The essentials of happiness in life are……

Something to do,

Something to love,

and

Something to hope for.

I want to tell you the story of the Red Daffodil.

I am the Red Daffodil.

I was always a different child. I didn’t fit into any category very well. Always more comfortable with my self and my own thoughts than any group and most people. This tends to isolate one, but I managed to have a few friends, do a few activities and pretty well fit comfortably with life in the fifties and sixties.

Eventually, I married, had a home and family, educated myself, owned a business, got divorced, lived the single life for a while and then remarried and began to have a very different life.

A few years later, I began to get hungry for something of my own again and after we moved to a small town in southern Indiana, I decided to open a little bookstore and art gallery. Sounds okay doesn’t it? Well, it was a leap of Faith! This bookstore was going to be filled with Metaphysical art and books for the Mind, Body, and Spirit. So were the classes and Readings that I intended to do.

It would be an understatement to say that I was very nervous about this endeavor, but I was going to do all I could to make it work just fine. You see, it was located in pure REDNECK territory, smack in the midst of the Bible Belt in small town USA. I wasn’t sure if I was being brave or just plain stupid. Were tar and feathers in my future?

Spirit and the Powers That Be had to give me a LOT of help on this one. They did! With much meditation, prayer, incense, salt, candles and request for protection, I moved forward!

The one thing that still eluded me was what to name it…….more prayers and meditations until one night in a dream Spirit answered me. She explained to me what to call it and why, and that the name would stay with me for a very long time and would all-ways mean much to me. She even told me what colors to use on the sign and business cards and to use inside the store. In short, Spirit guided my every step. My gratitude is endless and to this day The Red Daffodil is who I am and will ever be.

The yellow gold is Spirit …the Light and Being of every faith who dwells in every heart and space. The Red is the Life’s Blood that flows thru every living being and is the same color for All……it connects us as One. Daffodils because they renew and grow every spring, and give an opportunity for growth and expansion and are beautiful to see as are we to Spirit.

So be it all-ways….in peace and love to you……The Red Daffy!

This world of Space time that I( we) live in is without a doubt the most brilliant, marvelous, contradictory, confusing and for me ecstatic place and time to be alive.

It feels like I have been waiting my entire life. I have waited a lifetime to be here just now. It is doubtful that any of us could have imagined the world we have learned to live with for 2020. The changes of life styles and habits will never be what they once were and it is far from ending anytime soon.

We have been fighting a war with an insidious, viscous and deadly enemy. We don’t even know for sure who the enemy is or what weapon we can use to kill him. The one thing we do know for sure is that this enemy takes lives and livelihoods from us. He is a Destroyer.

Here is another thing that I know for sure. Because of him, we are stronger. We are more courageous and steadfast. We have learned that fear and loss will not break us. We have learned more kindness and concern for our neighbors, our family members and even strangers.

We will never forget this year of 2020. The year we all became warriors.

It feels like we are still in the same place doesn’t it? Or does it?

We are so far from the places we were four months ago that there is no measuring or comparing it to anything else these days. Loved ones are gone, homes are gone, jobs and careers are gone, hard earned lives have disappeared almost overnight. The way we shop, work, play, eat out, exercise, live, visit one another, travel…..you name it and I will bet that you are doing it a bit different these days.

I am in my mid seventies. In all those years, I have seen many changes and experienced many things, but never, ever before have I  known a time such as this one. Most of us have adjusted to all these changes. We have searched out and done what needed doing in our lives to keep going and even to move forward. We have sadly said good by to some and gratefully said “Thank God! I love you” to others.

My point is…….that we are all getting a second chance at living our lives. Some day into the future you might decided to get back to the way it was before C-19. I sincerely hope not. Just as I wish it for myself, I hope you have changed. Isolation has a way of creating contemplation and thoughtful searching within.

Could I have been kinder, more patient, less driven by work and more driven by love. Must I always be acquiring “stuff” to prove how successful I am or is there a more giving way to do that.  Could I take the family to the movies instead of playing another round of golf with the guys, or another game of cards with the girls? What do I truly want my life to express. How would I feel if I lost my child to the pandemic? Did I hug them often and actually say” I love you” . So much comes to mind. Was I caught in a trap or was I really sharing myself with those in my life.

On the other hand, many creative and beautiful giving people have shown us their talents and love in so many wonderful ways…especially online. Thankfully we have been sharing together on the internet. Incredible music and creative videos are all over the place online. People are sharing, giving support and encouragement from places over the world. One could say that” the world .com” is alive and kicking!