Happy Lunar New Year to you!

I've recently gone through the gauntlet of emotions, feeling the highs and lows of the changing season. The internal dialogue in my mind has either been my friend or my antagonist. It's been quite eye-opening.

I've got an interesting set of stories to share with you on what it takes to master perspective in your life.

I recently met again with one of my old nemeses…MAIL. You read that correctly. I've had a long-standing feud with mail - both physical and digital. I've found myself buried in letters, direct mail, and credit card offers from the past four years, and I just never wanted to deal with it. My brain literally finds something immediately to do instead of facing the mail. As the Chinese Lunar New Year was approaching, I realized that if I didn't face this old nemesis, I would be in the same situation the next year. All the old deep stories came flooding the surface, including memories of my mom's office drowning in mail and magazines. Stories of not wanting to open letters tied to debt and toll road fees came looming about worth and financial responsibility.

I felt like I was losing my mind until I took a moment and asked myself a very important question: "What's your word of the year, Anne?"

I whispered out loud, "Evolve."

I knew that if I didn't evolve my relationship with mail, I would use it as an excuse to hide behind the stories of fear, lack, and worth. I knew that if I had just handled it, I would be fully aware of the big picture. It took one week and six recycling trash bags to bring me fully to the current situation. I hold nothing from 2022, and before that's waiting for me to address and open.

I met my nemesis (physical mail), and I said, "Not today, bitches. Not today."

Here's an image of two bags going out. We've officially broken up. Only four more bags to go!

Here's story #2.
 

I was really excited to attend a Feng Shui event on Sunday, Lunar New Year.

After all, I'd been preparing for a couple of weeks, cleaning my home and shedding old layers. Who wouldn't want to celebrate this special day with a bunch of strangers online?!? I was so jazzed and had isolated a portion of my evening to this experience. When the time came…I couldn't get in. No matter what I did, I wasn't able to get in. I reviewed each email I received and reached out to the organizer online. It still wasn't happening.
 

I was not happy. I ran through the gamut of emotions from disappointment to sadness to irritation to judgment.

And then…I caught myself.

"Yo!" I said, "Watch yourself. You do events too. This exact thing has happened to you before, and you were the event organizer. This happens. So what are you going to do about it?"

I spent over 30 minutes doing everything to get into this exclusive event, and Spirit showed me that it wouldn't happen.

I sat back and took a DEEP, cleansing breath. I had to pivot. I had to make a different decision because feeding the irritation would not be a positive energy for the new year ahead. What to do? Everything is energy!

And then something magical happened. I surrendered.

I said, "Ok. So this is what you want. So what do you want me to do then?"

The moment I did that, I heard this voice that said, "Let us show you what we had planned for you instead."

Over two hours, I got crystal clear on my next course offering, seeing the gap in my work and having the solution to fill it and gain momentum. In those two hours, not only did I get clear on my offer, I created it, wrote the sales page, and manifested the outcome. It was like the biggest gift from The Universe dropped on my lap.

That wouldn't have happened if I had been on that Feng Shui call. That clarity around a new idea wouldn't have appeared as a prosperous gift from The Record Keepers if I was doing something else. So I knew at that moment that I was given a prosperity booster because I surrendered.

So let me share with you story #3.

This story is the hardest and one that has required the most work.

We've had a cat named Henri since 2011. He's twelve years old, a big fluffy grey Mainecoon and an absolute charmer. Anyone who meets Henri immediately likes him.

He's always been an indoor-outdoor cat and pretty clockwork with his routine. He knows when I get up and is ready for breakfast outside the door. He knows when we go to bed and is ready to be let out to roam the night hours in freedom.

Our neighborhood knows Henri; sometimes, he'll even go on walks with us.

Last Thursday, Henri walked out with our daughter, Kalaiah, as she was leaving our home from her weekly visit. There was nothing special about him leaving except…he didn't return. He hasn't returned. It's been four days, and I've been devastated inside.

This devastation is made harder, knowing that I'm 100% in control of my energy, thoughts, and emotions (most of the time). I've had to go back and forth with the internal dialogue between fear, loss, grief, and such profound gratitude and love. I am awash with such appreciation for the many years we've had him because he's always had this freedom and love.

When the moments of grief come, instead of stopping it, I allow it. I let the tears come, the sobs roll, and my body shakes with unspeakable pain. That's real. That's unfiltered. That's part of loving through loss.

When the wave stops, I bring myself back to the awareness of what we have. I know this…our time will continue to intertwine throughout many lifetimes. Henri was a profound gift and blessing from The Most High. I know I've never felt such a strong love for a cat ever, and I will always think of him with such great love.

I share these three stories with you because I've had to really practice mastering my perspective on life and what's happening around me.

I've had to let go of what I can't control. I've had to bless people as they move out of my life. I've had to allow and keep allowing so I can surrender to being guided in Spirit's love.

Mastering your perspective isn't an easy task. But it's part of what we must do to stay balanced and sane and remember that NOW is all we have.

So here's my gift to you. During a motorcycle ride with my King, Jon, a series of mantras came to me. For six hours, I repeated these mantras over and over in my mind. It gave me courage when I felt fear. It gave me peace when I felt worried. It gave me something to cling to when I felt like drowning in sorrow and sadness inside.

I share this with you now as a gift and blessing for the new year ahead:

Whenever I say this series of mantras, I come home to me.

Mastering your perspective is part of your life's work. So may you come home easily and effortlessly to yourself this year.