Category Archive

Written by Jan Finley 

One of the pages I follow on Facebook is a local wildlife rescue.  Recently a tiny bobkitten came into their facility. His mother was deceased and he had been alone for several days.  Little Rufus was extremely debilitated but so sweet and adorable.  Every day I (and others) eagerly watched his progress on Facebook, minute steps as they were.  He made some progress but it seemed like for every step forward, there were several backward.   About 15 days after his arrival, and despite a courageous battle, little Rufus succumbed.

The director of the facility wrote a touching piece memorializing Rufus, and lamented her growing attachment during Fergus’s care.  The job – truly a vocation – this woman embraces so willingly takes tremendous commitment, courage and responsibility.  She wrote eloquently of how diligently she tried not to get attached to this little being and how she still fell in love with him.  Her words were raw and incredibly real. Anyone who works with wild creatures knows that distance is needed in the relationship between wounded animal and human care giver.  This is necessary so the animal does not become tamed and unable to return to the wild.  Even so, when one works to heal another, animal or human, a bond is created.  In this case, the director fell hard for little Rufus.  

Reading of Rufus’ passing was heart wrenching. I, like many others, were rooting for him and felt keenly his loss. 

I began to wonder at our very human need to regulate how we love and when we love.  Our need to not get attached in certain situations. From every analytical viewpoint I could find, I came back back to a single thought. We humans are meant to love. As painful as it can be at times, the act of loving is why we are here.  The act of physically caring for another can create connection, sometimes whether we want to or not.  

This woman’s commitment arose from a desire to help, to heal and to care for the wild creatures that surround us.  Her heart and devotion are a gift to us all. Her vulnerability is her true strength, and her compassion is one of the highest forms for love.  

And so I am told:

Love is always the answer, no matter how it is disguised. Call is kindness, call it compassion, call it forgiveness, call it willingness…it is all the same.

Be willing to open. Be willing to listen. Be willing to nurture. Just be willing…

Love is always the answer. Do you understand why? Love meets in the middle. Love finds a way to make it work. Love forgives. Love starts anew. Love remembers and love finds new context. Love balances and love creates. Love lights you up inside and love loves up those around you. Love is all there is.

This simple bit of wisdom is all you need to know and all you need to remember.

And so I am told:

The soul’s light that manifests as love is the single greatest gift humankind can offer.  Love is also where your deepest and most profound lessons can be found. Imagine for a moment if everyone around you acted from a place of love, whether it is called compassion, forgiveness, gratitude, openness or commitment. The world would be instantly transformed. This, then is your goal. Find ways to act from love in everything you do, not matter how tedious they may be. With every step you take, allow love to guide your way. Even in anger, find a way to love yourself, if you cannot love another. Let yourself experience love with your entire heart in all things and in all ways. 

“Love shows up.”  

Charles Martin

Written by Jan Finley

Long ago,  I experienced several years that left me shattered and uncertain who I was and where I belonged in the world. All that was familiar was gone. I questioned who I was and why I was here, always feeling that I was a misfit in both my family and this world. These dark years emphasized feelings of isolation and not belonging.  I was ill-equipped to navigate the chaos so I did what I knew at the time and I buried myself deeply inside.

In the ensuing years, therapy and inner work of various kinds helped me to  heal, grow and transform. Beginning to accept myself opened astonishing doors within me.  I have accomplished much but discovered today, purely by accident, how a tiny piece of me still holds sway deep within my hidden realms. Being able to see how it kept me from stepping forward as I wanted to, I chose to face this “smallness” that chooses fear and powerlessness (Joyous Woman With Sukhvinder Sircar). My smallness has held me back and it is time I acknowledged that aspect of me fully, with patience and acceptance.  I might surprise myself with what I find.

We live in days of great expansion, both externally and within the mysteries of our own inner world.  Our consciousness allows us to be both complex and direct. As we expand, as we open, more inner aspects reveal themselves in this world of inner discovery, allowing us to embody more than we ever imagined possible.  We are allowing our natural state of  multi-dimensionality to emerge.

The beauty of an eclipse is that after the light is taken away, it returns and with it renewed clarity. I have lived long enough to experience many eclipses but none as powerful as the total eclipse last week. As the sunlight returned I literally felt myself returning to me. I felt me expanding, including the person I used to know, and so much more.  The Mystery of my smallness, I discovered, is both my greatest place of resistance and my greatest blessing. 

And so I am told:

Within in each soul is a rainbow of possibility.  Humans often limit themselves with “should” and “ought” and judgments and blame and so many other uniquely human “attributes”. We would suggest to you that all of that is nonsense. Step out of constraint, step out the past, step out of judgment and allow joy to rise with you. Yes, the human world is an amalgam of chaos and conflict right now but it will not stay that way and it does not have to overshadow your life.  Be the flame that rises high in sky rise within your soul. Be the butterfly that dances in the sun. Be the hope that ignites the world in unity and peace. Your multi-dimensionality allows the prospect of expanding beyond your imagining.  Why be  limited by past experience and beliefs? 

Open to ALL you can be. When we remind you to be the light that you are, we mean the entire light and not the limited bit that you have allowed yourself and others to see. Let it all go. Let it all be set free. You have nothing to lose and a world of wonder to discover.

Written by Jan Finley

Last night I dreamed I was on a long seesaw, riding up and down, climbing higher then falling lower. I awoke this morning with the realization that a seesaw is a perfect image of what our world is experiencing now, although not nearly as predictably as the regular up and down of a seesaw. The news is contradictory, both frightening and encouraging, dark and filled with light and hope. Controversy is rampant and the peace workers persist relentlessly…

I think back over the last many years, and the road we have travelled. We knew these years would be fraught but I am sure none of us knew exactly how fraught they would be, and how difficult the travel through them has become.

We are no longer the people we were and while there may be regrets that we carry, I find that I have become so much more than I ever imagined I might be. The dark “out there” compelled me to examine my own inner darkness, to dig deeply into it and heal what could be healed. Some of the darkness I simply had to own, as none of us are all dark or all light. We carry both within us, as a whole.

With time, I came to see that darkness was actually a source of great strength if I could approach it from my heart. There are many out there who desire from a place of greed, of always wanting “more”. I did not yearn for “more”; I yearned for alignment and peace. I yearned for balance. The dark scared me but I began to learn that even in the dark I was capable of feeling great joy and gratitude.

While the energy of 2024 is intensifying, I find myself learning to ride the abrupt changes of up and down, and eager for the balance that will come, as the seesaw slows once again – as it always does.

We humans have done this before and we can do it again, guided by our hearts and holding tightly to each other, standing in the middle of chaos, untouched, our hearts open widely.

And so I am told:

Life is very like a seesaw right now, is it not? Perhaps not a very pretty one but one can see the possibility beneath the grime, can one not? Speed up, slow down, an unpredictable ride for an undisclosed amount of time. Quite a picture that paints…

A reminder again that each of you chose to be here for this moment in time/space. That should comfort and support you, even in the darkest of days. You are ushering in a new world, a new age, each of you.

You are more prepared for this time that you can imagine. Much like a jigsaw puzzle, each step forward requires thought, examination, trust and insight. Now is the time to invite your soul to become an active part of your daily life, an active and communicative part of your heart. Your soul has much to teach you if you will allow it.

Despite the many challenges you have all had to face these last many years, your individual lights are brighter and stronger than you can imagine. Your efforts, your growth, your willingness to step up – all this and more have contributed to the beauty and strength with which you face the world each day.

Put aside all that divides, the petty and the small. Eyes and hearts must focus on all that unites and strengthens. We remind you to listen with your heart and learn to feel with your mind. When you are angry, stop. Breathe a moment and allow your heart to speak to you, offering perhaps a gentler way forward into action rather than reaction.

Written by Jan Finley