Heart-Centered Guidance | Starting Over | Forgive Yourself

Love Them Or Not, This Is The Best Gift Of Every Morning

How wisely are you using yours?

I have a love/hate relationship with mornings. I like to ease into my day with a lovely giant mug of “coffee alternative” (that really does taste like coffee!) and oat milk. Next is Qi Gong and meditation, and I do some energy healing for a while, depending on how many people have requested it.

Gone are the days when I was raising a bunch of kids and had to hit the ground running. Even then, I got up a couple of hours before they did so I could meditate, do some yoga, cast a circle (and maybe a spell or two) and collect myself spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically before diving into another busy day.

It doesn’t help that I’m not good at daytime. I detest being in the sun; in fact, I used to joke about being allergic to the sun and then 20 years ago was told by a dermatologist that I am! Yes, it’s a thing! But that’s another story for a different day.

I prefer grey, misty days. I love the dark and am very much a “creature of the night!” Mwa ha ha ha haaa.

At one time in my life, it was “the norm” to crank the music in my studio at 2 a.m., rip the plastic off a canvas and starting painting.

I love the early morning hours when the sun has just come up, the air is crisp and cool, there’s dew on everything and the world smells fresh and clean. I love those hours the most if I’ve been up all night, which I would do regularly if it didn’t mess me up so much because the rest of the world doesn’t live like that.

But as much as I drag my sorry behind first thing in the morning, and as much as I don’t like sun or daytime after about 8 a.m., there is something to be said for those very early hours, 4, 5, 6, 7 a.m. depending on the time of year.

With every sunrise, it is a new day. The early morning dew has given everything a rinse and renewed hope; it’s a fresh start, a chance to begin again. If you’ve never thought about it like that, just go and sit outside for a little while during those sparkling early hours in the morning sun, and see for yourself. On such a pretty day, it is impossible not to feel the refreshing and rejuvenating energy of the Universe as it shows you its promise.

It is the promise of another chance, of wiping the slate clean, of leaving the past where it belongs. It is the promise of finding your way forward, of becoming who you’re meant to be, of creating the life you want for yourself.

It takes your agreement and participation to fulfill that promise, but the Universe offers it every single morning, with every single sunrise, with every single new day. It offers you a chance to put yesterday out of your head and ponder possibilities for today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life.

Every beautiful new morning gives you a chance to put things into perspective, to let go of the small stuff, to heal what needs healing, find courage where you need encouragement, to put the past away and lock the door on it.

It’s the perfect opportunity to forgive yourself for whatever you did — or think you did — that you wish you hadn’t. You’re human. So am I. So is everyone else. Stop beating yourself up for things you can’t change. It’s time to move on.

A fresh start. A clean slate. A chance to begin again. What a wonderful gift and how lucky we are to get one every single morning.

The Invitation:

There are so many places you could go with this…how do you feel about mornings? Are you a chipper morning person? Or a night owl who loves them only at the end of a great night, like I do? Do you see see each day as a fresh start? Do you use them as such?

How can this “daily fresh start” improve or change your life?

What is your morning routine? What gets you set up for the day? Or do you just hurl yourself headlong into it and cross your fingers?

Do you beat yourself up about old regrets? Are you clinging to punishing yourself for perceived wrongs, failures, or poor judgement?

I would love to see your submissions on any aspect of the above piece. There are never any time constraints on my suggestions.

An Announcement:

My beloved Pub Family…I am weighted down by something I need to share with all of you.

I am facing something in my personal life that will make it necessary for me to step back from Medium to a great extent. I’m not sure exactly what that will look like yet. Witchy will continue with the interviews she has currently booked, but beyond that, I’m going to have to wait and see how things unfold.

I’ve been contemplating what to do with my pubs. I thought about trying to maintain them but one of the main reasons I started them was so writers could get published quickly. Apart from the odd time, I usually publish within a matter of hours. It will be a challenge for me to maintain that pace over the coming months.

In my view, it’s not fair to keep people waiting for more than a day (much less two, three, four…), as they have their own concerns with time-sensitive pieces, reaching publishing targets, or being mindful of keeping their stats happy by feeding Medium’s algorithm consistently.

Also, over the past four or five months I’ve noticed a gradual decline in the numbers of submissions I receive, plus pub growth has slowed to the point where if it’s any slower, it’ll be going backwards. Despite wonderful comments from readers and some of our Pub Family members about how much they love and appreciate SBG and HHH (and Miss Witchy and her pub, too), with so many new publications springing up all the time, I’m not surprised. Writers are spoiled for choice. A nice problem to have.

I’ve also heard that as more people complain about falling stats (with more writers flooding to Medium daily), they’re heading for the bigger pubs in hopes of more reads.

As I’ve been noticing the steady decreases, it’s been a bit like watching the gradual development of a ghost town.

There’s one more piece to all of this. In nine months, I’ve published more than 300 articles. I’ve been managing three pubs (although Witchy’s has only her stories in it). As I’ve been re-evaluating everything in my life and preparing for what lies ahead in the coming months, I worked out that between reading, writing, pubs, notifications, comments, searching for photos, analysing headlines etc., I’ve been spending 10–14 hours a day — every day — on Medium.

No wonder I’m struggling to fit in my non-Medium work. I have a business doing Tarot readings, guidance consultations, numerology, energy healing, offering courses etc. My business is suffering, I haven’t been getting enough sleep (understated — it is now around 6 a.m. and I’ve been up all night — again — after thrashing around in bed for a while, unable to settle my busy mind and sleep).

All of this is affecting my health, and I can’t juggle everything anymore.

The rest of my life — including sleep — is often wait-listed while I’m hanging out here, reading, writing, pubbing, reading notifications, commenting myself into oblivion, and building relationships with fabulous people while the harsh realities are that it’s not being terribly helpful to my life in various other ways.

The kicker is that given my average Medium earnings, my hourly rate of pay for time spent here is around 30¢ an hour. 😳

Uh…Not so bad for a few hours a week but quite simply, I cannot be here for 10–14 hours a day at 30¢ an hour. I really did not notice how much time I was spending on Medium-related activities. But then I had to look at what’s coming up for me, and how I’m going to have to revamp my life to handle it. I’ve only noticed that I’ve had less and less time to get things done and I’m stressed, behind on everything, and exhausted. I totalled up all the hours I’m doing something related to Medium, did the math and…well, you know the rest.

So — as they say, “Something’s gotta give.” (Fab film with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, by the way).

I’m so deeply grateful to those of you who continue to contribute and support each other, our pubs, and me. Together, we’ve created a lovely space with inspiring, positive energy and I know we’ve done a lot of good. It means the world to me.

I will keep you posted as things develop.

In the meantime…it’s business as usual here at HHH and SBG so please do keep your submissions coming.

Thank you for being the best Pub Family on Medium. 🙏🏻💜

Check out the fantastic line-up from the past week!

Gauri Sirur offers a hilarious sweet story that still has me chuckling!

A.H. Mehr shares a fantastic story of dealing with an uncomfortable situation at work that would make many hand in their notice:

And then A.H. also offers these short and very sweet words of wisdom and affirmation:

And check out A.H.’s incredible story of natural healing!!

Further to the above story, A.H. also offers this very short, punchy message:

A.H. also reminds us of something I suspect a lot of people never consider…at least, I didn’t. Not like this. But I stopped, took a little time to ponder it, and intend to do it with some regularity — even though my parents have been gone a long time.

After a difficult struggle, Bernie Pullen’s beloved father has returned to spirit…and this poignant piece offers a heartfelt, raw look at some of the deepest and most challenging feelings we can ever experience:

No doubt Barbara Cook’s brilliant epiphanies and self-awareness will strike a chord in everyone who reads this:

Mahein Kazi has given us an up-close look at some significant and life-changing differences between North Americans and Europeans. Eye-opening…insightful…and hopefully, this message will improve your life:

Sarah Firmie Ouangre shares a fun and multi-insightful little story that is packed full of goodies!

Raine Lore has left me chuckling about yet another funny piece! This one is about how to mess with your kids over their expected inheritance! Hahaha!

A Rustic Mind (Manali Desai) almost made me dash out to the shop for some ice cream…but I resisted temptation as I’m supposed to be working!!! Check out this short, sweet poem and Manali’s cool idea!

Sahil Patel offers some thoughts on a why it’s important to grab hold of each day and live it to the fullest:

He’s also got some heartfelt words to share on the theme of insecurities. And who hasn’t had some of those??

Mary V has written a brilliant little piece about a particular four-letter word…probably not the one you might be expecting!

Christina shares a poignant, bittersweet story about loss and friendship that will wring your heart out like a sponge:

Aarti Tailor has written a wonderfully inspiring little piece about how just five minutes a day can massively improve your life — if you spend them doing this!

Now that I can help Witchy with the computer again, she’s finally got caught up on a few of those, uh, “Highly Questionable” Tarot Readings (or more accurately, her attempts at Tarot Readings) from her contest a while back!

Tagging our current Pub Family members, to whom I am most grateful for your ongoing support:

Dr Andrea Polzer Kris Bedenian Rodney Brazier Patti Murray Voncannon Carrie Kolar Croix Sather Deb Fiore Dina Alexander DL Nemeril Donnette Anglin Loren Lieberthal Jimmy Misner Jr. Judy Millar Julie Gaeta Pene Hodge Karen Schwartz James Knight Dr. Preeti Singh Radhika Iyer Sam Branstner Sharon Sayler, Author Umme Salma Tamil T Mann Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles Lion~ Wendy S. Bradfield Yana Bostongirl Jo An Fox-Wright Maddox Suma Narayan Penny Walsh Shameem Anwar Irene Fassler Sandy Peckinpah Trista Signe Ainsworth Slow train A.H. Mehr Ashley Nicole B.R. Shenoy Carolyn Hastings Christina Christine Vann, MSc. Ellie Jacobson Isabel Young Kaz Rochford Nia Simone McLeod Nicole Hilbig Patricia Wright Pam Winter Jodian Marie Thomas, MS, Bsc, Asc L Burton Danielle Hestand Sahil Patel Sharing Words Malky McEwan Barbara Cook Tyra Jaide Eko BP Drashti Shroff Evergreen Eden Bernie Pullen Rhea Anglesey CARMEN F MICSA Robin Oakman Mary Vraa Libby Shively McAvoy Kristina God Niall Leah Debbra Lupien, Voice of the Akashic Records Toya Qualls-Barnette Vashni Stories Dawn :) Divya Goswami BichoDoMato Evon Carole Olsen Jennifer Dunne Kylie van Gelder Neha Sonney, Author Christina Sponias Ian Hanson JF Danskin Patrick OConnell Mary V Elvie Lins❤️ Carmellita Gauri Sirur Kristie Leong M.D. IJaveria Ansari Asim Nori Dipo Adebayo Andreia Damian Jenine Bsharah Baines Jodi Marie Mahein Kazi Mario López-Goicoechea Raine Lore Vishal Mehta Aarti Tailor A Rustic Mind (Manali Desai) Mona S Gable Sarah Firmie Ouangre Anne Emerick Andra Forbes Anaya Nosso Kasturi Patra Mary B