Tag Archives: be weird

A Sacred Space Isn’t Only For Humans

I questioned my sanity for a moment, but what my heart prompted me to do, worked out beautifully. Our dogs don’t do well with thunderstorms, but one of them is even scared of rain. I found her curled up in my room and it was simply raining, but to her, it probably sounded like much more.

My room is the only room in the house that doesn’t smell like a Voluspa candle. It’s my sacred space and Winnie (doggo) knows it’s sacred. When she gets spooked, she hides in the bathroom, but when she needs comfort, I’ll find her in my room. She knows I’ll disassemble my meditation area just for her to lay on the rug, but today she was laying on the hardwood floor near the window. I picked up the box of incense cones and chose the one that carries a ‘mindfulness’ scent.

Jembrana Incense

Once I lit the incense and placed it in it’s holder, it dawned on me I’d just lit incense for a dog. 😂

My room is the only room that smells like incense since my daughter moved out. We had this little bedtime ritual where my daughter would light a stick of incense before going to bed. I would already be in my bed, but the smell of the incense would drift down to my room and I’d fall asleep peacefully. That feeling of sacredness works for dogs too. Walking by my room, Winnie was stretched out and looked relaxed even though large drops of rain pelleted the tin roof.

It seems being cradled in a sacred space isn’t only for humans.

Life is Designed to be Fun

There are pieces of me that are trying to find their way home. Over time little pieces fall away, or become buried by circumstances, but if they truly want to live in your heart, they’ll find their way back. For this to happen, we need to slow the pace, so stillness is on the schedule for the remainder of Barb’s year. This may sound insurmountable considering the holiday season is speeding toward us, but I want to step into the new year on solid ground with clarity.

One of my recent FB memories was a cheetah print pillow from 10 years ago that I was giving away. It was my daughter’s and from the photos shown that day, I was trying to find homes for things she’d outgrown.

Earlier this year I was visiting a local shop and a cheetah print pillow sham caught my attention. The front was a soft, t-shirt-like material, but the back was a solid color that felt like linen. I carried it with me through the store while chatting with the shop owner because it was the only one for sale. She offered a down insert for it, but out of all the pillows I’ve collected over the years, surely I had one to use. This pillow is a cherished addition to my home.

I had forgotten cheetah print makes my heart happy. It’s a simple pleasure that fell away like I was supposed to outgrow it, but obviously didn’t. While writing this I recalled some of my favorite Christmas ornaments are cheetah print and if glitter, or sequins are added…even better! If you feel pieces of you have slipped away that you used to enjoy, then set an intention to start saying yes to what sparks your heart and say no to things that don’t. Your heart song doesn’t age.

My daughter visited and as we sat chatting she laughed at every daily occurrence conveyed. The things that naturally occur seem normal to me, but I could easily write fiction because most are unbelievable.

It’s a well kept secret…life is designed to be fun.