The essentials of happiness in life are……
Something to do,
Something to love,
and
Something to hope for.
All posts by Christina Tolliver
The Red Daffodil
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!
One…..two….three…..Go!
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.
Still the same……..
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!
Changes
Like the rest of the world, I am stuck here at home these days. C-19 has turned us all into semi captives of our own making. It is a very interesting and often unwelcome place to be. At first, it seemed a rather fun spot to be in. Now, at a couple of months into the isolation, I don’t like it quite so much. I miss people, hugs, sitting down in a restaurant to have coffee and lunch. I miss so much of what is the physical, touching, connecting part of a life…friends families, and coworkers.
Thank goodness for our pets and gardens. Thanks for the internet allowing us to at least connect with videos and posts. Oh my! How grateful I am for drive ins and drive thru. There is not enough love in this one heart that can express the gratitude that I have to care givers and first responders. I have lost two people I’ve loved so far with this d___virus and I pray every night that there are no more. I am grateful that someone was holding their hand as they went Home. One was my best friend and travel companion and the other a young friend about to have his first child and begin his life and family. He was only 42yo. One cannot make sense of it.
We will all be changed when this is over. Normal will have a new definition. Our lives will be sweeter and we will be more kind and considerate with one another. Hopefully we will never go back to the excesses we had fallen into and we will truly look at each other as family.
Be safe. Be well. Be renewed. Be the Light and Love that you seek. Peace!
The Legend of Saint Valentine
Over a few centuries there have been several different stories about how Valentine’s day came to be. Here is just one of them.
I hope that you have a truly great day spent with those you love. Happy Heart! Happy Day!
Be sure to eat lots of chocolate!
We are told that Valentine was a kind hearted physician who practiced medicine out of a small room in his home. He always made a special effort to offer his patients medicines that taste good. He would take care to mix bitter tasting medicines with wine, milk or honey to make them more palatable for the sick or injured. He cleansed wounds with wine vinegar and would use freshly ground herbs and roots to relieve pain. Religion was a significant part of his life and he would lead others to prayer. He often prayed for the health of his patients.
One day a jailer for Roman Claudius knocked on Valentine’s door, clutching his blind daughter, Asteruis, in his arms. He had learned of Valentine’s medical and spiritual healing abilities and appealed to Valentine to treat his daughter’s blindness.
Valentine knew that her condition would be difficult to treat, but he told the man that he would do his best. The little girl was examined, given an ointment for her eyes and a series of re-visits were scheduled.
Several weeks passed and the girl’s sight was not restored. One day, Valentine received a visit from Roman soldiers who arrested him, destroyed his medicines and admonished him for his religious views. Knowing his execution was imminent, Valentine asked the jailer for paper, pen and ink. He jotted a farewell note and handed it to the jailer to give to his blind daughter. Valentine was executed later that day, on 14 February.
When the jailer returned home, his little daughter opened the note and discovered a flower inside. The message said,” From your Valentine.”. As the little girl held the flower in the palm of her hand, she saw brilliant colors for the first time in her life! her eyesight was completely restored!
It appears that all of the Valentine stories eventually convoluted into one. Who knows which is correct?
In 496AD, Pope Gelasius declared the day in honor of St. Valentine. Through the centuries, the holiday became a time to exchange love messages. St. Valentine became the patron Saint of Lovers.
Just thinking……..
It occurs to me this morning that this is one of those days when I am “feeling older”. I can’t be certain what that means. I don’t think I am old yet. Exactly when does one get old?? When the years are added up? When your children start having children..or heaven help you, when those children start having children?
Well, that has all happened to me. Am I old yet??
My daughter and I were having lunch in a restaurant over the weekend and sitting at the table next to us was a group of folks who looked to be about my age. They were all talking about their various illnesses and doctors and just as I thought to myself” I hope that I never get that old”, my daughter looked at me and said ” I hope that you never get that old!”
Are you old when you start talking like that. When there is no longer anything of interest in your life except your last doctor’s appointment!! God forbid it!!
I have to tell you that seventy years is hot on my tail, but I am still outrunning it. The day will never come when I cannot take my camera or my notepad out to find an exciting and beautiful moment to write about or take a picture of. Even if it is only a bug on a leaf or the morning dew on a flower. There is a moment to cherish.
Like this iris from the garden where I live.
As I look in the mirror every morning, I am surprised by the person who looks back at me. I no longer color my hair. Most of my chin is traveling to South America and every time I look, there seems to be a new wrinkle someplace that I didn’t notice before!
Who is this person looking back at me..cause this isn’t who I see in my mind’s eye at all! The experience of finding this person in the mirror is perhaps one of the most difficult parts of changing to age. Most of us just never imagine ourselves at this stage with so many different looking body parts. Well, it is real and it is me and I am trying to learn to live with it. I guess that not living with it wouldn’t be any fun on so many levels. Guess I’ll just go with it for now.
Since I can only blog on things that I know about, We will be speaking about aging a lot here, but many other things too. I will be sharing my own and often lopsided wisdom. I love and adore words, lots of words used in lots of ways, consequently, I will be rambling a lot….be forewarned.
I leave you today with these words from Suzy Toronto,” Personally, at this moment, I have no idea how old I am. I do remember a few milestone birthdays–you know,18,21,40….but in my head, nothing ever changed. I keep wondering when everyone is going to catch on to the fact that for the last thirty years I’ve been masquerading as an adult. Perhaps we are, like the old saying goes, ” Only as old as we feel.” In that case, I’ll stay lost in my bewilderment….’Cause really, life is what we make it and age is nothing but a state of mind.
Red Daffodils and Other Odysseys of Wisdom 