Tag: magic

Service IS Joy!

emyminzel

I slept and dreamt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life is service.

I acted and behold, service was joy. 

Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet

 

It took me a long time to realize just how important being of service is to me. I always liked to help others, and still do what I can, to “make myself useful” as my mom likes to say. Yet for a long while, I did not understand the overall effect acts of service had on my psyche. I have since learned it feels good to be helpful, appreciated and even needed. Although it can sometimes feel like work, the influence volunteering has on me is quite magical. I no longer think of it as effort but as an opportunity to bring joy into my life and those of others!

When I volunteer for something that touches my heart, I usually get to meet new people and make new friends at the same time. This helps me to get to know others in my community who are also doing their best to better the town we share. When I see so many others, taking time out of their lives, to be part of the effort required to make our community so great; it brings me hope for the future. It’s a wonderful reminder that there are lots of people like you and me who still care about our neighbors and do our best to spread joy.

When I give my time and join my neighbors who have the same intentions as I do; the results can be heartwarming and encouraging. I was recently elected to the board of our local Friends of the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge Committee. I am so excited about the opportunity to be part of this program. ‘The Friends’ have started a Young Naturalist program that provides the children, from our local Elementary schools, the opportunity to learn through outdoor field trips and provide educational information at the Refuge, that’s a lot of fun for them!

I love this program so much, because I believe that getting children excited about nature is how we ensure they care about the environment when they grow up.  To have this opportunity to make a real tangible effort that affects the children and other folks that enjoy the Refuge is exciting! The environment and protecting it is one of my true passions in life. Children are the future and I truly hope they care about the environment as much as I do when they grow up!

I think it is extremely important to have natural spaces that are free for our communities to enjoy. I first started going to the Wildlife Refuge several years ago; because it was full of beautiful hiking trails where I love to take my dogs for a walk. The trails are well maintained and safe, thanks to the funding they receive and the hard work of The Refuge employees and volunteers. Volunteering for an organization that is so near and dear to my heart and echoes the core of my beliefs really fires me up.

I try hard to make sure I am doing my best to bring good ideas, help where I am able, and put my skills to use. ‘The Friends’ Committee does much more beyond youth education. It also includes several subcommittees that have different purposes. I am on the Advocacy Committee which involves talking to Legislators and asking that they ensure our local Refuge will get the funding it needs to be maintained. Pretty sure I can do that!

I believe when you want to change the world you need to start in your own back yard… Volunteering and making a difference in my direct community is pretty darn cool in my mind. We often forget that politics are not just in our State Capitals or Washington D.C. Politics can happen in our towns, schools and even our parks. Being active in your community is the planting of seeds where the grassroots grow. We forget that politics is just putting our beliefs into action. It’s easy, fun and nothing to be afraid of!

Volunteering in other areas of the community has been an excellent opportunity to see the good in the world. We are all different but that’s what makes us so great! When you put us together for a good cause, great suggestions inspire miraculous action and happenings that truly do bring joy to each other and the community we share. How cool is that?!

I also Volunteer at a local animal rescue when I can. It has been a life changing experience that I enjoy and always has me going back for more!

What is your favorite volunteering experience? I’d love to hear what moves your heart!

Wishing you love and blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

Lean into it.

emyminzel

I have been writing a lot lately about taking responsibility for the energy we share with the world around us. I talk about sharing joy and being the light of happiness for yourself and others. Yet there are times when it is okay and even imperative to lean into your sadness, anger, frustration or any other feeling that may not resemble the usual sunshiny picture.

Life likes to hand us tough times once in a while. We are only human, and we all have limits of how much stress or BS we can or are willing to take. We have the right to get angry at that insulting thing that someone said. We are justified to be sad over the loss of a loved one or for any reason actually.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is lean into these feelings and let them in.

When we are too busy denying our true feelings; the Universe and the people around you will know. You aren’t doing yourself or anyone else any favors by pretending otherwise. You are not as good of an actor as you may think you are. Fake happiness still vibes at a lower frequency than real joy and I believe you’re unable to fake it for a reason. That reason is that you are supposed to feel your feelings so that you can heal them.

Now, I don’t mean you have to wallow in misery all day, but you know what? If you need a day to just be as miserable as you need and to let your despair come out your eyes and run down your face; then you really should allow yourself the time to do it!

Sad movie Saturday here you come! It can be a therapeutic release to let those tears out!

If we keep denying our hurt; it will not be possible to bring it out into daylight for the healing it needs. It’s okay to say, “You know what? I am sad today. I just don’t feel like my best self. I need time to heal my spirit and it may take a bit.”

Your loved ones will understand your need for space. They will most likely try and help pull you out of your funk though and this may work for you. You may decide to let them try and help lift your spirits! I know it helps me to get out of the house and hang out with my friends to shake up my routine a bit. My friends and loved ones are a great source of joy.

I just wanted to remind you that it is always okay to feel all your feelings! Just be aware that learning to navigate the healing of them is where the work is all yours too. Lean into that anger, sadness or frustration, really feel it, to find the source.

We must heal ourselves and the source of what brought on those feelings. It’s our job to do the work and ask ourselves; “What must I do to change the situation making me feel this way, so those feelings can leave?” If you need help, ask for it. Those around you cannot read minds any better than you can. There are as professionals who will be glad to help you as well.

Go within to dissect the situation and disolve the source of the pain. It’s still our job to take ownership of our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. The best way to do that is to lean into them, look in the mirror, stare yourself in the face and say “I love you. I believe in you. You are going to get through this.”

Give yourself permission to lean into those emotions and then make a choice to lean into the healing as well. Do you need to find forgiveness for yourself or another? Do you need to change thoughts of judgment to thoughts of love and compassion for someone or yourself? It’s up to you to find your truth on where you need healing.

You are worth the investment of time and effort to mend your mind, body and spirit. I am writing this to let you know you are not alone on your down days. There is nothing wrong with you when this happens. You are perfect the way you are, and if you don’t feel so, you have the power to change too.

You matter and I believe in you and love you.

Wishing you the magical soulful healing you need right now to be the best you can be.

With love,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

 

 

Peanut Butter and Jelly

emyminzel

Jason and I have been married for ten years this summer but we have been together for nearly fifteen years now. That’s a lot of life to travel through together and I am thankful to have my best friend by my side. We mirror each other and have often been each other’s subject of lessons learned in our life together. I am so thankful that we have found a partnership that can stand up to the many tests of time.

My husband and I are very different. He is 6’ 4” I am 5’. He likes indoor activities. I like outdoor activities. He likes to watch sports. I enjoy HGTV and finding DIY projects for us to do together. He allows me to make him “honey do” lists of things I need done around the house. Yet, he will do them only when he is darn good and ready! In turn, I have learned to be patient and thankful that he is here to do them for me in the first place.

He prefers to spend quiet weekends at home. I would rather go out and enjoy friends or activities together. He travels for work, a lot, and I work from home. We have opposite view points on many issues from politics, to how many dogs we should have. As a matter of fact, we are so different, that I believe we are like Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Jason is for sure the Peanut Butter in our relationship. He is the solid foundation on which I share all my flavorful and creative ideas and he does his best to help me make them work. I am the Jelly that adds the flare to our relationship. Sometimes I’m the sweet Strawberry Jelly, other times, I am spicy Raspberry Jalapeno!

I know without the balance and grounding, hearty substance of my husband; who is always his Peanut Butter self. I would be sweet but not satisfied. I really do appreciate and need his foundation of strength and stability. I believe, he also enjoys the joyful energy I bring to the table. We balance each other in many ways but sometimes our tendency to be so opposite brings challenges to our relationship. Yet, so far, they seem to be the reason we work together so well.

No matter how opposed we are, we seem to just know that this is who we are supposed to be traveling through this lifetime with. Even on days I want to tuck into a cannonball and take him out at the knees. 😊  Hey, some times marriage and life can be hard. Even when you love each other, there are days when we don’t particularly like each other.

Knowing that, even on those challenging times when life throws us curve balls or does its best to shake up our foundation, we know we are meant to be together. That random rattling of our foundation actually works to smoosh us together, mixing us up until we are a blended combination that is inseparable, just like Peanut Butter and Jelly.

I know that I am blessed to have found someone who fits me so perfectly, even as opposite as we are. This brings us both opportunities to grow exponentially in many ways. We are both great individually but, put us together and that’s where the magic happens. This is how we expand our possibilities. By accepting our differences and working together to build a relationship; we have sandwiched a beautiful life together.

I think it’s fun to think of different ways to describe or explain complicated matters like relationships. What analogy would you give your marriage or relationship? I would love to hear them!

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

Curveballs or Divine Guidance?

emyminzel

How do you react when you find yourself in a situation you never expected? Out of the blue you may find out you are expecting a bundle of joy, or you lose a job only to find an opportunity that suits you better anyways. Maybe you go through a rough break-up to later be blessed by Cupid’s arrow walking into a room full of strangers. Before you know it, a new exciting and healing romance blooms into your life filling your heart with hope. Sometimes you look up at the heavens and think “Whoa, how did that happen?” I believe it is divine guidance.

I have found those days in my life that change everything to come in my future, are scary, exciting, and uncertain. Yet, they have made my whole life better, like finding out I was expecting a baby. I was scared, excited and uncertain, and it changed the direction of my life for the better. I grew up quickly, I put my baby first, I put my drive to succeed for our future prosperity second on the list and started moving forward with purpose.

Several years ago, in my early twenties, I quit a job that paid me well, but I never felt appreciated. In an expression of setting boundaries and demanding respect for myself, I walked out and quit. I was scared because that was not the in the plan that day, but also certain I deserved to be treated better.

It took me a few months, but I found a job that paid me much more, I enjoyed working there and it is where I met my husband! It was uncomfortable to be in limbo of uncertainty and unknowing if I was going to be okay or not. For some reason, I just knew I could not take this disrespect anymore and the universe supported this decision by rewarding me with a better situation.

This brings me to where I am today. I have decided to put myself ‘out there’ in a very public way. As a semi-introverted person this takes a good amount of courage and gumption. Attributes that I learned while adventuring to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and through living the adventure that is my life. I learned I can do more then I think I can, I learned I am smarter then I thought, I learned I am brave and strong. I have learned a great deal about what I can do, by doing things I never thought I could or would.

How we act when life throws us a curve ball is what determines our future. We can be fearful, drag our feet or go kicking and screaming. Or we can choose to trust that God/Universe sent this revolution because you needed it, dig in and move forward. After being endorsed by the DFL, I found myself a little scared, excited and unsure of the path that lay before me. I choose to fully embrace the opportunity to hopefully represent my community for the greater good with my whole being.

When I decided “Yes, thank you Universe for this amazing opportunity,” is when synchronicities started to happen, I could not believe how effortlessly everything was falling into place. Extremely qualified and wonderful people appeared to help me and support every step of this journey.

The first day I made my stump speech I mentioned my grandmother was my hero. Moments later I met a woman who worked with my grandma for 10 years! Her presence was kind and very supportive which helped me move forward to the next convention. By the next week I had acquired a campaign team that helped reinforce and verify that this is the path for me.

I had been asking for a big map of my district for about a week, I had mentioned it again the morning we were heading to a local pizza and politics meeting for dinner. When we walked into the pizza place the first woman to greet me was holding a giant map of my district and asked me if I would like to have it along with a very generous campaign donation I was not expecting. My heart swelled.

I had no choice but to look up at the heaven’s and say “Thank you. I know you are helping me, thank you for listening!” I have felt as if this whole political adventure has indeed been divinely guided. The less energy I give to the fear of unknown, the more synchronistic happenings appearing as if by magic or miracles.

My life experiences taught me to referred to life’s curve balls as divine guidance from now on. I trust them.

When have you experience divine guidance in your life? I would love to hear your stories!

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

* I saved this picture off of the internet many moons ago, if it yours I will gladly give you the photo credit. – Emy

Signs, signs…

emyminzel

I had a dream that I was trapped in a very large but comfortable bedroom. Every time that I tried to leave this bedroom I was chased and haunted by a ghost that seemed to represent me as well. I would try repeatedly to leave this room first through the door then the window. I would even take my dog with me in the dream, we ran out into the cold looking for an escape and tried to hide from this ghost that was me. I was running away from myself.

When I woke up I thought “what a weird dream… I wonder what it means?” after contemplating the symbolism of the me ghost chasing me, I concluded that it was my subconscious letting me know that I am scared to go beyond my comfort zone(bedroom). This rings lots of bells in my head because life has been dangling a big opportunity in my face. Seemingly asking me “Do you want it or not?!”

When I write I sit at the kitchen table and watch the birds eat peanuts and sunflowers that I put out for them. I find it relaxing and kind to help critters who struggle to find food in the winter. It had just snowed last night so I had to replace the seeds this morning. Cardinals, Blue Jays, chickadees, and many other birds did not hesitate to swoop down to enjoy the feast I provided for them.

However, there were two crows that sat far up in the trees hollering to each other in excitement about what they found. One of these large crows swooped down and sat on a tree branch just a few feet from the ground eyeing up the bounty that laid just a few feet from it. Yet the crow did not trust it, for several minutes they hollered and talked about the food on the ground just waiting for them to fill their bellies, but they did not take the opportunity. They got very close then decided it just wasn’t meant for them and flew away in the opposite direction without even a bite.

Crows are notoriously resourceful I know that they will survive just fine without the bird food I put out for them. What I can’t get out of my mind is just maybe these crows were sent by God/Universe for me to see that my fear could possibly be keeping me from the success or bounty that lay just at my feet. I am having a hard time trusting that maybe this new path before me is really for the best because it scares me.

Even though I am an Adventure Sister I still get scared about things that will shake up my world. It’s not like when we go on vacation and I get to come back home to my normal life. This is a unique adventure, this opportunity I am wary of would shake up my daily life making it very different.  Clearly, I am concerned I won’t like this new path full of excitement and unknown choices. After all I have worked purposely and diligently at making my life calm and peaceful on purpose!

What if the message from the Crow and my dream were sent by God/Universe for me to see that I should not be scared? As I sat at the kitchen table I tried to will the crow to the food I provided out of love. I even said out loud “Don’t be scared pretty bird, it is safe for you!” Insert face palm here…. Instantly I knew that was the whole point of what The Universe/God had been trying to tell me about this dream and through my experience with the crows.

I had been thinking about the dream and what I was so scared of all morning. I couldn’t put it together why I was chasing myself as a ghost in my dream. The ghost was just my subconscious telling me I am keeping myself small and scared to be safe and comfortable. The crow seemed to tell me that even though I clearly see this opportunity of abundance I am feeling too scared to take advantage of it.

I see now, that my fear is standing squarely in front of the path to what it is I say I want and need. I love it when I pay attention to the signs and symbolism that life or God sends us every day! These two ‘signs’ were so poignant and right on that I cannot deny what they mean. I believe that the Universe sends us signs and signals in so many ways and all we must do is pay attention and listen. After all, God/Higher Power does not usually have actual words to communicate so we must discern what the happenings in our daily life truly mean.

We were given free will and free choice to choose how we want our lives to look for many reasons. We also have experiences in life that affect our reasoning behind why we choose what we choose or do what we do. Why am I feeling too fearful to take this adventurous leap? This is the next step to discernment and personal growth. Now that I know the problem the next step is to figure out why this is a problem. What can I do to fix it or feel better about it? Are my fears valid or are they there just to finally be acknowledged? More discernment is needed, but I will keep you filled in on my progress.

What do you do when you are scared? What signs does the Universe/God send you that are unmistakable? I would love to hear your stories of divinely guided synchronicities I believe are everywhere.

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com