Cheryl Richardson's Blog, page 43

Week 52 – Happy Holidays from my home to yours

I’m happy to report that I’ve joined the living once again, now that I’m nearly recovered from a nasty flu.  While spending my London vacation in bed wasn’t the plan, it provided me with a chance to practice a very important spiritual skill:  Accepting what is rather than ruminating over what could or should be.

Acceptance invites peace.

As we near January 1st and enjoy the last of the holidays, I want to thank you for taking the ride with me this year.  It’s been a wild one, hasn’t it?

Grati...

Week 51 – From London with Love

I’m writing to you from London where I planned to enjoy a vacation with Michael and friends before my new book is released this week.  But life had other plans.

One of my travel companions and I caught a bug and we’ve been down for the count since the day after we arrived.  While recuperating in a hotel room is not my idea of fun, I’ve surrendered to bed rest and hot baths in the hopes that it will pass quickly.  Fingers crossed.

By now you’re probably aware that Waking Up in Winter will be r...

Week 50 – What death teaches us about life

I erased and retyped the subject line of this email and the first paragraph at least five times.  Who wants to hear about death, I thought to myself, it’s the holiday season and you should be writing about something cheery and fun.

But there’s something valuable to be learned in a conversation about death.

So here’s the paragraph I wrote that introduces a new excerpt from Waking Up In Winter: In Search of What Really Matters at Midlife:

Death is a game-changer.  When we’re brave enough to fac...

Week 49 – A Special Invitation for You

I’m in Phoenix this weekend to teach our annual “Speak, Write, Promote” workshop and honestly, it’s been nice to have a distraction from the grief that gets triggered by so many memories of our sweet little cat, Poupon, at home.

This week, in lieu of a blog, I’m sharing a Facebook Live video about a special section in my next book, Waking Up in Winter.

In the final chapter, I share several provocative questions designed to help you use a time of transition to your advantage.  In the video I d...

Week 48 – When Loves Comes to the Rescue

It’s been nearly two weeks since we put our cat Poupon to rest and I have a new appreciation for those who have lost beloved animals.  The grief is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and the depth is equal to the pure, unconditional love we experienced with our little guy.

As painful as this loss is, and it sucks, the life we shared with Poupon was well worth it.  Michael and I agree that adopting him from a shelter more than ten years ago was the best thing we’ve ever done together.

This...

Week 47 – Asking for Help

Dear Friends,

I’m so very sorry to share that our little guy, Poupon, passed away peacefully in our home last week.  I say peacefully, and yet it’s left Michael and me in a state of shock and overwhelm because it was so unexpected and quick.  He seemed healthy and strong just a few weeks ago.

We’re in the thick of it now, tumbling through anger and disbelief, desperately wanting him back, and feeling so unsettled and wobbly now that our home life and daily routines have been uprooted.

This mo...

Week 46 – A request for love and healing energy

Dear Friends,

I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and healing wishes for our sweet Poupon.  Unfortunately it’s not good news.  Our little boy has a large tumor in his chest and it appears that he’s not long for this life in physical form.

As you can imagine, we’re beyond heartbroken as we try to digest this completely unexpected news. That’s all I can say at this point.  Please send Poupon your prayers, love, and healing energy (from what I understand, cats are especially receptive and...

Week 45 – Love, the unbreakable bond that connects us all

I stared out the window at the path of pale gold light left behind by the setting sun. It had been a tough day. Poupon, our sweet gray cat, hadn’t been feeling well and it appeared the situation was getting worse. He wasn’t eating and he barely moved from his spot in front of the fireplace.

I was scared. Really scared. I knew blood test results would be coming later in the day, and to make matters worse, I was also grieving my dad who died a year ago today.

Up for most of the night, I finally...

Week 44 – I had no idea that honey would lead me here!

“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
Carl Jung

I love the wisdom of Carl Jung and dream work has played an influential role in helping me to understand myself so I can live a more conscious and awake life.

Along with keeping track of my dreams, there are other ways I’ve learned to listen more deeply to my life and this week, in another excerpt from my new book, Waking Up in Winter, I share one with you.

This is what happens when you pay attention to (and explore) the objects...

Week 43 – Things are always working out for me.

“Things are always working out for me.”

The first time I heard the author Esther Hicks tell an audience about the importance of using this affirmation to stay in the flow of life, I wrote it down and decided to use it myself. Then, I shared it with Michael and a few close friends knowing that the more I spoke about it, the quicker it would get installed in my brain.

Sure enough, within no time, I began to see evidence that the affirmation was working. For example, I was invited to an exciting...