Changing perspectives

*This blurp is also part of my contribution this week to Kallan Kennedy's wonderful blog-The Secret Life of the American Witch! 

Please go check out the blog and visit with all the wonderful chefs who contribute to the Sunday Stew!

Why does it seem to take a traumatic event to make us learn some of life’s most important lessons? And even with a major life-changing event, we often fail to notice the blessings or opportunities that arise afterward right in front of us. There is a usually a very perceptible energy shift to grab our attention. Like noticing a draft in the house when a window has been opened…that energy touches us to draw our minds to directions and paths that have been placed before us. These lessons are not always gentle, for some we have failed to act on or recognize for many years. When we fail to act on our own behalf, or when a situation absolutely MUST be changed, something big will happen. Just like when the tectonic plates have built up enough friction pushing together and then finally they SNAP! The spiritual earthquake rocks our world and we find ourselves mentally and emotionally running for cover. When the dust settles, we cannot help but look at things differently.

On September 19, 1999, a tropical storm named Floyd crept up the east coast. Sometime late in the evening, I was startled by someone banging on my door. The canal on one side had converged with the small creek on the other side of my apartment complex and I was ordered to evacuate my home due to fast rising flood waters. I was forced to leave my two beloved cats behind and spend that long, frightening night and the next day at the local high school gymnasium surrounded by strangers. When I was able to return to my apartment, I was fortunate that my two sweet cats had survived. However, everything else I had owned was destroyed. My car, my clothes, my furniture…it was all gone. Everything I owned had been under contaminated water for over 12 hours and could not be recovered.

Prior to that flood, I had been stuck in a truly rut for over a decade. I was in a dead-end job, had not made any new friends and had not had a date or a relationship for many years. I felt stuck and frustrated. I think I whined for years about wanting something better, new, or different….but never made an effort to change a thing. I didn’t know what to do or how to get out of my self-imposed rut. That’s when Floyd came into my life…and what a change he made! I could have been paralyzed by the loss of all of my stuff, but instead, I felt free. I had my two cats…and deep down I had awakened to the knowledge that the rest was just…stuff! My mind and spirit felt clear for the first time in years.

It was my best friend who pointed out afterward that I had just been the recipient of one of the most powerful cleansing rituals…ever! Water-the ruling element of emotions and intuition-is ever moving and flowing; when it becomes stagnant it is unhealthy and can even be fatal! Water sustains life or it can destroy with raging, intense power. In the middle of my obstinate clinging to a life that was not serving me…Goddess cleansed my life of the sticky, negative, energy muck that prevented my movement and growth. This time, I paid attention. By removing all of the ‘stuff’ that I was clinging to, Goddess freed me to move forward in my life without the anchor of all that negative energy. I was refreshed, transformed, and aware of the many blessings in my life. How’s that for gaining some perspective?

Recently, I have been working more with my Tarot cards. Frequently, the Death card has been popping up and I can understand why. In several areas of my life, I am going through a 'purge' or intense clearing away of one sort or another. It is the spiritual transition and ending of a chapter that must be faced head on. It is necessary for me to conclude the business and relationships in my current situation, so that I can move forward to the next chapter on my path. We giggle and often cheer when someone we know on Facebook announces that they are doing a 'purge' of their Friend list. Why is that? Because an ending is never truly and ending...but another beginning. Nothing new can grow if there is no space for it to grow. Clearing away those 'friends' often feels like we have released ourselves instead of them! Weeds will choke a healthy plant, just as spiritual weeds can cut off spiritual pathways. People ARE weeds in many a personal or spiritual garden that inhibit us from reaching our truest potential. Weeds can take the form of a lousy boss, a selfish family member, a thoughtless partner, an inconsiderate friend or very often, ourselves...

A slight shift forward is all you may need to create the kind of positive change that will provide you with a new way of looking at the life you are living. You don’t need to lose all your belongings but sometimes it is the dramatic loss of a job, a loved one, or some diminishing of your health that brings a change in perspective. As Joni Mitchell sang in 1970 in Big Yellow Taxi: “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t what you’ve got till it’s gone…”  So why do we wait till it becomes a big deal? We live with signs all the time and just ignore them. Arguments, migraines, crazy dreams, extreme stress, illness, etc…how many more signals does one person need in their life that something needs to change? And how many opportunities does the Universe have to give you to do it on your own before all the energy built on all that chaos finally breaks free and out of our control? Do a cleansing of your own…CHOOSE what no longer serves you and let it go. Acknowledge the blessings in your life. Light a candle and give thanks…

When life becomes cloudy or our path becomes muddy and we cannot seem to find our way, we need to cleanse our energy. Water, especially salt water, is the great healer. The next time you wash up, in the bath, shower or just at the sink, be there with intention… As you wash yourself with the water, ask to have your perspective on your life become clearer. See in your mind that with the water the negative energies that have been rooted in your body are now washing away. Breathe deeply and exhale as you wash away external dirt and psychic energies that have weighed your spirit down. Then release them to be transformed back to Mother Earth as it goes down the drain and back to the source of Life.  Breathe in the lighter, transformative energy and know that you have cleared your path for the positive gifts and opportunities that Life can now let take root and grow within you…