever reason, I stopped watering my cactus as often as necessary even though it would tell me what it needed by turning slightly brown. I would look at it and be too tired or too busy to simply get a glass of water to water it. I’d tell myself ‘I’ll water it tomorrow’ and maybe I would get to it, but soon my tomorrows became more frequent. A cactus has an amazing resilience. If it doesn’t have water it lays dormant using little energy to live but after so many tomorrows (about 3 years worth) my cactus was brown and shriveled. I wept as I moved it from the windowsill to the front door so I could get rid of it. Yes it was dead and it was finally time to let it go.

The day after I moved the cactus I put it back into its corner home to take a picture for this post and I noticed green at the tips of the spine and arms. Wait, maybe it’s not dead after all! Is it possible to bring it back to life after years of neglect? Could a bit of water, and love and light make a difference? I don’t know if my cactus will fully spring to life again but I can tell you that for now it is watered and the small green tips are getting greener and expanding.

Like the cactus our spirits are very much alive inside. We are more resilient than perhaps we give ourselves credit for. At times we may feel ‘dormant’ but once we begin nourishing our spirits with love, excitement, passion and light we have the ability to come back to life. If you’ve had a stressful time or painful experience it is natural to want to push it aside, isolate or dull the pain so you can’t feel it but a sprinkling of forgiveness and love goes a long way! Your spirit may be calling out for water now. Find the nourishment it needs! Your spirit wants to shine brightly and light your way.

As long as your heart is beating and you have breath in your body there is always hope. It’s never too late to nourish your spirit and find the spark within. If you are always too busy or too tired or stressed to nourish your spirit and you want to wait until tomorrow that’s fine but how many tomorrows will it take before you wake up to find years have passed? There’s no tomorrow better than today to start nourishing your spirit.

What are you enthusiastic about? What do you love? What are you passionate about? What excites you? Find those things and live vibrantly again! Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Choose today to nourish your spirit and soul!~Shine Your Light Debbie

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“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”~Albert Einstein

Does a miracle change things by the notion that it appears and “poof” everything changes or is it a matter of acting on the miracle that presented itself? Is it “enough” that you recognized the miracle or will you take action with the knowledge that an amazing opportunity just opened a door for you and all you need do is act upon it by simply taking a step forward to walk through the door?

There’s no better time to reflect upon miracles, spirit and freedom than this holy week of Passover and Easter. From the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea to the miracle of spirit appearing after death, this is a week to reflect upon what we actually DO with the miracles that occur in each of our lives.

It might be a thought, an opportunity or you just might have an epiphany which in an instant helps you change direction. After all aren’t those the miracles you pray for? An answer is just as much of a miracle as anything else if you’ve asked a question (or prayed for it) long enough. What you do with your miracle is up to you but first you must start to see those miracles and find freedom by making the impossible, possible with your choices.

Back in 1980 I was living in Israel on Kibbutz Ha’Ogen. During the time I was there I had the opportunity to part take of a Passover Seder on the Kibbutz. The Seder was very different from the one I experienced growing up. At the time I spoke semi-fluent hebrew and was struck at the core of my being when the words (loosely translated here) were “It is what we did for ourselves with the help of God’s miracles that brought us out of Egypt.” Wait a second! It wasn’t all about what “God did for us (‘us’ meaning the Jewish people) that brought us out of Egypt.”

It made so much sense to me. If the Red Sea parted but the people were too afraid to step forward and actually walk the path that was miraculously created the story of Exodus would be very different. In fact the story of Exodus might not exist at all. Can you imagine if the people said “ok God, you parted the sea, cool trick. Now what? Can you tele-port me to the other side.” I realized back then that if you don’t act on miracles or opportunities or the answers to your prayers you will still be in a place of waiting for miracles, opportunities or your prayers to be answered. You need to act upon the miracles presented to you at any given moment and in many ways, acting upon your miracles is another miracle!

The definition of a miracle is that which cannot be scientifically explained or otherwise attributable to the “laws of nature” but who of us has not experienced or seen some sort of miracle? The birth of a baby, the seeds sprouting in spring, or waking up in the morning after a devastating storm when you thought you would surely parish. The fact that you are a divine spirit and that you made the choice to live in a human body is a miracle. The sun rising and setting is a miracle.

So as in the opening Einstein quote; “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” Each day presents you with miracles and perhaps the real miracle is the choice you have to act upon those miracles. It is YOU and what you choose to do for yourself when you are given a miracle that makes all the difference!~Shine Your Light Debbie

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