Blackbird

Today's guest post is written by a member of the summer Connecting Group, Bernadette Vaughn.

I hope her message of becoming present and learning to "fly" will resonate with you and encourage you to notice the small moments in life that lead to great opportunities. I am so honored to have Bernadette in my program, watching her start spreading her wings, seeing her embrace her life...

It seems to me that up until I joined Hannah’s Connecting Group I did a lot of waiting. Waiting to feel like myself again. Waiting for the time to start AND finish the various fiber arts projects I had in mind. Waiting to get my mindless eating under control. Waiting for the right time to strengthen my relationships. I suppose you could even say I was waiting for Hannah to reach out to me. And she did! When I got her postcard in my child’s cubby, something in me could not ignore it. I knew I was sick, physically and emotionally, of waiting around.

Besides meeting an AMAZING group of powerful women (who had been waiting around just like me) and learning recipes that taste fabulous AND treat my body with kindness and respect, one of my favorite parts of our group sessions comes at the end when we each pick an affirmation card out of a deck. Hannah says we don’t have to share if we don’t want to, but we always do. It is incredible how each woman seems to get EXACTLY what she needs at that moment!

My favorite pick so far has been “The Point of Power is ALWAYS in the Present Moment.” This statement has resonated with me over the past few months on a daily basis. It brings me back to center and I consider it my personal mantra. (I am not beyond getting it tattooed somewhere on my body – I love it THAT much!) The back of the card says “The past is over…I can be free in this moment...I am in charge…I take my power back…I am safe.” It sums up everything I am learning in our Connecting Group. My life is happening now! It’s my choice in this moment to live the life I was meant to live or as the poet Mary Oliver says “breathing just a little and calling it a life”. So I can wake up in the morning frazzled and late and grumpy with my Guys, or I can take baby steps at getting organized and rested and ask for help. I can whine and complain that I don’t have time to knit or I can get off Facebook and finish that wool shrug before NEXT August. I can protest that I’ll NEVER make a quilt because I am not good at sewing and my machine is crappy or I can say a big fat ” YES!” when someone offers to lend me a machine and give me lessons. I can yell back at my son when he’s having a meltdown or I can take a breath and speak to him like I would like to be spoken to when I am hurt and frustrated. It’s MY decision in the MOMENT. Every second of our lives the Universe is presenting us with choices, not just at the “Big” Moments.

After a couple sessions with Hannah, I caught myself singing “Blackbird” by the Beatles over and over. I always associated it with my son’s birth (you diehard ER fans know why!), but now it has become for me the soundtrack to this miraculous process that our group has begun. I can’t WAIT to see what other songs we’ll each bring to this gig!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzD2b0UNRqs&feature=player_embedded

There are still spots available in the Fall Connecting Groups, in person or on the phone. Registration ends soon, so sign up today!