We live in a society where criticism is a major past time. We spend hours serving as armchair critics as we watch competitions on reality TV. A highly polarized political climate has us lobbing our opinions at each other like so many emotive grenades. And as we move further and further away from the “be a good girl” era of the 1950′s housewife, we continue to struggle with the idea of kindness — because we don’t know the difference between being kind and being “nice.”

That’s why we are looking at Kindness as our core value in Flock next month. What is genuine kindness? Is kindess ever a truly altruistic act (and does it matter if it isn’t?) What is the difference between obedient nice-ness and authentic kindness?

While I was researching Kindness for the video lesson I’ll teach on Monday, I got an email from my girl’s middle school. They are screening the indie film Finding Kind. The film asks women to acknowledge that we have all, at some point, been unkind and catty to one another. And it asks young women to let go of the snarky inhieritance they’ve been give and to create a Kind Way.

The film itself is pink and perky, with blonde California Pepperdine co-eds leading the way. Right away the asthetic brought out the catty girl in me. I had to do quick act of soul-wrangling to get back on the Kind wagon. (Sometimes your spiritual practice is also a spiritual discipline.) As I got past the pink and clicked “play, ” I was touched by the passion the filmakers have to create a culture of kindess within girl culture.

I’m curious. What response does this trailer bring out in you? What does it tell you about your realtionship to Kind? And how do you encourage kindess amongst the young people in your life?

***

Want to nurture Kindness in your world? Join Flock and practice with a kind crew. Kindness practice begins Monday, February 6th. Click here to join us.

Meet Kathy and Phyllis. Don’t they just looks so kind and wise? And maybe you can’t tell from these smile-y photos, but these women are crystal clear on standing in their own power. Kathy continually inspires me to hold on to hope. And Phyllis taught me it was perfectly fine to be angry. (Jesus, she reminded me, sat down and wove a whip.)

But neither of these women stop at anger and hope. No, they move all the way to healing.

From the walking wounded website:

“Have you ever:

-Been asked to leave a church or told you’re not a “good fit”?
-Felt forced to conform or remain consistently overlooked?
-Been told that you are loved but not your sin?
-Questioned leadership or theology and found yourself on the outside?
-Felt sad, angry, afraid, lost, or disoriented after painful church experiences?
-Experienced a significant shift in your theology or faith perspective and find yourself feeling disoriented and unsure?

You are not lost, and you are not alone.

Walking Wounded: Hope for Those Hurt By Church is designed to help you move through the painful and confusing aftermath of a negative faith-based experience.

In this 4 week class you will:

• Connect with others who have similar experiences
• Identify your losses and reclaim your dreams
• Tell your story and receive support
• Work through your unfinished business
• Learn effective practices to restore a sense of sanity

Through interviews, conversation, journaling and storytelling, Kathy Escobar and Phyllis Mathis will guide you through the confusion and into a place of purpose and peace.”

Affordable ($49), accessible (online), doable (just 4 weeks).

Ready, set, heal up!

* *

Curated Care (formerly known as Tools of The Trade) features carefully selected courses, books, and other treasure that will feed your beautiful soul. I take pride in only reviewing only trustworthy, totally-worth-it products and services. I believe in this course with Kathy and Phyllis 100%. To see some evergreen products and service providers I enjoy, click here. To read all my review posts, click here. Thanks for being here today Magpie!

You and I, we want to live real lives.

Lives that are rich with meaning, but easy on the angst.

Lives that serve others without burn-out.

Lives that nurture joy, yet are present to sorrow.

Lives that are kind to others, and gentle to our own tender souls.

In my online community, Flock, we are creating that kind of life, one simple value at a time.

Today, while I was preparing to get behind the pulpit in front of the webcam with the Flock, I read a story about a woman in NYC who bought a sandwich for a homeless man. The woman said she kept an eye out for ways to be kind. The author of the article pointed out that the woman wasn’t just hoping for the opportunity to perform some random act of kindness, “she was poised to be kind.”

This February in Flock we are poised to be kind. We are practicing kindness in doable, everyday ways. And we’re reaping  the scientifically proven benefits of kindness – like a double shot of encouragement for others, and increased happiness for ourselves. And really, who couldn’t  do with extra happiness during the grey, grey month of February? (*raises hand*)

Don’t let the grey midwinter push you around. Come with us and let kindness fill you up with joy.

Our Kind adventure begins Feb 6th. Click here to join us.

****

February is Kindness Month in Flock. We’re re-visioning Valentine’s Day, spreading some authentic kindness, and having a cheerful good time. Click here for the full monty, or just join now.

Isn’t this a beautiful star, Magpies?

Flock member and in-real-life friend, Leanna Ramsey-Corrales of Which Way is Home Again, made it with my daughters and I around our kitchen table. I love how she’s allowing mystery to draw her into the wild unknown of a new year.

The Flock Year meditation (free) has brought so many insights — from big bright energetic words, to gentle prompts to fuller living. Several Magpie readers have told me the name of their guiding star and they said I could share these beauties with Y.O.U. Here are just a few samples. (I love them all!)

BOLDNESS is most definitely the name of the star that I see in my sky. I’m getting on my camel, ready to follow wherever it leads in 2012. Wish me luck!… My star is hanging right where I’m guaranteed to see it every morning as soon as my eyes are open enough to pay attention. I’ll definitely be seeing you in Flock.” -Karen Coverett, Recreating My World

BOWL. I loved your telling of the story and the yearning it opened in me. I could see that curving path through the desert so clearly. I almost cried when I reached out my hand for my star. Oh please, I thought, because my mind was so wordless this morning and I was suddenly afraid there would be nothing there for me. Oh please. The star landed and I pulled it to me and looked down into the cup of my hand and there it was: bowl. … This is what my star looks like: be the golden bowl, be a vessel of light, and hold it out to the world in offering. -Lisa King, Tell This

SELF says to me that I need to spend time thinking about who I am – authentically – not who I think I should be or who I think I want to be. It’s time for me to understand I understand that I am enough. -Karen B

SERENITY. Thank you so much for that beautiful epiphany reflection. It really spoke to me. My guiding star is Serenity. It’s something I desperately need in my life and it’s a pretty word. :) I’m really excited to join the Flock. And I want to thank you also for making The Flock group so affordable. -Sarah

What is your word? Please come and tell me at my new Magpie Girl Facebook Page. I’d love to hear your unique story.

***

Ready for year-round soulcare? We’re saving a seat for you in the Flock. Won’t you join us? Need more information first? Come over, let’s chat.

Hello Magpie!

Are you familiar with *8Things Thursday? It’s kind of been a habit of mine these past few years.

Sometimes I just make a list of *8Things that are rattling around in my brain so my monkey mind will calm the heck down.

Other times I’ve spent a few minutes just noticing *8Things of beauty or curiosity around me.

Lately I’ve been using *8Things as a gratitude practice.

What *8Things will we observe today? Come on over to my new Magpie Girl page at Facebook find out.

(I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours.)

See you there!

-Rachelle
*your magpie girl

One-moment Memoirs
by Jenna McGuiggan

That moment when you’re washing dishes, and you see your own hand holding a little metal bouquet of silverware, and for a second you think it’s your mother’s hand.

That moment when your beloved touches your cheek, and you know in your bones that something fundamental has shifted.

That moment when you hear the loud summer buzz of cicadas, and a line of poetry floats into your mind, begging you to capture it for later.

That moment when the sun slants just so, or the clock ticks too loudly, or you get the phone call you’ve been waiting for. Those moments big and small, those moments that matter, those moments that you want to live inside of, or make sense of, or share with others.

Some experiences beg us to write about them, but we often feel overwhelmed when trying to capture the whole story at once. One-moment Memoirs helps you take a relaxed yet focused approach to telling life’s big and small stories in bite-sized pieces.

In this workshop we’ll explore the art of short-form storytelling, also known as “flash creative nonfiction” (which also happens to be the prefect size for blog posts). Using writing prompts and exercises designed to help you connect with the heart of your story, we’ll dig into the details of a single moment. You’ll use these to write your very own one-moment memoir in two to three pages.

I’ll be teaching One-moment Memoirs online as part of wishBIG ecampin February. I’ll also be teaching a full-day workshop version of it this May for The Midwest Be Present Retreatin Culver, Indiana.

* *

Curated Care (formerly known as Tools of The Trade) features carefully selected courses, books, and other treasure that will feed your beautiful soul. I take pride in only reviewing only trustworthy, totally-worth-it products and services. I believe in this product 100%. To see some evergreen products and service providers I enjoy, click here. To read all my review posts, click here. Thanks for being here today Magpie!

What if stepping into a story lead you to an “ah-ha moment”?

What if you could start out your year with a strong guide?

Still with me? Watch this 3.5 minute video to hear how I accessed all of these things. Then click here to do it yourself!

Much Warmth,

Rachelle

P.s. Want this kind of soulcare all year long?  Your invitation awaits you here.

I absolutely love the art of Nikki McClure. Every image is created by cutting away black paper with an exacto knife. And the way she combines a single resonate word with a stunning graphic image — well, it’s positively poetic.

Paul just gave me her most recent calendar as a Christmas gift. When Eden saw me peeking at the first page today she said, “Are you going to look at them all now Mom, or save them as surprise?” I was glad she asked, because I hadn’t really thought about it, but now I think I will save each one as a surprise. I’m even thinking about doing some collage work around each monthly word. (January’s is “Permit.” That seems ripe with promise!)

What will you inherit this year? Order Nikki McClure’s Inherit Calendar and find out.

***

Curated Care (formerly known as Tools of The Trade) features carefully selected courses, books, and other treasure that will feed your beautiful soul. I take pride in only reviewing only trustworthy, totally-worth-it products and services. I am an amazon assoicate for this product, because I believe in it 100%. To see some evergreen products and service providers I enjoy, click here. To read all my review posts, click here. Thanks for being here today Magpie!

Winter Solstice occurs on December 21st this year in the northern hemisphere. It’s often called “the longest night” because it is the 24hour period with the shortest amount of daylight and the longest amount of darkness. To celebrate solstice means acknowledging darkness is a natural part of life, whilst simultaneously celebrating the return of the light. It’s an excellent post-modern practice as it requires you to hold two ideas — light and dark — in the same generous, open palm.

I’ve lived all of my adult life in climates that really feel the solstice. Seattle, Vancouver, Copenhagen — all of these cities live on the northern edges of our maps, which means our daylight hours are shockingly short this time of year. We can fight that reality and rage against the dark, or we can let our body’s circadian rhythms accept the hibernation-like tendencies of the winter, whilst looking forward to the lengthening light of spring

Here are some simple way to celebrate the winter solstice. Each of them is relatively simple and there is no “rule book,” so even though Solstice is only two days away, you can still craft a celebration to call your own.

Gather. The Winter Solstice traditionally involves gathering the clan. Invite your family or family-of-choice over for a celebration in your home.

Decorate. Pine tress, evergreen branches, and mistletoe are all traditional greens for the Solstice. You can also include winter berries, mosses, mushrooms, or pine cones. Gather some trimmings into a centerpiece or line your mantle with boughs.

Light: In the deep midwinter, we beckon the Light, imploring her return, inviting her home. Fill you home with candles and invoke the light.

Feast: A feast of seasonal foods is an important part of the Solstice celebration. Make a big pot of root-vegetable stew for your guests, or enjoy a cozy, reflective evening alone with a roasted squash and a nice mug of winter ale. A feast doesn’t have to be elaborate to convey gratitude, bounty, and celebration.

Offer Prayers: Prayers and blessing are a common part of the Winter Solstice across cultures. This one is a lovely Norse dinner grace to say over your guests. If you’d like to do a light-ritual, this one is particularly nice, and doesn’t require anything special other than candles.

What about you Magpie? How will you celebrate the Winter Solstice this year? What values are embodied in this seasonal celebration for you and your clan?

Today’s sermon is brought to you by Linford and Karin of Over the Rhine. May the work of their hands and the meditation of their hearts bring you through the darkest night. Amen? Amen.

Click to play: New Redemption Song from Snow Angels

From Linford’s Thanksgiving letter:

“I took a walk last night after dark beneath the stars and was reminded of what I wrote as a younger man:

And the sky. The sky is an upside down cobalt blue breakfast bowl of stars newly spilled and milky and we feel our eyes sting in the chill air. And we begin walking in the same direction and I realize there are so many things I’d love to tell you because now there is no longer need for words.

The younger version of me: I was often overwhelmed with how to respond to the unwieldy gift of being alive in this beautiful, heartbreaking world. I didn’t know where to begin.

But eventually I came to believe that music was as good a response as I was ever going to come up with. What better way to try to say thank you? Was there ever going to be a more nourishing ritual than gathering a group of people together in a room somewhere where we could make music over the course of an evening and have a conversation of some kind? Lean into the imaginary harness, and bend the world ever so slightly toward the hopefulness we longed for?

I know of no better time of year for music. The dark evenings are growing ever longer. The night air helps us make ghosts with our breath. We’re going to find some warmly lit stages and offer our songs to the close and holy darkness. It’s not the same without you.”

Graphic Design for GLBTQ Youth: My beloved brutha Shay of Anarchist Reverend helps run a summer camp for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth. (Wow that’s a mouthful!) Camp Osiris provides support and spiritual nurture for young people who are often ostracized and bullied. At Camp Osiris teens and young adults don’t have to wait for it to get better, because they are already in a safe and joyful oasis. Got design skills? Help Camp Osiris create some super hip merch for the campers this summer. Click here to find out more about this design contest. (Contest closes January 30th.)

Support Grandparent’s Rights: This is a complicated story, so I’ll try to sum it up. Kelly Bean is an inspiring light in my life. Without her example and support, I would not be leading a spiritual community outside of the religious institution. When I was floundering in the dark, Kelly’s work showed me there was a way. Kelly, who receives little to no pay for her inspiring work, is now in financial need. The estranged father of her 5 year old grandson is trying to win full custody of Gabe. Gabe is in danger of loosing all contact with Kelly and her husband Ken, who Gabe has lived with his entire life. They are now required to go to court to petition just for simple visiting rights, while Gabe’s father is trying to prevent them from seeing Gabe at all. With grace and dignity, Kelly and Ken have started a Chip-In fund to help with legal costs. If this story resonates with you, please click here to read more about Gabe’s story and chip in.

Have Kids, Will Travel: Finally, my sweet friend Bethany Bassett of Coffee Stained Clarity has an intriguing Kickstarter project up right now, Appertifs and Sippy Cups. Bethany, who has been honing her travel writing skills the past few years, is now ready to write a book full of tips for traveling with young children. An American ex-pat in Italy, Bethany played hostess for me on my solo 40th birthday trip to Rome and Perugia. Her preschool girls completely charmed me, and their tales of travel throughout Europe were downright inspiring. If you are parents (or parents-to-be) and you think you’ll never be able to travel again — be encouraged! Help is on the way. Click here to see the video and make a Kickstarter pledge.

Thanks for supporting the efforts of these beautiful souls!

Much Warmth,

Rachelle
*your magpie girl

***

Curated Care (formerly known as Tools of The Trade) features carefully selected courses, books, and other treasure that will feed your beautiful soul. I take pride in only reviewing only trustworthy, totally-worth-it products and services. To see some evergreen products and service providers I enjoy, click here. To read all my review posts, click here. Thanks for being here today Magpie!

I’ve been working with SBNR folks for a goodly number of years now, and you know what? I don’t know a one of them who truly feels comfortable in a church. Not an old school ritual-based church. Not a new-fangled pop-music-and-candles church. Lots of people do feel comfy in both of those settings. (Huzzah! More power to you!) And lots of SBNR folks do go to those kind of churches. They just don’t feel especially right-fit behind the double doors. It’s kind of like when you really want sushi, but you are in the middle of a corn field in a landlocked state, so you end up eating chicken-fried steak and eggs. It’s not bad. It fills you up. Other people like it a lot. But it’s not sushi.

If churches are so very interested in making space for the None’s/SBNRs, then why aren’t more of those folks feeling at home there? Because I know a lot of emergent pastors, and I know they are trying to makes space for “the other.” They really really are. So why isn’t it working? I’d like to offer 6 reasons, all of which I’ve observed over several years of working with just such a relig-ish population.

• First Problem, The Other. I know we need language to define things. It’s helps make unwieldy things easier to talk about. But this idea of welcoming in “the outsider” or “the other” is a modernist vocabulary. In the postmodern milieu the idea of the other is fading fast. Eastern philosophy and the concept that we are all part of a universal whole is starting to blur the lines of us and them, of me and you. Churches are still largely functioning in the terms of “us” and “the other.” Churches who are interested in welcoming the Nones need to start getting uber curious about the life of these “other’s.” What do they believe? How do they live? What helps them feel rooted? What causes do they support? (Now switch and have the other person answer the questions!) Finding the common ground and dancing in the overlap needs to become a more central concern than pulling someone across an invisible boundary that doesn’t really exists anyway.

• Conversion. No matter how welcoming a church is, there’s still that underlying vibe of “we want to convert you.” Even if that’s not your gig, newcomer’s are going to feel that way because of how churches have behaved in the past, and how they still behave on the Fox nightly news. No one feels comfortable with that. I mean, who wants to hang out someplace where the whole goal of the gig is to get you to abandon your core beliefs? For churches who have a heavy emphasis on conversion, or who are dedicated to the idea of one undeniable universal Truth, making space for the None’s is going to be a tough call. And that’s okay. Those branches of faith should go ahead and pursue the conversion thing. But if that’s not your main gig, then you need to really work hard on changing your language and your programming to demonstrate that you are interested in learning from newcomers and making space for new ideas and practices.

• Wiggle Room. The theology and doctrine of most churches is not flexible enough for the level of questioning that SBNR/None folks are are engaged in. Churches aren’t set up to be interfaith. And maybe they should not be. Maybe that is the role of another yet-to-be-born kind of relig-ish community. But if a given church wants to make space for the Nones/SBNR they are going to have to kick their beliefs open a lot wider.

• Let’s talk about Sex. Except for of the most liberal of mainline churches, the sexual mores of most churches are too restrictive, and discussions about sex are too narrow. And if you aren’t both open and affirming, well, most of the None’s aren’t going to darken your door.

• Dead White Guys. Religious debate that stems from the teachings of dead white guys is just too big of a concern among most church leaders.  And the ratio of theological debate vs. living-out the gospel of love through service/charitable giving is still too heavy on the debate side. The SBNR folks I work with aren’t interested in parsing creeds or analyzing Augustine. They are intelligent and interested in theory as much as the next guy. But the felt need is more about how to live out the Gospel of Love in our current cultural context. To put it in terms that my theologian readers will understand: your concern over orthodoxy is trumping your parishoner’s need for assistance with orthopraxis.

• No Space for Relig-ish Hybrids: Just as emergent pastors are captured by the idea of hybrid denominations, the SBNRs are captured by the idea of hybrid faith. They aren’t asking “Am I cathlobaptist or mennoanglican?” Rather they are self identifying as Christian-Buddhist, or Jesus+Reiki, or as one of my Christian-ish readers once said, “I love Jesus, and I’ve always been a little bit witchy.” In my opinion, hybrid religion is the next evolution of faith in an increasingly global culture.

As a spiritual minister, the question I’m asking myself is: Where will these relig-sih hybrids find a home? What does it mean to create a relig-ish sanctuary? How do we gather the SBNR/None folks who are hungry for a place of spiritual nurture and exploration? How do we accommodate the natural shifts in beliefs throughout the human maturation process? What does it mean to pursue common truths across religious borders?

These are the questions that really light my fire. Creating such a place is my passion. We spiritual misfits, we soulful wanderers, we need a landing place. We need a place to call home.

***

What about you Magpie? What is your relig-ish hybrid (if you have one)? And where have you found a place to call home? Still looking? What would you need to feel welcome in a regli-ish nest?

***

Magpie Moments is our Monday morning series this Fall, featuring a single shot of soulcare from me, your Magpie Girl. Join us each week and toss back some nurturing goodness. Need a double shot of soulcare? Click here for previous Magpie Moments. Thank you for being here today.

In the End
by Tara Sophia Mohr
*originally posted Feb 2, 2010

In the end
you won’t be known
for the things you did,
or what you built,
or what you said.

You won’t even be known
for the love given
or the hearts saved,

because in the end you won’t be known.

You won’t be asked, by a vast creator full of light:
What did you do to be known?

You will be asked: Did you know it,
this place, this journey?

What there is to know can’t be written.
Something between the crispness of air
and the glint in her eye
and the texture of the orange peel.

What you’ll want a thousand years from now is this:
a memory that beats like a heart–
a travel memory, of what it was to walk here,
alive and warm and textured within.

Sweet brightness, aliveness, take-me-now-ness that is life.

You are here to pay attention. That is enough.

***

Did that feed your soul? Tara Sophia Mohr’s poetry does that– it opens up a little window and lets the light shine in.

Give the gift of poetic fresh air to yourself or someone you love this holiday season, and nourish yourself one tasty morsel at a time.

For more information about the poetry and photography in this book, click here.

***

Curated Care (formerly known as Tools of The Trade) features carefully selected courses, books, and other treasure that will feed your beautiful soul. I take pride in only reviewing only trustworthy, totally-worth-it products and services. To see some evergreen products and service providers I enjoy, click here. To read all my review posts, click here. Thanks for being here today Magpie!

Sometimes you are far from home.
Sometimes being at home sucks.

Sometimes you feel like giving but don’t have the time or the funds.
Sometimes you don’t feel like giving, but the expectation for presents are high.

Sometimes there’s an empty place at your holiday table.
Sometimes you have too many guests.

Sometimes you have to light the Hanukkah candles alone.
Sometimes your mother won’t stop taking over your plans for Christmas brunch.

Sometimes you no longer feel at home in your house of worship.
Sometimes you are so at home they put you in charge of the Sunday School pageant.

Sometimes your family is overseas,
or your grandfather just died,
or your child is in the hospital,
or you’ve been horribly sick and you just aren’t up for celebrating.

Sometimes it’s a blue, blue Christmas.

It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay. It sucks. But you – your very core, your beautiful soul – you are going to be okay.

Here are a few little things that might help. And if you have more, could you put them in the comments? There are a lot of people out there who could use your help, and there ain’t nowhere to go but together.

Magpie Girl’s Tip for a Blue Christmas

If you are alone embrace being alone as much as you can. Don’t feel obligated to be the one single guest at the big family party with all the newborns. If you’d rather sleep in, go for a run, have a nice soak, make a big pot of soup and watch movies all day, go for it. You are a grown-up. You get to make your own delicious grown-up decisions.

If you are grieving a death or other loss, be kind to yourself.  You don’t have to be traditional this year if you don’t want to. Don’t put a lot of pressure of yourself to keep up traditions. They will come back to you in time. Just because this holiday season is sad doesn’t mean they are all ruined forever.

Be sad when you feel sad. Be a cheerful when you feel cheerful. You don’t need to be a happy little elf all the time. Nor are you obligated to be mournful every minute. Take the small holiday joys as they come. Be where you are.

Also, please give yourself a little extra time to do all or some of the following: take a nap, read a “beach” novel, remember a loved one, have a good cry, eat broccoli, take a walk, let the dog sleep on the bed, drink a little to much with a good friend. Give yourself permission to do whatever it is that serves you well. (And if you can’t give yourself permission, tell ‘em Magpie Girl said it was okay.)

If you are overwhelmed by demanding holiday schedules (or family members) use your core values to help you choose the right-fit holiday practices for you. It really doesn’t matter if “that’s the way we’ve always done it,” or who’s turn it is to travel to whom. Celebrate the season in the way that reflects the things you value most.

Is your core value hospitality? Host your open house and skip the company party. Are gifts your love language? Wrap up a storm. Does peace matter to you more during this season than festivities? Spend Yule quietly by the fire. When you make decisions out of your core values it’s easier to say “no” to family and cultural demands, and say “yes” to what matters most.

P.s. In the midst of writing this post I asked my Facebook folks what they do to help themselves through a blue Christmas. Click here and scroll down to see their kind and wise advice. Not a friend on FB yet? Send me a request with a note that you are coming over from the blog. Much Warmth. R.

You Might Also Like
How to be Alone.
How to Survive the Christmas Blues During Difficult Times.
Tips for Celebrating Christmas after a death in the family.

***

Magpie Moments is our Monday morning series this Fall, featuring a single shot of soulcare from me, your Magpie Girl. Join us each week and toss back some nurturing goodness. Need a double shot of soulcare? Click here for previous Magpie Moments. Thank you for being here today.

Today’s sermon is brought to you by the late Charles Bukowski.

My blessing for you today is this:
May you approach the complexities of life with clear and honest eyes, while still letting your bluebird sing.
Amen? Amen.

there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I’m not going
to let anybody see
you.
there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he’s
in there.

there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?
there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody’s asleep.
I say, I know that you’re there,
so don’t be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he’s singing a little
in there, I haven’t quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it’s nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don’t
weep, do
you?

You Might Also Like:

There’s a Bluebird in my Heart, from The Long Surrender by Over the Rhine

Hello Magpie! It’s *8Things Thursday. Time to check in with our Gratitude. What *8Things are you genuinely grateful for today? I”ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours…

This week I’m feeling particularly grateful for music, and the way it can carry you through. I find  I have two big go-to playlists. “Summer Songs” and “Winter Tunes.” Here are some Winter songs I just can’t do without:

1 . Over the Rhine’s The Long Surrender
2. The Civil Wars
3. The Milk Carton Kids (all their music is free here.)
4. Sarah McLachlan’s Wintersong
5. Eddie Vedder’s Ukelele Songs
6. Low Anthem’s Charlie Darwin
7. The Weepies
8. The Swell Season

What about you Magpie? What *8Things are you grateful for?  Put the short version in the comments, or grab a button for your blog. Give us permalink below so we can stop by! Your list will help others find their gratitude mojo when it’s running a little thin. Thanks for playing!

I love things that are beautiful, clever, and functional — like this handy bandolier from Clever Hands. No more digging for a pencil at the bottom of your purse, or losing a poem because it rushed past whilst you were looking for a pen. These handy bandoliers are designed for various sizes of moleskin notebooks, or can be made-to-order. I got one for my moleskin pocket calendar with a special-fit slot for my favorite kind of pencil and eraser. (Joy!)

Click here to order one for you or for a friend.

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Curated Care (formerly known as Tools of The Trade) features carefully selected courses, books, and other treasure that will feed your beautiful soul. I take pride in only reviewing only trustworthy, totally-worth-it products and services. To see some evergreen products and service providers I enjoy, click here. To read all my review posts, click here. Thanks for being here today Magpie!

Money across the register.

Gifts in front of the tree.

Items at the return counter.

How does one think soulfully about the exchanging of gifts? How can we be mindful about our giving and our receiving? What exactly is it that we are exchanging?

I would like to suggest that we are exchanging energy. Creative Energy. Emotional Energy. Spiritual Energy. The money you pass to purchase an item is in exchange for the work that went into producing that gift. The gift you extend to another carries all the energy of your affection for them. The donation you make to your favorite non-profit carries the spiritual energy of charity and hope.

In the bustle of the season, we must focus a little if we are to be mindful of this exchange. In his recent post at Shambhala Sun, Daniel Goleman offers this sage advice:

The key step in socially engaged shopping is to be mindful in the moment we’re about to make a decision about whether to buy something, rather than going through the store in our usual trance. At the very point of buying, we need to pay attention, rather than act on impulse. Our mindfulness can then allow us to take in the bigger picture.

As you create your list of purchases, I invite you to consider these questions: What does the person I am shopping for value? Does this purchase reflect those values? As the give-er does this gift reflect enough of my values that I can offer it without hesitation? Taking a moment to consider these will help you experience the sweet richness of a gift well given.

And what about the seller of these gifts? As an Etsy artist, M. of The Creative Beast is wondering about her role in this exchange:

One of my big concerns about this time of year is about being an artist/crafter that sells through Etsy, but I’m just not comfortable with the concept of “cashing in on the holidays” and my Etsy shop is closed at this time because of those concerns. How can an artist that creates lovely and meaningful gifts find a way to sell that doesn’t feel like it’s “cashing in” on what is, for many, a sacred time of year?

It’s easy to get caught up in the fervor and the panic of the holiday sales. It’s important to choose what is right-fit for you in this regards. If you employ resonate pricing throughout the year, then honoring your work might mean not having a holiday sale. If you have a loyal group of supporters, then a holiday discount might be your way of exchanging thanks with your fans, rather than just a grab for more sales. Then again, if your spirituality is asking you to avoid commerce as part of your sacred practice, then closing your shop for the holiday seasons may be right-fit for you.

Whether you are the buyer or the seller, be mindful of the narrative you are telling yourself about these exchanges. You don’t have to be held hostage by the commercialism of our age. I invite you to engage the story you are telling yourself about giving and receiving.

You can tell a different tale.

What about you Magpie? How have you made peace with the exchanging of gifts? We’d love to hear how you practice sanity and soulcare during this busy season. Leave your ideas in the comments below, “Cuz’ there ain’t no where to go but together.”

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Magpie Moments is our Monday morning series this Fall, featuring a single shot of soulcare from me, your Magpie Girl. Join us each week and toss back some nurturing goodness. Need a double shot of soulcare? Click here for previous Magpie Moments. Thank you for being here today.

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The blog is going to be quiet during this Thanksgiving week.

May you all be surrounded by abundance.

Much Warmth,

Rachelle

Hello Magpie! It’s *8Things Thursday. Time to check in with our Gratitude.

Last week my poor Sammy dog was sick. This is his 12th year on the planet, and his 6th year with us. Things seem to be breaking down a little as he’s been in and out of the vet A LOT this fall. So this week for *8Things, I’d like to celebrate with 8 pictures of our little monster.

What are you thankful for this week? I’ll show you mine, if you’ll show me yours…

What about you Magpie? What *8Things are you grateful for? Put the short version in the comments, or grab a button for your blog. Give us a permalink below so we can stop by! Your list will help others find their gratitude mojo when it’s running a little thin. Thanks for playing!