Mindfulness

Death Changes You to Live Well

~ jodiheisz ~ 2 Comments

“The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.”

― Leo Babauta

It was a clear and sunny spring day. The sky was bright with gentle blue gradients falling from the heavens to the earth. Two worlds colliding together creating a sense of peace and harmony bringing serenity to the hustle and bustle of the morning. 

But the tranquility of the moment came to a halt. The hospice nurse called me while I was at work. Before she spoke her first word, I knew why she called.

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Live Lightly and Peacefully

~ jodiheisz ~ 3 Comments

“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.”
— Maya Angelou

Now is the time of year when we create our goals and resolutions for the new year. We set SMART goals created in detail with deadlines marked in our calendars. We create our vision boards to help visualize our dreams and desires. We enlist our accountability partners to make sure we stay on track and don’t lose focus.

All these are great things, and I encourage you to use those techniques. I do as well. But what if for the new year, we make a conscious effort to live peacefully and lightly. Choose letting go of the baggage in your life weighing you down with the intent of creating peace and joy.

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Worry Less, Pray More.

~ jodiheisz ~ 6 Comments

“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
– Philippians 4: 6-7

Don’t worry the Bible says. Yea…sure…easy enough right? 

Worrying has been center of my life for as long as I can remember. I worry about my kids. I worry about my finances. I worry about my health. I worry about my career. I worry about my future. 

When I try to stop worrying, I worry I will worry. Then I worry because I worried about worrying. Then I worry I will never stop worrying. Worry, worry, worry…

But the Bible clearly states over and over again to not worry and trust God with faith He will take care of my needs in any circumstance.

In Philippians 4:6-7, God tells us to do three things to help with our worries: Prayer, Petition, and Thanksgiving.

Prayer: Begin your prayer by reminding yourself of who God is. God is sovereign and in complete control.  He has the power to care of your needs and is faithful in this promise. This belief relieves the pressure of feeling you must do everything on your own.

You may not get what you want, but you will get what you need. Remembering this allows you to surrender with more peace and clarity to get through life’s challenges.

Petition: Worry is a waste of time. If you can change a situation, why worry because you can change it. If you can’t change a situation, why worry because there’s nothing you can do about it anyway. Worry accomplishes one thing….it robs your peace of mind.

Instead of worrying, talk to God about your concerns. When you talk to God about your worries, you get them out in the open and helps to relieve stress and anxiety from your situation. 

God already knows what’s bothering you, but He wants you to go to Him in need and have a conversation about it. This is how you build your relationship with Him. 

Relationships are your lifeline during troubled times for receiving compassion, guidance and support to heal and keep your head up high. That’s what relationships are all about… to love, help and serve each other. God loves you so much and wants to help you every chance He can get.

Thanksgiving: When you are grateful and thank God for the times He has intervened in the past, it’s a reminder He is faithful in His word. Showing gratitude for how much God provides helps to see the good existing in the midst of difficult times. An attitude of gratitude opens your heart to God creating more faith and belief He will carry you through any difficulties you’re facing.

Giving thanks to God allows you step out in faith and trust giving you the ultimate peace of mind. God will guard your hearts and mind from falling into despair and negative thinking with the peace that surpasses all understanding.

My hope for you and myself is we transform our worry time to prayer time with deep gratitude for all God has done, and to walk in faith and trust God will protect our hearts and mind in Christ Jesus forever.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

My Easter Prayer for You

~ jodiheisz ~ 1 Comment

May you be peaceful and free.

May you be happy and joyful.

May you find healing and resolve.

May you be kind, generous and compassionate.

May you feel safe, secure and strong.

May you be patient, understanding and never judge others including yourself.

May you feel gratitude for everything you have down to the minute details in your life.

May you feel God’s love in your heart every day.

May you honor Mother Earth and take great care of Her as She takes great care of you.

May you open your heart to the light of Christ within.

May you accept Christ and feel Him living and breathing in your body and soul.

May you resurrect from your dark shadows and be renewed to live your inner truth.

May you surrender to God’s will and live aligned with His Word and His truth.

May you live true to your purpose and serve humanity in the best way you can.

May all beings be happy, peaceful, safe, kind and generous no matter where they are or where they came from.

May all beings be healed, free from suffering, tolerate of others, compassionate towards one another and feel gratitude for what God has given them.

May all beings discover their life purpose and shine their inner light spreading love and joy upon the world and everyone in their presence.

May this Easter prayer reach out to the hearts and souls of all living beings lasting forever in the power of God and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

True Listening

~ jodiheisz ~ 1 Comment

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“Don’t die with your music still inside you. Listen to your intuitive inner voice and find what passion stirs your soul.”
– Wayne Dyer

Learning to truly listen to yourself is the key to living a spiritual and purposeful life. Cultivating the skill of deep listening with mindfulness will improve the quality of your relationships. But first, you must learn to listen to yourself.

With the spiritual practice of deep inner listening, you’ll develop heightened sensitivity of your body and soul. Over time you will learn and understand how they communicate to you. True, inner listening is a spiritual practice requiring dedication, compassion and awareness helping you move towards maturity and enlightenment.

True listening is hearing your heart and soul speaking to you, not the intellectual mind. This sacred voice are whispers of love and wisdom always knowing the truth about you. You won’t hear a loud booming voice or a neon sign, but instead a gentle, blowing sound.

The voice of your true self is a voice you can trust. Your soul wants what’s best for you and nothing less. It knows every part of your being and the desires of your heart to guide you on the right path. To listen, feel the vibration emanating from your heart and breathe deeply to become intimately connected to it.

When you have a burning question on your heart rolling around in your head, look within instead of the outside world. You’ll feel deep in the bones of your body and soul the answers to the questions you are seeking.

Don’t intellectualize, overthink, overanalyze or disregard what you receive. Feel the gentle nudges tugging at your gut allowing the truth to come forward. Invite your inner wisdom with open arms to embrace the truth being told with awareness, gratitude and compassion.

Listen to what your life is saying to you. When you do, you’ll realize your life has been speaking to you all along. You’ll see a pattern of certain desires that never go away. They keep popping up over and over again like a kid vying for your attention.

Most of the time these desires have been there since your childhood waiting for your undivided attention. The voice of your true self never dies or goes away. You only choose to ignore it or suppress the truth.

Once you start listening to you and become accustomed to it, you’ll learn to trust yourself. You’ll understand you have everything you need right now to be who you are.

To hear your soul speak, you must remove all distractions. Internet, news, social media, and well-meaning family and friends who think they know how you should live your life. It doesn’t matter whether the information or intent is good or bad.

This information is problematic because it distracts you from hearing your inner truth. Why do you need approval or validation from others when you know what’s true? You don’t because your path will be different from someone else’s path. If you don’t listen to you, you’ll end up living someone else’s story.

To listen to you, create a quiet space every day for just a few minutes. It could be a walk outside, turning the radio off in the car, or sitting in silence for five minutes before your family wakes up. The more comfortable you feel being alone in silence, the easier it gets to hear you. But to hear you, you must show up with presence and open awareness every day.

Sometimes when sitting in silence, your ego overpowers your soul speaking to you. If you allow it, the ego can control and dominant your mind preventing inner wisdom from coming through. When this happens, stop and be present. With awareness don’t judge or condemn these thoughts. Allow them to pass through with mindfulness and compassion.

By allowing it to pass, it will dissolve naturally. If you engage in the dialogue, you’ll give it power making it stronger. Acting like a counselor attentively listening to clients speak, give your ego the space to lament so it can be free.

When you start listening to you, you’ll begin to start really living your life creating miracles for yourself. Opportunities, people and events will open as you align with your true self working with the Divine. You’ll receive guidance and direction as you experience the fullness of life being true to yourself. Whether you are on or off track, you’ll see it and feel it giving you the chance to adjust accordingly.

Listen to you and hear the whispers of truth and inner wisdom deep in your core.  Feel it, own it and live it to be one with your mind, body and soul and live a life with purpose, magic and joy.

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

15 Ways To Develop Intuition

~ jodiheisz ~ 3 Comments

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“Intuition is seeing with the soul.”
–Dean Koontz

I love developing my intuition. I love it because it helps us communicate to one another at a deep and profound level. It creates a strong connection to our highest selves while opening the channels to hear and feel the Divine. Everyone is born intuitive because we are souls living in a physical body having a human experience. Intuition is the language of the soul and because we are souls, we all have intuition.

But what if you feel disconnected to your intuition? Or maybe you’ve been working on your intuition but want to develop it further. Or you’re in the beginning stages on your intuitive journey and don’t know where to start.

If you want to develop and grow your intuition, you need to practice by using it. It’s like a muscle. To make it grow stronger, you must train and exercise it every day. With consistent daily use of your intuition, you’ll understand how it works and how it works for you. You’ll see how it’s been working all this time but never realized it until you became conscious of it.

Here’s a list of 15 ways to develop your intuition. You don’t have to do all of them. Pick the ones you resonate with the most and ones to challenge you.

  1. Before you check your email in the morning, see if you know how many are in your inbox.
  2. See if you know who’s calling or texting you before you check to see who it is.
  3. Meditate daily. Five minutes minimum.
  4. Before meeting with a friend, try to “see” what color clothes they are wearing.
  5. When standing at an elevator, feel which doors will open first. Or if you are at the grocery store, feel which line is the fastest.
  6. Before going to work, try to feel what emotions your boss is having.
  7. Ask God a question. Grab a pen and paper. Write. Feel the answers coming from the top of your head through your hands on to the paper. Don’t edit. Just write. Allow the words and the answers to flow through you.
  8. Practice acting on your intuitive feelings and nudges you receive versus what your intellect tells you. The more you listen and act on your intuition, the stronger it gets and the more you trust.
  9. When choosing what to eat at a new restaurant, feel what meal is right for you. Order it and nothing else.
  10. Use your imagination to visualize your heart’s desire as already achieved. Be as detailed as you can using all your senses.
  11. Go for a walk outside and feel the energy of nature surrounding you. Try this at different times of the day to experience the natural flow of earth’s magic. Listen to the birds chirping and cars driving by. Look and see every detail of the trees, the clouds in the sky and the flowers along your path. Feel the breeze and the wind on your face.
  12. Be kind and gentle to yourself. Being too hard on yourself and negative thinking kills intuition. Self-love is the nectar feeding your intuition to grow and expand reaching a new level of consciousness.
  13. Eat whole foods on a plant-based diet. Fueling your body with nature’s goodness increases your vibration to receive guidance from the Divine.
  14. Before you meet someone new, try to see what they look like in your mind’s eye. Try to know their hair and eye color, facial features, body type and style of clothing.
  15. Open waking in the morning, take a few deep breaths. Visualize three things you want to accomplish in detail as if already accomplished. State each of your goals out loud with confidence.

These tips to charge your intuition are simple to integrate into your daily life. No need to mediate alone in a cave for thirty days, or spend lots of money on training to develop your intuition. Intuition is simple to add in your life because it’s a part of your soul. Your soul wants to connect deeper to your mind, body and the world around you. Using your intuition will always guide you in the right direction to help choose what’s in your highest good and create the best life filled with joy, magic, love and peace.

Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

Focus to Achieve Your Heart’s Desire

~ jodiheisz ~ 4 Comments

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“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”
— Bruce Lee

One of the things I struggle with and need to work on most is focus. With all the different responsibilities, obligations and expectations, it’s easy to lose focus on my goals to create my heart’s desire. It feels like everything gets in the way and distractions overwhelm me the minute I go for my dream.

The desire I hold deep in my heart is to be a great writer. One of my goals to achieve this is to write 500 words a day. I start with the best intentions to follow through no matter what. But the next morning I get a nasty cold. I step on a pile of laundry needing to be done. I get trapped in the Facebook time warp. I say yes to commitments not serving my higher purpose. With these distractions guess what happens? Nothing! My 500 words… not written (sad face).

If you have a heart’s desire burning inside to create the life you want, you need focus to achieve it. It’s a requirement for success. If I want to be a great writer, I must focus on making writing a daily habit. Or I will never be the writer I dream to be. Your goal will be different depending your dreams. Doing what it takes to achieve your heart’s desire is a daily effort using your attention and intention to make it happen.

So how do you focus when life gets in the way? Here are some things I am trying and hopefully they will help you.

  1. Start Small: Work on your goal with focused attention for 5 minutes a day. That’s it! Just 5 minutes. But make it the best 5 minutes you can to get the most out of it. Once you build your focus muscle, add 5 more. Then another 5. Over time, you will increase your duration giving you lots of focus time on your heart’s desire.
  2. Remove Distractions: When you are working on your heart’s desire, remove all distractions as possible. This helps to focus on the task at hand. Silence your phone and put it away. Turn off the TV. Close unnecessary browsers. Get off Facebook or other social media sites. Close your email inbox. For the time dedicated to focusing on your goal, cut yourself off from the world. Don’t worry… the world will still be there when you return. You need this quiet time to bring your best effort, attention and creativity to your work.
  3. Soft Focus: You want laser-like focus but balance it with softness. Like a soft gaze of the eyes. This allows you to relax while working on your project instead of being tense, rigid and stressed. It creates flexibility to roll with the changes and take challenges in stride. When you are relaxed, your creativity will increase and flow through you with a sense of joy and playfulness.
  4. Practice Mindfulness: To develop your focus muscle, practice mindfulness throughout your day. Be mindful of the different activities you do, the places you go and the people you talk to. When you are doing the dishes, only do the dishes. When you are in a conversation, be fully present and listen attentively. When you visit a new place, use all your senses to notice the details of the environment. Practice focusing doing one thing at a time.
  5. Prioritize Your Life: Make your heart’s desire a priority. Learn to say no to the good and yes to the best. By making your heart’s desire top priority, you set the intention for manifesting success to create the life you want. Try to work on this first before anything else. Your confidence will boost making you feel good about yourself. This will motivate you to keep going. If possible, delegate things to give yourself more time to focus on your passion. Don’t let anyone talk you into something taking you away from your dream or if it’s not aligned with your beliefs, vision and goals.

You want to fulfill your heart’s desire and see your vision come true. But to do so, you must focus on that one thing. It’s ok to start small and build up over time. Take it step by step in a comfortable pace that’s right for you.

Your momentum will build. Your focus will grow. Your work will evolve. You’ll see results on your progress inspiring you to keep going. With consistent and daily effort with focused attention and intention, your heart’s desire will breathe and come to life.

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

New Year Resolution… More You

~ jodiheisz ~ 2 Comments

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“I know of nothing more valuable, when it comes to the all-important virtue of authenticity, than simply being who you are.”
– Charles R. Swindoll

New year. New beginnings. New resolutions. New and better me. At least that’s what I have tried year after year after year. And year and after year after year, I failed on my resolutions. The only result was me being way too hard on myself. “Bad Jodi!”

Well… not this year. I am trying something new. A gentler, more loving approach to personal development. Instead of new resolutions to be a new me, I am going to be more of the real me.

How about you join me in this challenge to be more you instead of a new you?

We always want to make more money, lose weight, pay debt, get a new wardrobe, etc. All of those are positive and it’s good to have goals to improve your life. I have new goals set for this year too.

But what if in 2018, your focus is on becoming more you in everything you do? How would your life improve if you were unapologetically you? Always being your authentic, genuine self under all circumstances is a challenging but worthy effort. If you stopped trying to change your true self and stopped being a watered-down version, you would be happier and more at peace. I know I will be.

Being yourself takes the stress off trying to be someone you’re not. It requires less effort because you’re simply just being with no agenda, acting out a fake persona, or trying to keep up with the status quo. Things will flow gracefully when you tap into the true nature of who you are deep down inside.

To be yourself requires three key things I am working on: Courage, Clear the Clutter and Say Yes to the Best. Hopefully, these will help you too.

Courage
It takes a courageous heart to be yourself in a critical and judgmental world. Especially when this world exists in your mind. The more you are yourself, the more confident and independent you will become to stand strong in your beliefs, talents and gifts.

Every day, be brave to take off the masks you wear, stop playing the roles you play and choose to be present instead of going through the motions. When you have the courage to show the scars, the rawness underneath, magic starts to happen. This magic is the real you. Being brave showing all of yourself helps you connect with others in a deep and powerful way. Including connecting with yourself.

Clear the Clutter
To be more you, clear the clutter from your life. Physically and emotionally. When you clear what no longer serves you, you clear the space for you to see the light within. Clutter is distracting keeping you away from true joy and happiness.

In your physical space, donate old clothes from your closet you never wear, get rid of those old pots and pans taking up room in your cupboard and clear your table from papers and unnecessary items to leave room for a mindful meal.

In your emotional life, let go of self-doubt, judgements, fear, anger, worry, resentment or any negative thoughts about yourself. Imagine throwing these thoughts and feelings into a big, yellow dump truck in front of your house. One by one throw these negative thoughts away. When you are done dumping everything, see the dump truck driving away from your house. How do you feel? Do you feel more clear, peaceful and at ease?

The more clutter you remove, the more you can see the real you. Just like when you remove clutter from a room, everything looks clear with light shining into the open space.

Say Yes to the Best
Make a commitment to yes to the best and no to the good. When you say yes to what’s best for you, you give your true self permission to shine and take center stage. You deserve to do what’s in your best interest to live aligned with your vision, goals and beliefs.

Never back down from your gifts to please others. Do what you feel is right in your heart. Remember, you are the one who was to live with you the most. When you do things to fulfill you in the deepest way, your life will be peaceful and full of wonder. This will make your loved ones happy too because they will feel your positive energy emanating from your soul.

Your experiences will be vivid and vibrant by committing to the best things. You will have less stress and resentment and will stop feeling overwhelmed by choosing to say no to the good. You enter a sacred space connecting to your true self, God and the energies surrounding you. Living and being the real you and doing things honoring your true self allows you to live in the moment going with the flow of life. You are free to just be.

Join me in 2018 to be more you. It won’t be easy and it will be scary. But you will be energized, happy and peaceful living true to yourself. God wants us to be who we are, nothing less and nothing different. He created us for a reason with a purpose for being here. Let’s honor His will for us and honor ourselves deep in our hearts and souls.

Commit to this resolution with me to be more you.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Sacred Space

~ jodiheisz ~ 3 Comments

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“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.”
– Joseph Campbell

We go around and around in circles day in and day out. Never stopping nor waning. This spinning around makes us feel unbalanced and off kilter. We become anxious, stressed, overwhelmed and out of touch with our true selves. For our own happiness, health and sanity, we need a remedy.

I call it… Sacred Space.

We all need Sacred Space. Moms, dads, kids, colleagues, your boss, BFFs, your spouse or partner and hell… even YOU. To center ourselves and cultivate inner peace, you need to create space. This space allows you to fuel your spirit and nourish your soul. The key to living a peaceful life filled with joy, starts by creating a special devotional time just for you.

During your Sacred Space, choose any activity you want. The only rules are: 1. It’s uplifting. 2. It’s good for the soul. 3. You do this activity alone.

  • If you are creative, try painting, drawing, journaling or photography.
  • For nature lovers, spend time outside gardening or take a walk on a scenic trail.
  • What if you want to meditate but can’t sit still? Movement meditations like yoga or Tai Chi would be perfect for you.
  • For book worm folks like me, read Bible scriptures or a spiritual book aligned with your beliefs. Then write your reflections in a journal.
  • Maybe you want something simple. Try sitting in silent prayer or breath meditation.

Being in your Sacred Space of solitude builds the foundation for a strong mind and a compassionate heart. It develops focus for better concentration and mindfulness. It enhances your ability to remain calm during life’s challenges and to let go of negative thoughts. Your mind gets to rest and reset to recharge your energy. Your creativity will boost doing activities you enjoy and inspire you.

Spend time in your Sacred Space every day. Choose whatever time works best for you. However, I recommend to schedule this before your obligations get in the way. Otherwise, you may never get to it.

Start small. Only five minutes a day. Then build upon each day adding a little more each time. Think quality versus quantity. Over time, the duration will increase allowing you more time to flourish, evolve and be creative.

Fill your Sacred Space with special objects and using things you love. If it’s journaling, write with your favorite pen and journal. If you meditate or pray, create an altar and decorate it with high energy objects such as flowers, crystals or the Bible. If you like yoga, use a quality mat with some incense burning. Maybe you prefer something clean and simple by using one meditation cushion. And that’s totally fine! This your space so there’s no wrong way. All that matters is you love it, it’s safe and it’s sacred to you.

When you’re in your Sacred Space, allow God to work through you. Feel the energy flow. Use this Universal energy to enhance your creativity, connect deeper to God and to heal your heart and mind. Feel the oneness between you and everything in the Universe around you.

This Sacred Space helps create a positive mindset for the day and the next to come. And don’t feel guilty for giving yourself this time. It helps others as much as it helps you. When you feel whole, centered and at peace, everyone around you will feel this high vibration emanating from you. This makes others feel loved, at ease and comfortable in your presence.

Take the time and create space for a little bit of solitude, joy and healing every day. Your mind begs for it, your soul needs it and your heart desires it… this Sacred Space.

Photo by Chris Ensey on Unsplash

A Letter from Mother Earth

~ jodiheisz ~ 4 Comments

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“Only after the last tree has been cut down. Only after the last river has been poisoned. Only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.”
 – Cree Indian Prophecy

Dear Human,

I need your help. Now. This seething, gut-wrenching pain is tearing me up inside. The darkness, heaviness, sickness, and the diseased hearts and souls of humanity is hurting me deeply. I’m scared. Scared of what’s happened in the past. Scared of what’s happening now. Scared of what’s going to happen in the future.

You’ve torn me down by your human hands leaving me barren, dry and desperate. You pollute my air, water and soil. You knock down my trees, throw litter on the ground and create landfills. You exploit my natural resources, create toxic chemicals and build weapons for warfare.
It breaks my heart when I see you hurting each other, the animals and the planet. In the human world, you fight, judge, condemn, blame, kill, verbally abuse each other, and even worse… ignore each other. In the animal world, you kill, slaughter, abuse and mistreat animals without a second thought of how much pain it causes. Don’t animals have a right to live like you do?

This toxic, negative energy makes me feel unbalanced and out of harmony. My whole system is way off track. I can’t help but to respond with disastrous hurricanes, forest fires and earthquakes. When your human mother feels overwhelmed, exhausted and unappreciated, what does she do? Doesn’t she respond with a whirlwind of emotions creating a tornado of anguish and frustration?

The problem is you’re missing the real reason for being here with me.

And that’s LOVE.

You’re meant to love each other, not hate each other. You are here to love me, all animals both domestic and wild, the plants and trees,  and the air and water. You are here to love one another through the good and bad. To love God even when things don’t make sense. To love yourself even when you can’t look at your face in the mirror.

I was created to provide you a school to learn life lessons for your soul to grow and expand into a greater consciousness. You were created to honor life in all forms while taking great care of me. To build a strong and thriving planet, let’s work together to support and serve our mission for the benefit of all beings.

To create a positive effect for building a better world, I ask you try these things. Even just for one day.

  • Instead of anger respond with compassion
  • Show mercy for someone who upset you
  • Listen to someone’s perspective instead of judgement
  • Pick up the trash as you walk down the street
  • Smile and say hello to a stranger
  • Give someone you love a hug
  • Go outside and breath the fresh air. Feel my energy around yours.
  • Instead of buying meat and produce at the grocery store, shop at a local farmer’s market
  • Volunteer your time for a cause or charity you find meaningful
  • Sit still and be aware of the connection between heaven and earth and the world around you
  • PRAY. Pray for your loved ones, people suffering from recent and future disasters, animals of all kinds, those on the Other Side, for the hungry and living in poverty and pray for me, Mother Earth.

If you do these things for one day, maybe it will go on to the next. Every moment, every minute and every second counts. That’s all you need to heal and make a difference.

Please help me by planting the seeds of love into my soil. Water these seeds every day to build strong roots of kindness and to grow compassion, joy and forgiveness. We can work together to create beautiful, peaceful and loving planet to honor humanity and all life existing within it. A little bit of love will go a long way to heal our aching hearts and soothe our precious souls.

Even if it’s just for one day.

Love,
Mother Earth

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash