Yesterday, I spent my stamping time creating a birthday card for a lovely friend.  It was a welcome change to the intensity of Christmas Stamping, and the stimulation of all those fabulous UStamp ideas!  And, I really enJOYed the creative process.  Like Marelle shared, I felt that I really was giving a little something of ME ~ Marelle calls it “Love Language” ~ as I created a specific card for a specific person. 

Friendship works the same way.  I spent a lovely couple of hours, lamenting about life, with a very special friend, yesterday, and she gave me the greatest gifts of friendship: active listening, empathy, and follow up support.  Ahh. 

I think the thing I notice the most about the ‘Giving a Little Something of Self’ is that it takes TIME.  Most folks around me are so busy doing other things and being somewhere else that they haven’t remembered to Take the Time to just BE. 

Simple Abundance ~ Day 12 ~ is all about GRATITUDE … taking the time to really Be Aware of what we have; taking the time to Be Aware of what really makes us happy. 

Giving a Little Something of Myself to Someone I Care About makes me Happy. 

Receiving a Little Something of Someone Else makes me Happy, too. 

I am Grateful for the Moments in Time where I am reminded about just how Abundant my life is.

I’m up early (as usual) thinking how wonderful it would be to really sink my teeth into something creative or practical and I am just not inspired, yet.

I think it’s due to the unreasonably hot weather happening in Melbourne at the moment – it’s so unusual to be getting up at 5am and finding it still 15 degrees outside!

However, being in “Sarah” mode, I enJOY the optimistic outlook on life which allows me to really appreciate the simplicity and clarity the early mornings bring.  I love hearing the birds and smelling the lavenders on the dawn air … ahh, Bliss.

Day 12 ~ Simple Abundance ~ “There is No Scarcity” …

“The simpler we make our lives, the more abundant they become.”

Well, maybe that’s why I haven’t been overtaken by the Inspiration Angels.  I just need to … sit … and … contemplate … the magic of the early morning.

Interestingly, I do feel Very Abundant.

Maybe not ‘Just a Random Post’ after all. 

I know some really optimistic people – they are easy to be with and just see the silver lining in every situation.

I want to take this ‘Cup Half Full’ philosophy one step further ~ I want to add in being very mindful about the words I choose to use while practicing Optimism.

Have you ever noticed those folks who speak in negative terms – all the time?  Some optimistic people speak like this, too, where they are optimistic and quick to judge.

Words are so important and while I am reminding myself about seeing life as a Cup Half Full, I am also being mindful of speaking positively … to the people who cross my path in the day, and to myself.

“Lasting Change” really does begin with one tiny step, followed by another tiny step until, without realising, you are moving forward with ease and grace on the Path of Optimism.

Hmm.  That’s cool.  Thanks for the reminder, Sarah!

As a lovely friend said to me in an email this week:

Life is Short.

Break the Rules.

Forgive Quickly.

Kiss Slowly.

Love Truly.

Laugh Uncontrollably.

And, Never Regret Anything that Made You Smile!

[By the way, I had a crappy day, yesterday, in spite of setting the tone really well in the morning.  However, there were some really LOVELY Moments in Time and I am Grateful.]

But, as I read back over the last couple of days entries in Simple Abundance ~ A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, I realised that I was following the energy of Sarah Ban Breathnach’s messages … I have been actively pursuing Happiness, and realising that I don’t have to have ALL my ‘wants’ but I have been meeting all my ‘needs’.

Like when I read Soul Coaching by Denise Linn, the process started the minute I connected with the thought of reading Simple Abundance each day … I have been in the flow of the energy without conscious awareness of it.

“Everyday Epiphanies” are the snapshots I take during the day of amazing Moments in Time.  This morning, already, it’s the beauty and colour of the newly opening carnations on my desk; the amazing photos in the gallery on UStamp and the festive feeling they give me.  And, I am only halfway through my morning coffee!

Today is about making each moment count.  What am I going to include, achieve, acknowledge and celebrate in this 24 hour period of noticing the wonder of life? 

First up?  I am going to STAMP!

Sarah Ban Breathnach suggests that it’s easy for us to understand and know what makes our kids and partners happy but that we don’t tend to focus on what makes US happy.

Hmm.

What does make me happy?

Flowers in my Garden.

Creating projects on UStamp, uploading the photos, and receiving many wonderful comments about my work – a JOYful process from beginning to end.

Order and tidiness in my environment.

Eating food that tastes & feels alive.

Wonderful aromas … and tastes … and textures.

GREAT books that I can lose myself in.

Walking down Memory Lane ~ in this case, watching “Smokey & The Bandit” from way back in my youth!

Writing.

I had only a few minutes spare to create this bag - and that’s all it took! 

I decorated the  real red ‘board shorts’ paper with some stripy Old Olive ribbon and a tag which used ‘Tart & Tangy’s’ Orange slice, in this case, it’s a Lime slice!

From there, I decided to create a Gift Bag to hold the first 10 cards that I have created for Mum for her Christmas Stash.  Thanks to Lovely Jenny for the loan of her Christmas Stamp Sets!

I actually wanted to use this gorgeous tree image from “Snow Swirled” for a Christmas Ornament project on UStamp.  However, I discovered an abhorence for all things Fine and Glittery!  Yuk! What a Mess!  However, that disastrous experience  gave inspiration to these cards so all was actually good and successful.

So, the cards, with coordinating envelopes, are individually packaged in cellophane bags and bundled into this sweet bag, ready in the box to be posted (with other UStamp goodies) to mum.  Next on my list to create?  Hmm. I think it might be the Christmas Notebook Organiser – I need one!

Focus on what’s GOOD in my life.

Because … I am Abundant in all ways (the book says so!) and it’s simply a case of writing down the good things that I experience in my life.

So … here goes:

The Good Things I have in my life …

a beautiful outlook from my computer table, via the roses in my vase, over the front yard

fabulous music on the CD player that makes me want to jive in my chair

the opportunity to be Creatively Indulgent ~ whenever I want to be

Incredible friends

a handsome, sexy, IT guru, all-providing husband

3 amazing, talented, unique kids

the opportunity to travel whenever I want to

stunning Spring Blooms in my garden

water in my rain trolleys

my own phone, car, lap top, bank account

an amazing, inspiring, humbling career

good health, great intellect, incredible capacity to See and Share the JOY.

Wow!

I am Truly Abundant.

What’s GOOD in your life?

I have been ‘not okay’ for a while now, and took myself off to the Kinesiologist for a Line of Care session.

Oh, wow.  What a humbling experience.

I have been struggling to ‘heal myself’ for the last few weeks and having had the session with the Kinesiologist, I now understand why.  The person I ‘was’ was not ME.  I know this because I rediscovered ‘ME’ following the energy healing.  That was profound.

Once I was back in balance, I could ’see’ how to heal myself ~ healing myself is a fundamental tenet of the “Authentic Michelle”.  No matter what I have tried for the last little while there has been barely any change … I was in ’survival mode’ and nothing else was possible.

When I next looked in the bathroom mirror, I saw ‘ME’.

Ahh.

Today, I am seriously starting the decluttering process.  My craft table is a huge mess, my noticeboards want to be cleansed and redecorated, my floors have ‘tumbleweeds’, and I feel like I am caught up in a maelstrom of energies.

I am going to listen, carefully, to what messages my heart has for me, about honouring my Authentic Self.

I have journeyed through the inspiring messages from Sarah Ban Breathnach ~

“Only Dreams Give Birth to Change”

Assume you will be “living the most creative, joyous, and fulfilling life you could imagine” in a year from today.

“Simple Abundance: The Inner Journey ~ an authentic awakening, one that resonates with your Soul: you already possess all you need to be genuinely happy.”

~ and have noticed the synchronisity of the Universe … JOY does come from within. 

Life really is what you make it and I have been receiving messages all week supporting this statement.  Walking the path of Abundance involves consciously creating the reality in which I wish to exist.  How can I help and support that process?

Sarah Ban Breathnach suggests that Living Life as if it’s a Performance is the way to go.  Act As If you are already abundant ~ dress up for dinner, use the Best Crockery, take time to create special moods …

On this weekend where the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest, approach your day as if it’s a performance.  Gather your props and costumes and LIVE as if you are already Abundant in all ways.

Hmm.

Today I will: dress up and go out for breakfast with David (quality time to share & celebrate our Love); indulge in some special goodies at the local market; and spend the afternoon with lovely stamping friends indulging in quality creativity.

Ahh.  Blissful Abundance.

Simple Abundance is  a day-by-day map that guides you on your own spiritual journey – 366 inspirational essays that lead to an understanding of how the simple, joyful pleasures of life, which cost so little and require only imagination, can bring a wealth of creative energy, harmony and fulfilment to each day. (back cover blurb)

My lovely friend who gave me the gift has lived by this book and new that I would enJOY it, too.

Do you want to journey with me?