Blessings are also our trials and tribulations. The times and moments in life when we feel deeply, cry intensely, long profoundly, and mourn losses of different types. In those times when we are feeling deeply and extremely sad and depressed, there is a blessing in growing, understanding, and appreciating what we have been gifted. It is in knowing the dark times that we can fully appreciate the light, it is in appreciating the lessons in the failures that we can learn, grow and bask in the successes.

Life is a wonderful gift and an AWESOME journey that lets us get home by following many different paths. It is important to cultivate the skills of seeing the blessings in everyday life as you are learning who you are, clarifying your purpose, and enjoying the path you are wandering.  When life gives you lemons, when the light at the end of the tunnel is non-existent, when you hit rock bottom, Count your Blessings. When life gives you lemonade, when the light at the end of the tunnel is shining bright, when you are at the top of your game, Count your Blessings. Because, through the eyes of blessings, every thought, experience, deed, and happenstance is a miracle.

For more than 40 years, I wore many hats, and wore them well: educator, leader, administrator, business owner, curriculum creator, equity director, and — perhaps my favorite title of all — a good friend, colleague, and co-worker. Those hats didn’t disappear this year. They got folded into a trunk, blessed, and tucked beneath a cloak I didn’t yet know I owned.

Because this year, I began becoming someone new: a gifted Oracle-Crone-Priestess — one who holds space for empathic healers, mentors, and counselors to fall back in love with their passion projects, so they can live their soul’s purpose, their heart’s desires, and their spirit’s delicious whims.

The Gala That Started It All

The transformation had a beginning, and it was glorious: my Enchanted Gala, where I stepped fully into the robes of Oracle-Crone-Priestess Extraordinaire, surrounded by a circle of friends who witnessed the crowning. There was magic in that room. There always is, when the people who love you watch you become more yourself.

Then, the Great BEING

After the gala came the harder spell to cast: BEING.

From the outside, my being looked suspiciously like busyness. But underneath it was something quieter and truer — being with the grandbabies, being with the trees, being with the forests, being with the water and the waterfalls that don’t ask you to hurry. It has been AHMAZING.

I’ve learned this year that integration needs room to breathe. You cannot rush the alchemy. So alongside the being, I’ve also been nurturing and cultivating Roots & Wings, tending it the way you’d tend a garden you know will bloom in its own time.

Expect wonderful things from this integration. Because here’s the secret the forests and waterfalls kept whispering to me all year:

When we take the time to simply BE… the Universe responds.

And oh, has the Universe been responding to me.

Con un pan y cafecito,
Seguimos adelante.

Zulmara Maria

Herman Hesse captures the essence of a life lived in concert with our destiny so eloquently. It is our vocation to find the way to ourselves as we live the life we were meant to live. As we discover our destiny, we also leave our message, our imprint, our legacy in this world.

In this guided journal, I work to uncover my vocation, my legacy, my purpose. I realize that my destiny is to weave the principles that are important to me, the values that are central to my life, and the talents I was given into the daily fabric of my life. My unique mission in life is to be the change I want to see, to set an example of what can be, to make a difference as I contribute to the overall good. As I realize my soul’s purpose, I question what is my niche, what is my unique space, how do I take advantage of the opportunities placed on my path, in order to leave my mark on this earth.

As I try to determine which threads run through my essence and connect me to my life’s energy, I realize that the patterns of my life help to define the very heart of what is important to me and what I want to accomplish. My avocation becomes my vocation as work and deed become one (Robert Frost), as I am guided to reach new levels of hope, purpose and love. Drawing upon the strength of my purpose, I focus my efforts on the events, activities, and efforts that will allow me to set an example as I choose the person I wish to be.

Con un pan y cafecito,

Seguimos adelante,

Zulmara Maria

Check out My Life is My Masterpiece on AMAZON.

As you enjoy these poems, keep them handy to read in times of contrast, growth, joy, and contentment. In these poems you
will find a timeless message of hope, transformation, understanding and gratitude. Gratitude for all you have been
gifted. Appreciation for all you have created. Thankfulness for all of the miracles that have graced your life.
It is truly a collection to inspire us to live our best lives, be our best selves, enjoy our forever moments, and bask in the miracle of just being ALIVE!!!

Con un pan y cafecito,
Seguimos adelante
Zulmara Maria

Fostering and encouraging an attitude of gratitude and appreciation in your life, will help make this the BEST time ever to be alive and will give new meaning to the phrase, “the BEST is yet to come.”

As you are fostering an attitude of gratitude that is deep, genuine, and authentic, give loving thanks, today and everyday for all of the blessings, moments, experiences, and activities that have come your way. As you are fostering this notion that gratitude makes a big difference in how you perceive, experience, and understand life, giving thanks often will help create a sense of inner peace and contentment.

By giving thanks to all of your ancestors that have made all of this possible, you are activating your very cell memories that are a part of your ancestral DNA. The memories that have been passed down for years and are yours for accessing whenever you decide to activate them. Oftentimes, silence, meditation, and gratitude are the precursors to stirring up those memories and the guidance they provide in your daily life.

This is why people will say that mediation provides breakthroughs and guidance for what to do next. Meditation allows us to calm the mind, stop the pinging of the our brain neurons, and gives us a chance to access the knowledge, advice, and guidance that are stored in our DNA.

Give thanks for all the blessings, serendipities, and miracles that make up the moments in your life. Life is full of blessings, miracles, and magic that touch us and take our breath away.

Appreciate the magic. See it and it appears. Feel it and it manifests. Touch it and it is yours. Hear it and it moves you. Taste it and you remember!!! Yes, embrace life’s magic and love your authentically grateful life.

Con un pan y cafecito,

Seguimos adelante,

Zulmara Maria