"Seed Money"

I have felt the creative urge lately and have been dabbling in decoupage and collage using modge podge and different papers and textures. I am truly a novice and still have so much to learn. I commented to a friend on Friday that I don't have any rubber stamps to add to my designs. On a whim I decided to check craigslist  to see if anyone was selling any stamps and supplies. I have never previously bought anything on craigslist.

I was happy to find someone locally who was selling all their supplies for $250. It was more than I wanted to spend yet some of the items looked perfect. I sent a message to determine if the items were still available as the listing was 19 days old and I first wrote that I would offer $200 if they weren't sold. Something prompted me to change the offer of $200 to $210 before sending the message. A couple of hours later I received a response that the items were available and she would take $210.

Immediately I drove to the house and was surprised to see the extensive collection of supplies that were now mine. A lifetime of collecting with love and passion. Many, many storage containers filled with hundreds of treasures; beautiful papers, stickers, stamps, pens, books and so much more. I was over whelmed as I was not anticipating the vast array of wonderful things.

Lola, the lovely lady, selling her supplies and I started chatting and found out we are kindred souls. She told me that when she decided to sell her supplies she hoped the person who bought them would love them as much as she had loved them. Yes, Lola, I love them. Also, surprisingly in 19 days no-one else had responded to her post. They were waiting for me.

Yet here is the most magical part of this story. Lola's son recently started a new business. The day before he received a quote for yard signs to advertise and grow his business. Yes, you guessed it, the amount of the quote was a beautiful, round, exact $210. When Lola shared this with me - we both knew the universe had conspired in some mysterious way to bring us together. She proceeded to say the $210 was in essence "seed money" for his business.

In the future when I am creating art with all the wonderful supplies, I will feel good knowing that in some magical way buying these supplies was the start of a new business. The seeds have certainly been planted and I know her son's business will reap success and flourish. I cannot wait to see the yard signs sprouting up around town.

There is always flow in the universe as energy moves in different directions. Sometimes we are not aware of how our actions have such a profound and universal effect. There definitely was magic in the air on Friday causing this cosmic exchange of beautiful energy.

Karen Hackel

Never, Ever Give Up

Love this video - always believe in yourself.

Love has no labels

Great video - just over three minutes

Time To Come Out Of The Closet

Written in March 2014 

It's time for me to come out of the closet. Some of you already know and for those of you who don't, here goes...

A week before relocating from New Jersey to Florida, I tested positive for the BRCA1 gene. This means I have an 87% chance of getting breast cancer or a recurrence (duh, I had breast cancer 19 years ago) and a 50% chance of getting ovarian cancer. In December, a month after moving, I had my ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed taking care of the ovarian cancer risk. I recovered well from the first surgery and am enjoying life in sunny Florida. On March 18th, I will be having a prophylactic double mastectomy, while not looking forward to the surgery and recovery - I am focusing on the positive statistics that will reduce my breast cancer risk from 87% to 3%. 

I am very grateful I live in a time where I have options and can be proactive about my health. 

I am so lucky to have found excellent surgeons I trust and to be surrounded by a wonderful network of love, support and caring.

As Angelina Jolie stated "Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of". I have always been a warrior and I plan on coming out of this next battle stronger and better than ever.~ Karen

P.S. The photo was taken as I went into surgery. It is now seven months since surgery and I am feeling fabulous.

Nobody is immune from Tragedy

From the Silver Linings writing in the book - The Whisper Of Your Soul

You Make A Difference

Listen To Your Inner Voice

Do not look back only look ahead

At all that awaits you

Look at this moment

Feel what you are feeling

Experience this present moment

For you have made a choice

A decision that will steer you

In a new direction

Opportunities will open up to you

Keep your heart open

Trust your instincts

Listen to your inner voice

You have the power

To access your inner wisdom

Listen

Stop

Breathe

Be still

Be quiet

Let your wisdom guide you

On your own personal journey

By listening to your heart

Your soul will be alight

And let you be

All that you are intended to be

The future awaits

With open arms

But it is how you deal with

This present moment

That determines what the future has in store for you

Your actions today will determine your tomorrows

So be present in this moment

To reap the kind of tomorrow you dream about

It has been said since the beginning of time

Ask and you shall receive

And so it is

Know what you want

Ask for it

Dream it

be it

And live it

It is all there for the asking

By Karen Hackel

From the Book - The Whisper Of Your Soul

You Are Still Beautiful

Remembering My Mom

Yesterday was six  years since my Mom passed away. The calendar day of a loved one's passing is hard. I always light a candle as a special tribute and to symbolize that her light continues to shine. I look at old photos and also take time to remember the good times. I know she would be so proud of me as she was my biggest cheerleader, and saw only the good in me. R.I.P.

Tough Times

Please visit The Whisper Of Your Soul website

The Planting Of The Seeds

The journey of life is never a straight path

There will inevitably be detours and stops along the way

The power is within you to make the changes

To discover new horizons along a different path

 The key is to have the courage to confront the unknown

Reap Countless Blessings

We, who have passed over

Watch over you

From our dimension

We feel with you

We guide you and protect you

You Are The Light

You are the light – feel yourself basking in the presence.

It is all around, so bright, so full, so vital.  It is all around.

The love is there to sustain you and to send you higher

You are surrounded by light, by love, by beauty

Look around, it is everywhere

You see it with your eyes

You feel it with your senses

You know it is there

Open yourself up – let go and experience the light.

It is there for you to experience always

The tears have been shed and the healing has begun

One piece at a time like a tall building, brick by brick by brick.

All the pieces together in their own time.

And so it is with life one layer at a time and then the next.

The gentle unfolding of the layers will reveal so much to you and all around you. 

Step by step in your own time, at your own pace.

There is no rush; there is so much time to experience the beauty.

It is ever present, you are ever present.

In the morning light and in the last rays of sunlight, it is there.

Every moment, every day, every week.

 Never missing a beat.

 It is always there and yours for the asking.

By Karen Hackel

Always Here For You

I am at your side

Together we stride

I feel your breath

I know your energy

Always here for you

Never Ceases To Amaze Me

The question was asked on The Whisper Of Your Soul Facebook page - It never ceases to amaze me... These were your fabulous and insightful answers. I kept only the positive ones as I want to continue to try and spread love and light. These are in the order received.

1. How eventually everything falls into its place  
2. How people will always  surprise you
3. How Good God Is To His Children
4. How God works his miracles  
5. How a little ones smile can mend your heart so easily 
6. How much God loves me...even when I don't deserve it
7. How amazingly beautiful my children are. When a baby is born  
8. How calming the ocean is, despite it's turbulence  
9. How laughter can soothe your soul... and I thank God for this
10. How life can change so quickly 
11. How great God is to me after everything I have done
12. How deeply you can love someone
13. How spirit can deliver amazing messages through me - today was no exception! 
14. How having new grandchildren still feels the same as the very first one you  
15. How much you can learn from young children. 
16. How good God is to me even when I know I don't deserve his mercy or grace.
17. That God knew us before we were born
18. When prayers are answered.
19. How God keeps on blessing. God Bless
20. How a person's smile is contagious
21. How much difference it makes when you look at life with an open mind 
22. How the universe provides so many miracles  
23. How blessed I am
24. As to the miracle and gift of life  
25. That despite all the trials of life, that we can choose to be thankful and know that each person is special and has something to offer, even when they do not realize it . That I wake up each morning to a new start  ... That every Soap bubble  looks different  ... That there are so many varieties of Flowers  ... That there is something new to learn  each day  ... That each day I get to make constant choices that could change the      direction of my life
26. The look of wonder and amazement on a child's face when they discover something new
27. The infinite capacity of the human mind to accept useful knowledge.

 Thanks for these amazing, uplifting answers. If you have a favorite please comment.

I hope life continues to amaze you

Karen

View Books, Magnets and Postcards

Be in Your Life

The juice of the peach

Runneth over

So sweet

First you need to bite

To savor the taste

To smell the aroma

To feel the texture

Without the first bite

It is difficult to experience

The juice of the peach

So it is with life

You need to live it

To experience it

To feel it

By standing on the sidelines

And watching

Is not the same as doing

As being

Be a part of life

Be in your life

Feel it, experience it

But don’t let it pass you by

Be open to the joy

Of every experience

Let the experiences

Cascade over you

Like a free-falling waterfall

Be in the flow of the water

Be part of the beauty

Flowing freely

Over time and distance

And space

Doing only what a waterfall does

Naturally

In all her splendor

Be a part of life

Be a part of your life

Take a stance

Make it happen

You are the center

You are in the controls

You need to steer the way

You have the power

To go in any direction

The choice is all yours

All yours for the asking

All you need do is ask

By Karen Hackel

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Love will always prevail

We live in a dichotomous society

One of many contradictions

And one of polar opposites

We live in a time

Of peace and war

Of riches and poverty

Of faith and lack of faith

Of health and sickness

We live in a time of great change

There is so much good

In the world

Yet the flip side

Is that there is 

An element that is not so good

Love of self is lost

And is not replenished

People live in hatred

And fear

And evil overcomes good

In many places

Yet always

There are specks of love

There are moments of joy

And the hope is

That these specks

Will transform into love

Starting at the essence

Starting with one individual

Each individual

Practicing the art of self love

One moment to the next

Thinking loving thoughts

Feeling loving thoughts

Knowing loving thoughts

It all starts with the

First thought of love

There are no easy answers

There are no quick fixes

As to how each person

Can love themselves

Yet the more

People love themselves

The more the circles of love

Grow and expand

And the hope is eternal

That love will always prevail

By Karen Hackel

Have you hugged someone today?

Sometimes a hug is all one needs. A hug conveys so much more than words. The act of holding someone in a hug strips away barriers that often cannot be voiced in words. I didn't always love hugging people despite growing up in a family where hugs and kisses were frequently given. Everyone hugged and kissed at family gatherings - both when arriving and departing.

I guess I never gave much thought to the value of a hug. The past few weeks I seem to have been hugging many people. Recently it was the anniversary of a friend's son's passing and when I saw my friend I gave her a hug and held her for a long time while she cried. Afterwards she thanked me and remarked that the hug helped. There were others I hugged; a person recently diagnosed with cancer, another who recently lost his job and a friend who I hadn't seen in awhile.

Then yesterday I gave away another much needed hug. A friend's engagement was called off and he came  to talk. When I saw him I hugged him for a long time. Initially he pushed me away but I kept holding him. After a few minutes he released from the hug and commented how he really needed that hug.

I thought about how hugs are free and yet so many people have lost the art of hugging. I remember how Princess Diana was so liberal with all her hugs and how she touched so many lives. Hugs are truly so easy to give away, they feel great and I think the more one hugs the easier it gets to give out hugs. Hugging truly is priceless and I believe we all need to start hugging more.

 My question to you - have you hugged someone today?


I love hugs. I also appreciate donations to help this blog keep going ~ Karen

May, 1995 - This journal entry was written nine months after my Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Fifteen minutes of waiting for the Young Breast Cancer Survivors Group to begin. Celebrating our lives, our common thread of having shared the Breast Cancer experience and all the fears that go with it. My new sisterhood - women drawn from different walks of life, in our prime, having to go through something we thought would never happen to us.

So many questions and so much unknown but needing to accept that it is all going to be okay and this is the way it is. Life has its ups and downs and sometimes throws us curve-balls when we least expect them. Having to accept the setbacks as one of life's many lessons and surely one of life's setbacks. Everything is not always the way I dreamed it would be - but with maturity has come the knowledge that the fabric of life is made of joy and sorrow. I know I cannot always expect good times and there may be hardships behind me and hardships ahead of me - but I can choose to react in a positive and accepting way.

I do believe everything is for a reason and I know I must not analyze everything, yet I mustn't be totally positive and just accept it. So - it is a balancing act of coming to a middle road of analysis and acceptance. Sometimes I feel so centered and so together and other times so fragmented as though I am falling into a deep pit. Luckily those times are infrequent but they do scare me.

The mind is so powerful and empowering and I need to use my mind more to move forward and grow and develop into a more peaceful space.

Karen

Breast cancer Blog - Today I celebrate 18 Years

Books:
Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book 
Living Well Beyond Breast Cancer
Spinning Straw into Gold, Your Emotional Recovery From Breast Cancer

Thank Goodness it is Today

TGIF - I love Fridays. Doesn't everyone proclaim that on Fridays? On Mondays so many people complain about all the tasks ahead in the given week. They count the hours until Friday when it is the weekend. They are so focused on Friday that they lose the joy of living and being present on the other days of the week.

I prefer to say Thank Goodness it is Today, every day of the week. Truth be told I love every day. I am grateful for the gift of 24 hours  I am so blessed to be alive and to have the opportunity to live, love and learn for another day.

On my journey through life I have met many people who were not given the opportunity to live another day. People, near and dear to me, have passed away. They do not have the gift of another day. They and their families would be so grateful to have another Monday or Wednesday or any day of the week.

We are not offered any guarantees about how long we will be alive and healthy. Our health can change in a heartbeat. I was healthy (or so I thought), young and a new Mom when I was diagnosed with breast cancer over 18 years ago. Suddenly everything changed for me.  One moment I was healthy and the next I was fighting for my life. Confronting one's mortality, while very scary, makes one appreciate the little things in life and to focus on what is important.

Yes there are many days when I get caught up in the trivial stuff, the things that really don't make a difference, the irritations and minutiae that are part of everyday living. Gently I remind myself how very lucky I am to be alive and well.

So yes - TGIF. I wish you a wonderful weekend, a magnificent Monday, a terrific Tuesday, a worthwhile Wednesday, a thankful Thursday and of course, a fabulous Friday. Embrace each day.

Similar writings:
Live each day
All in your own time
Ordinary Things