A Special Inspirational Love Note:From My Heart to Yours

With Thanksgiving now behind us, and the Black Friday shopping madness kicked off this weekend as well, the holiday season is now officially in full effect. Part of my Thanksgiving was spent in quiet reflection, prayer and praise for the many things I am grateful for this year. Among my long list of things I gave praise and thanks to God for was you. Yes...YOU!!! 

Allow me, if you will, to share a little of my backstory of the last four years since Inspirational Love Notes first began with you. It will give you a better understanding of why I started doing this and how by doing so has brought me to appreciate all of you so much.
 
I created this blog in August of 2010. It was a Spirit inspired Divine Idea and a life rafter from God. I say that because I truly believe the idea to create Inspirational Love Notes was God's way of giving me something to float on and keep my head above the turbulent waters of life, I felt like I was drowning in, at that time. The idea to start this blog came during a time I felt life had blind folded me and tossed me into the middle of the ocean with no warning or swimming lessons. And I was desperately trying to find my way back to shore mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

If you live here in the United States I think it goes without saying that 2010 was a rough year for most Americans. We were still in the thick of our struggling economy and almost everyone in our country was being hit badly by the recession....including me.  I was experiencing my second lay-off over a two year time period that summer. On top of that, our Government was going through a lot of conflict with President Obama during the second year of his first term. And for some reason, still unclear to me, they decided to put a freeze on distribution of all unemployment funds, which was the only income for thousands of laid-off Americans...again, included me. That decision resulted in many Americans, myself included, suffering for months without receiving unemployment benefits at a time when finding new gainful employment was nearly impossible.

As if that wasn't enough to endure, that same dreadful year, my Father made his transition from this life unexpectedly. So, despite the fact that I was going through a serious financial hardship situation at the time, I had to figure out a way to get back to my home town in Michigan and be with my family as we laid my Dad to his final rest. That was in June 2010. Then just six months later following my Father passing my Spiritual Mother,whom I had a very close relationship with, made her transition from this life as well in December 2010. 

She was my anchor, my "go to" person, my confidant, my spiritual teacher, mentor, life coach and very dear friend. She was the first person I always went to for comfort, love and wisdom to help get me through all the other challenges life threw at me over the twelve beautiful years I had known her. There was no one in my life at the time who could compare to the bond I had grown accustom to sharing with her. Needless to say, I was devastated by the news of her transition from this life. Yet, I am grateful that I was able to be there by her side during her final days.

However, at the time of her passing, I was also going through a personal health situation that resulted in me having an out-patient medical procedure. So I wasn't even able to attend her funeral because my medical procedure was scheduled for the same day as her funeral service. Losing my Spiritual Mom, especially on the heels of losing my Dad, was the blow to my heart that hit me the hardest. It was also the breaking point of my emotional pain tolerance. It was the worse of everything else I had already endured that year. Because she was the first, and main, person who would have normally been there to help me overcome the other series of devastating events that unfolded back to back all within that same year.

Needless to say, I was drowning in an ocean of emotional turmoil and despair. I've always been a deeply spiritual person of strong faith. But I had never experience that much, or that kind, of loss, hurt, disappointment and pain all at the same time in my entire life. I desperately needed an outlet, a place I felt emotionally safe to express what I was feeling at that time and allow my heart to heal. 

Then I remembered, my spiritual practices have taught me that the best and fastest way to receive from the universe what you're most in need of is by giving that very thing away. So after countless nights of endless crying, grieving, and constant prayer for healing I was led in spirit to create Inspirational Love Notes for the following several reason. 

First, I created it as a means of using my talents and gifts in a way that would honor God through service to others while waiting for my personal prayers to overcome my intense grief, restore my broken spirit, and heal my severely bruised heart to be fulfilled. Secondly, since my childhood, I have asked God  to use me in a way that allows me to be a source of inspiration to other's. And to allow my unique talents and gifts to touch somebody else's life in a positive way. 

Lastly, I created Inspirational Love Notes because I wanted to help others who may be going through some of the same painful experiences I went through in 2010, or worse. I wanted to encourage others to hang in there and keep the faith when life gets rough. More importantly, I wanted to do my part to ensure that no one going through such painful and difficult times in their life as I did, in 2010 and other times in my life before and after that dreadful year, to ever feel like they're gong through it alone. I wanted to help other's heal their wounded places within and in their relationships with others by awakening the love light that is innately in all of us and has the power to heal all things.   

So, I started this blog and named it Inspirational Love Notes. My intention was for this to be a spin off of my radio show, Love Notes, that I created, produced and hosted here in Atlanta, Georgia in 2003-2004, that had the same concept of encouraging and inspiring others only through music rather than the written word.

Without a doubt, I have gone through and overcome a great deal of painful experiences over the last four years since I created this blog and began sharing  my Inspirational Love Notes with you. Yet, as the scripture says in Romans 8:28, "...we know that all things work together for good to those who love God."  This is one of my favorite scriptures that has stood the test of time. And it has proven true repeatedly in my life. I have come to realized that none of what I went through in 2010, the last four years since then, or my entire life, has been in vain. Nope...None of it! Because all of it has led me right where I need to be and prepared me for what I now realize I've been called in Spirit to do. All that I have gone through has brought me to this moment in time sharing the wisdom and lessons I have come to learn from it all with you. And for that I am so deeply grateful. 

Sharing my daily inspirational messages with you has allowed me to inspire others while heal my severely wounded heart and soul. It has allowed me to give my gift to the world by doing what comes to me so naturally. While spiritual growth is an ongoing process, I can say with great certainty, that since I started this blog and began sharing my daily inspirational love notes with you, I have received in return, the blessing of evolving spiritually and seeing my talent as a poet and writer grow as well in ways I never imaged. And for that I am also deeply grateful.  

I never thought when I began sharing my daily messages of love with you on my Facebook Group, Inspirational Poetry & Love Notes, that I would have the positive response from so many people as I now do. But it has  been a two way street. 

You all have been just as much a blessing and source of inspiration to me as many of you have let me know I have been to you. Your feedback is important to me. And many of you have shared with me how my positive articles, poems, and quotes have been so helpful to you while coping through your own personal life struggles you are working to overcome. So this Inspirational Love Note is a special dedication to you to express my heartfelt gratitude for letting me know we have been growing and healing together. 

As a result of your continuous support, by sharing my daily Love Notes with your Facebook family and friends, I am excited and delighted to share with you that I now have followers on my Facebook Group, Inspirational Poetry & Love Notes, from all over the world. For this reason, the time has come for me to expand the way I share my Love Notes with you. I have recently created an Inspirational Love Notes Page on Facebook that allows me the ability to reach more people.

With that said, I salute you and thank you for your continued support over the last four years. I look forward to continue growing with you and serving you. Most importantly, I look forward to continue being a source of light, love, and inspiration in your life and to the world through each and every one of you who read my daily messages and share them with someone else. Together we can heal hearts all over the world...one Inspirational Love Note at a time. 

So rather you're a new follower or already an established member of my Facebook Group, please click the link below and Like my new Inspirational Love Notes Page on Facebook to continue following me. 

https://www.facebook.com/InspirationalLoveNotes

Until next time...I surround you all in Love & Light! 



A One Love Production
By Anna MsPoet Hendricks
Copyright November 2014

Thanksgiving:The Perfect Time for Gratitude and Forgiveness

"To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the sun."  ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

With the end of November bringing with it Thanksgiving, which officially kicks off the Holiday Season, it's usually the time of year when we begin to reflect on all the things in our lives we are grateful for and appreciate most. However, it's also the perfect time to take inventory of our hearts and ask God to reveal to us who or what in our lives we need to forgive, release and let go. It is the perfect time to take notice of the relationships, beliefs, attitudes, habits, situations and/or material things in our lives that we've out grown.

So as you contemplate and prepare your menu for this weeks Thanksgiving feast, try adding a little gratitude and forgiveness to your list of perfect side dishes to compliment your turkey dinner this year. Give thanks for all that you have while also forgiving all that has left you feeling hurt and release that which you no longer need.

To resist the cycle of change, that is part of the natural process of life, is like trying to swim against the tide of an ocean rather than relax and go with the flow and direction of the current, which would require a lot less effort on your part. By continuing to hold on to things out of fear of moving forward, despite the clear evidence life is showing us that it's time to move on, we do more of a disservice than good to both ourselves and those involved in or affected by the situation.

When we look to nature as an example of how to actively practice non-resistance of the seasons of change in life for releasing and letting go, we see how the tree's do no fight with the change of season from summer to fall because they know that the onset of fall means it's time to shed their leaves. If you watch closely during this process it almost seems as if the trees open up and embrace the change, instead of resisting, as they effortlessly allow the leaves to change color from moist rich green to a dry blend of red, russet and yellow as they gently detach from the tree branches and gently float to the ground.

When this process is complete the once fully blossomed trees now appear to our human eyes to be left standing with bare and barren branches leaving the tree looking lifeless. However, from the perspective of the tree, I imagine it probably feels much happier, lighter and free with all those leaves finally gone and no longer weighing down its branches.

Such is the case with releasing the relationships, thoughts and things that represent the leaves weighing down the branches of our lives. Using the aforementioned example of the trees knowing when to shed their leaves with non-resistance, it would behoove us to also practice non-resistance when the time comes for us to let go of whatever is holding us back from freely moving forward to the next season of our lives as well. And there's no better time to take inventory of what needs to be released from our lives than now.

By expressing gratitude for what you have received and surrendering that which you no longer need back into the universe you are not only allowing that person, place, or thing to move on to its higher good, you are also making room for the next wave of blessings that's sure to come in your own life as well. So in the end, it benefits all involved to practice non-resistance to this natural process of release, letting go, growth and change.

Yet, until we reach a state of self-mastery consciousness, which most of us will probably not achieve in this lifetime, the art of non-resistance to such major shifts and changes in this human experience is much easier said than done. This is why I believe supports groups are so successful because there is power in working together as a group of people with the same end goal in mind who are also on one accord in consciousness about attaining that end goal.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the sun." So let's use this time and season that's ripe for forgiveness and healing to purifying our hearts, cleanse our minds and sweep out the debris of negative thoughts, judgments, beliefs, perceptions, and resentments that have been cluttering up the floors, doors and closet spaces of our minds.

Let's  bring this last week of the month to a close by being a support to one another for growth and healing. Together let's prepare for the high expectations of our glorious future in the coming new year, by willingly releasing what needs to be released, letting go of whomever we need to let go, and forgiving whoever or whatever we still need to forgive. With an open and non-resistant heart, attitude and mind, let's surrender it all to God. In fact, let's take this opportunity of this Thanksgiving Holiday to put our faith and trust back in the infallible hands of God where it rightfully belongs, rather than placing them in the imperfect hands of people, things or situations.

And to help us stay focused on this "end goal", to free ourselves of anything blocking us from having and keeping an open and receptive heart of love, all of my Inspirational Love Notes, shared with you through my poems, articles and quotes, for the rest of this week will be in alignment with the theme of renunciation and renewal. Let's heal our hearts and move forward in love together. After all...as children of the Most High God we are more than worth the effort.


Until next time...I surround you in Love & Light! So remember to keep your hearts open and your love lights on.


A One Love Production
By Anna M. Hendricks
Copyright 2013