The Swan

Synchronicity brought the image of the swan to me this morning. An email I received from my friend, Pat Serafin, contained the attached picture. The story of "The Ugly Duckling" came to mind when I viewed it. Many of us go through life looking at the world and wanting to fit in--to belong. We want to be loved and appreciated for our unique selves. That does not generally happen. What do we do instead? We strive to conform in order to be accepted and not humiliated. We adopt defense mechanisms in order to protect ourselves. It takes many years to learn how and when to lower our defenses and trust, but the damage done during our early childhood and adolescent years sometimes take a lifetime to overcome. It's all about self-esteem.

Today Spirit directed me to use Medicine Cards. After shuffling briefly, I pulled the Swan. The swan is all about Grace, accepting your intuitive abilities and surrendering to self-transformation. Swan medicine.

Spirit is taking me into more than one direction, today. I received several emails containing the YouTube performance of Susan Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Miserables" on "Britain's Got Talent 2009." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I have listened to it several times and I am totally moved by the beauty of her singing voice--her instrument. Her ability to interpret this powerful song brought me to tears every time I played the clip. If you are fortunate enough to see the 7 minute version of this show (link listed above), you can see how the audience originally judged her based upon her appearance. After she began to sing, the audience was so moved that they suspended all thoughts and judgments. They were transported to a wonderful place and experienced something phenomenal. Susan Boyle is swan. She finally has her chance at a singing career. I am guessing they will also give her a makeover--a little powder and paint, a nice hairstyle and perhaps a little haircolor, too. That would be nice for her.

This brings me to the subject of skin-deep beauty--our youth-chasing world! Botox, Juvederm, Restylane, Radiesse and other injectables are used to combat character lines and aging. Apparently, the media and society continue to tell us that we are not young enough, pretty enough, thin enough or rich enough. Mother Nature finds beauty in all ages and all creatures. When I look in the mirror, I see an older version of myself. I see the vertical lines forming around my mouth, a few wrinkles here, and there and my favorite, the crinkles around my eyes. A good moisturizer helps, but would I do anything to alter my face with the toxins everyone else is rushing to use? Absolutely not! I really enjoy seeing how I have aged both mentally, physically and emotionally. My college education in biology and chemistry has not been wasted. It has taught me that anything you do chemically to a biological system will have not only the desired effect, but it will also create problems--unwanted side effects. I keep my skincare regime simple, and fortunately I have benefitted from staying out of the sun. What example would I present to the world and to the people who come to me for a reading if I altered my appearance? Not a good one, I am sure.

I am fortunate that I have the ability to read into people's souls when I work events reading Tarot cards, Palms or objects. It is my responsibilty to help that person with their issues in a positive life-affirming way while providing entertainment. Do you have any idea what it is like to read for someone and their forehead never moves? Eyes, faces and energies used to match. That is not always the case anymore. When I work certain events, I can see the good/bad injectables and sometimes a little nip and tuck. This is when I shut off my brain and I trust the information I receive from Spirit.

What is my point today? It's about becoming a Swan--self-transformation with grace. It's also about self-esteem and just putting it out there to live your dream. It's about looking your best. It could also be a reason to complain about toxic injectables too. Most definitely.