Cheryl Richardson's Blog, page 3

Recording the past, remembering the present

Last week, I recorded an audio version of the book I wrote with Louise Hay called You Can Create an Exceptional Life. It will be released this October in honor of what would have been her 99th birthday. Hay House invited me to make this new recording different. While reading, I enhanced the teaching, shared personal stories, and added affirmation meditations and exercises to help deepen the work.

Recording this book was both a moving and fun experience, made even more special by the production t...

Your life is calling – it misses you.

I pulled to the curb, grabbed my wallet and keys, and headed toward our local coffee shop for an iced tea. When I reached the door, I remembered my phone and ran back to the car to get it. Wait, I said to myself as I opened the driver’s side door. What are you doing? You’ll be in the café for less than five minutes. I relocked the car and went back without my phone.

Over the past year, I’ve been paying closer attention to when and where I use my cellphone, with the intention of cutting back. I ...

What remains when the dust settles

I looked out the window and breathed a sigh of relief at not seeing any construction vehicles in the driveway. It’s been nearly a year since we started work on the garage and now that it’s done, I’ll miss the crew but welcome a quiet summer.

As things have settled, I can feel grief slipping into my consciousness throughout the day. Having been preoccupied with construction and settling affairs, I knew the need to tend to so many losses last year was just a matter of time. That’s because grief ha...

Breaking News: Your nervous system wants a day off

They were young, not more than a few months old, open, playful, and free. They scurried back and forth, chasing each other around the yard, sometimes leaping in the air to avoid collision. Baby squirrels are getting a taste of life outside the nest, I realized as I stood watching the antics from the kitchen window. It’s officially summer and the young ones are striking out on their own.

My next thought took me by surprise: I hope a fox doesn’t come along and grab one of them.

Ugh, I thought to ...

When loss builds something sacred

In August, two weeks before my Mother died, we gave the okay to begin construction on a project we’d envisioned for years. We would transform the unfinished space over our garage into a beautiful healing loft for guests, gatherings, and eventual caregivers should we need them later in life. Had I known my Mother would fall ill, I would have put the project on hold. But that’s life – unpredictable, messy, and always presenting us with opportunities to grow.

Fortunately, we chose the right constru...

Ready to stop redecorating hell?

I felt like a fly on the wall, privy to an exchange I wasn’t meant to hear. It was uncomfortable and yet I couldn’t look away. I had stumbled upon a docuseries that quickly became something I shared with clients and friends. The show, called Couples Therapy, offers a brave and compelling look at what it means to work through challenging situations with a partner in a therapeutic setting. Couples are from all walks of life and while initially the circumstances might seem far different than your o...

The real intruder isn’t what you think

I made myself the perfect cup of Victoria Grey tea with local honey and frothed oat milk. I toasted a multi-grain English muffin and slathered it with pumpkin seed butter and raspberry jam. I gathered my vitamins in a favorite bowl given to me by someone I love dearly. And I settled into the living room to enjoy breakfast with the goldfinches and bluebirds feasting outside a nearby window.

That’s when I saw a tiny bug crawling up my pant leg.

No! I thought to myself as I slowly stood up from the...

Leaving the Matrix

I swept the back deck early this morning while soaking in the sunlight that had been missing for days. The floor looked like a night sky covered in little green stars – spring leaves scattered everywhere, swiped from the trees during a Nor’easter that blew through on Thursday.

Sweeping feels like an appropriate metaphor for life right now.

I’ve been reevaluating my priorities, making space for new ones. I want more time to write and create, to play with friends, to read good books, and to tend ...

Tracing the steps to contentment

I’ve just come in from a long walk through our neighborhood on this beautiful spring morning. We’ve had a lot of rain over the last few weeks, and it’s good to have the sun back for a visit.

As I walked out the front door and headed down the hill, I stopped to breathe in the sweet smell of lilacs and wild honeysuckle. I love the scent of spring and look forward to it every year. A short distance from the house, as I scanned the horizon, I realized I was feeling something I’ve spent so much of my...

A ritual of remembering

I stepped out of the front door and found a large cardboard box sitting on the stone wall by the courtyard. The size of a park bench, the side of the box read, “FRAGILE! Handle with care!”

I pulled the package inside, grabbed a pair of scissors, and opened the top. Inside, I found a rose tree with a card that read, “In Honor of Your Mom.” That’s when I remembered that thoughtful friends had purchased this gift for Michael and me after my Mother passed, and it was to be delivered in the spring.

I...