Harbor Pilots

Come on in. Come on in. It's a Thursday in the Cadmosphere, and that means I get to show up for you and with you. And we talk about all kinds of things. This is caregiver day, and there's so many ways in which we care for one another. My name is Kathy Joy. My handle in the Cadre sphere is Speak Wonder. And my favorite go to topic is harbor pilots. That is, people in our lives who come into the harbor where waters are either calm or troubled, choppy or smooth. They climb into our boat, take over the wheel or the helm, and steer us into safe harbor.

Who's your harbor pilot today? So grateful for the means of support that we have through other beautiful human beings. And I say hello to Dream big. Aren't these flowers beautiful? Yeah. Everybody, come on in. These are tulips that I got at the grocery store. I went in with gold to find some daffodils. It's too early for them, apparently. Although for the record, I must say I have acquired daffodils at the same local grocery in the month of January in years past. I guess it just depends on distribution, who's got them and if they're being shipped at certain times of the year.

Tulips are definitely a gorgeous close second. I told the florist I needed a pop of color, and she said, how about those yellow tulips? I said, yeah, that's the ticket. And I have this lovely vase that they're in as well. Wanted to share a touch of spring with you and wanting to share some poetry with you, some words that I put to paper back in 2020. Yeah, my shirt says poetry is for rebels. It's from the Second cup in Minnesota. Deidre Braylee. Deidra Braylee has that coffee shop and runs a writer's workshop out of there as well.

And she sells these shirts. So this was written to my office mates on March 24th of 2020, when we were in lockdown and sequestered in our own apartments, houses, cars, wherever our offices were set up while we were apart from each other. And it happened all over the globe. You remember before people slowly started drifting back into shared office spaces and cubicles, my supervisor asked me to reach out to the group. This is a government agency with poems, encouragement, blogs, and something she fondly called the Weekly Jab or the Daily Jab, kind of a play on words, meaning a shot in the arm of encouragement.

And so I pulled this out, and it's titled oh, the Places yous'll Go. And it seemed like something we might need today in the caregiving community of the Cadre. Dr. Seuss. Oh, the places you'll go. You're off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way. We have so many choices for electronic destinations, and they're all very helpful, such as visiting museums and zoos online. But what if today we considered a more ethereal destination? Something intangible, something beautiful and wispy, like gossamer.

What if we took a journey to our own hearts, quietly sending love to our families? Some other places you might go today, inside the pages of a book. Escape to adventure, poetry, science fiction, mystery, whatever you'd enjoy. It's your voyage, your go to immersive journey. Go to a live concert right in your living room. Do you have a CD player? Why not dust that thing off and play some tunes you haven't even thought about for a while? Come on, go old school and give Pandora a rest. Sing along with gusto and no shame.

For Christmas this year I received an old school record player and I love it. I got some Herb Alpert in the Tijuana Brass. Got me some John Denver. Sing along with Mitch. I have been visiting vintage record stores and having a blast Spending a dollar or two on on some vinyl, bringing it home and listening to the crack and pop, the crackle and pop of vinyl. It's the best. Pardon me, my water is not within reach. So sing along with gusto and no shame. How about to your window? Okay, friends, I still do not know how to switch the camera around, so I'm going to switch myself around so that what you see in the background is my window, one of my living room windows.

See my bird feeder out there? So go to your window, not your windows, server your actual window, like your living room window or the one in the kitchen. Gaze out. Be present. Be mindful. What do you see? Can you hear birds? Can you smell the earth yawning and shifting into springtime? Go to your memory bank. Gratefully gather your memories and arrange them like a wild bouquet of remembrance. Allow yourself to be delighted with the imagined. Textures, colors and fragrances unhinge your brain. It's begging for a break from trying to figure stuff out.

Friends, just let it idle for a few sacred, solitary moments. Lean into whatever is awakened from its long slumber and let it emerge. Congratulations. Today is your day. You're off to great places. You're off and away. And that is a page from Dr. Seuss's book. Oh, the places you'll go. The earth is Preparing for spring. Even though we don't see evidence. It is vigorous and rumbling and mumbling and pushing up roots that will burst forth when the time is right. In the same way, my friends, you're prepared for what's ahead.

Today, tomorrow, in a couple of weeks. You are uniquely qualified for the journey that you are on. You have what it takes. There are days you will doubt this. I've been in a season of doubt. To be real, to be raw, to be transparent. I've been wondering about a lot of things. Unresolved situations, estrangement from a family member. Wondering why I haven't met someone. I've been widowed for many years. I liked being married. My late husband would be happy that I'm happy. And the conundrum is I am happy.

So maybe I don't need a partner. But the fact is I went and bought my Valentine's flowers. Those tulips over there, pop of yellow. And my funny valentine is my girl Gracie. And she's curled up now in her kennel. I don't know if I can show her to you or not. See my girl in there. Hello, Gracie. Say hi. She likes her kennel. Leave the door open. She comes and goes as she pleases. And sometimes her favorite spot is in my lap. We are in kind of a wiggly in between this thing of February. Winter lingers in most of the places where you're tuning in.

You might be in a more more of a mild climate. Bless you for that. But if you live in a four season type of situation, then you know what this feels like when winter just seems to linger. But things are happening under the surface. And if I could just say it one more time, you are uniquely prepared for what's ahead. Things are planted and roots are wriggling up to push forth strength, wisdom, ingenuity and answers to problems that are not even on your radar yet. And that's a great way to live. Relaxing into the knowledge that you have what it takes to succeed and you don't have to force it out.

It's going to come up in due time, when there's enough sunlight, when the stars and the moon have aligned in the right way. You'll have your answers when you need them. So this is your guru speak Wonder signing off. But before I do so, I want to tell you that you're in for a treat with miss Shannon Paul. Comedy in the Chaos. Later today you will enjoy brilliant jazzy, badass blue hair, wisdom wrapped in laughter, survival and and fierceness and joy. She's a beautiful onion. And she has many layers.

That's just one of our Cadresphere. Coming up today and the days to come. There are some. Some more that are friends of yours and maybe some you haven't met yet. And there's always the ability to go back and see what has played and do the replay. Do you like my earrings? I just got them in the mail as a surprise and they're perfect. They're completely me. You do you. I'll do me. And we can go through this life side by side, knowing that we have what we need and knowing that we have each other today.

That's enough blessings.