Cheryl Richardson's Blog, page 15

A story of hope and new beginnings

Spring has arrived here in the northeast and the birds are bustling as they start work on their new summer homes. Organic cotton globes have been hung to assist them in finding good quality construction materials and extra food has been added to the feeders to fuel their labor.

This time of year always reminds me of a story I shared long ago of what happened when we installed a variety of trees in our yard. I return to this tale because it reminds me to be very careful about the stories I tell m...

The wonder years

It was a gray day crowned by a milky white sky that gave way to shafts of muted sunlight now and then. We were walking in the woods, the three of us, chatting about the latest documentaries we’d seen, fun summer plans, and the joy of fulfilling dreams. Our friend Ari had just finished building a forest hot tub using a cast iron, clawfoot jewel placed upon a stone platform with a firepit underneath. She was sharing what it felt like to finally sink into a warm bath in the middle of the woods when...

Time for a new way forward

I shuffled into the bathroom and looked at my sleepy self in the mirror. I immediately thought of Louise Hay and her commitment to the practice of “mirror work” – saying “I love you. I really, really love you,” each time you look in a mirror. As I smiled at her memory and silently said the words to myself, I grabbed my electric toothbrush and began cleaning my teeth.

“Hey, go easy with that thing,” my husband Michael said as walked into the room.

What? I said using my best zombie impersonation.

...

Learning to stay where you are

Pale was the tone of the day and the color of my mood when I woke this morning from a fitful night’s sleep. I wasn’t upset, depressed, or feeling anxious. I just felt meh. As I went about the morning rituals of making tea, feeding the cats, emptying the dishwasher, and cooking breakfast, I put my attention on the present moment rather than my mood.

I felt the dishes in my hands as I moved them to their rightful place in the cupboards. I inhaled the scent of Earl Grey tea wafting from a steaming ...

How determined are you?

The snow started falling just after midnight as I slipped into bed and listened to the gusty northeast wind move the walls and windows. By morning, the towering ash tree in our backyard had been transformed into a majestic white birch adorned with a handful of black crows waiting for breakfast. Still coming down hard, the snow signaled a day for tea, soup, and a good book.

As I entered the room where our cats Berty and Wednesday sleep, I watched a big old squirrel crawl into the birdfeeder attac...

How to quiet the inner bully

Sometimes the voice of the inner bully is deafening. It screams so loud that I can’t hear myself think, let alone receive the creative inspiration I need when I’m writing. On those days, I take my inner artist by the hand, walk her to our writing place, and stand behind her as she gets started.

I have your back, I tell her. Don’t worry. Just write.

I’ve gotten pretty good at handling the pesky critics that live in my head. Sometimes I let them have their say. I sit on the floor in my office whi...

Becoming a curator of beauty

It had been a quiet, lovely morning, the kind of start to the day where everything came together with ease. I woke early, worked out, and then went to sit in my cold tub for a few minutes. As I slipped into the freezing water, I intentionally focused on my surroundings as a way to stay present and out of my head. I do this to counteract my mind because it always tries to convince me to get out. As I took several deep breaths, I began to settle down and I felt strangely at peace.

On this particul...

Let yourself off the hook

Last Monday I hemmed and hawed all morning long about whether or not to attend an event that night. There were people I wanted to see and it was cold and windy outside. I felt restless and in need of a change of scenery, and I wanted to stay warm and cozy at home. I knew I would disappoint people if I didn’t go, and I didn’t want to disappoint myself with regrets.

Back and forth, back and forth, my mind waltzed to the dance of indecision when I finally got sick of it all. Pick one, I told myself...

Wild child meditation

The sun is flooding my office with winter light and Berty, our ginger cat lying at my feet, looks like a warm bowl of carrot soup. Wednesday, his sister, is close by giving herself a leisurely bath. We’re all enjoying a quiet start to the day. Well, the cats are anyway.

I sit down to write and stop to check my email. I type a sentence or two and get up to make another cup of tea. I come back to my chair and scroll through Instagram reels laughing out loud at the insanity of jokesters. Then I ch...

A little bit of just the right thing

I reached into our silverware drawer for a teaspoon and noticed that pretty much all of the forks, knives, and spoons looked tarnished and worn. A few years before, I had purchased a variety of antique, silver-plated utensils because they were elegant and beautiful. I added them to several pieces of real silver left to me by a friend who passed away in the early nineties.

Although the silverware was clean, I’d never taken the time to polish it because they were beautiful as is and it didn’t see...