The very first group of Paint, Paddle & Play sisters!

The sky colors in St. George Island are more diverse and intense than any other place I've traveled. Morning and night, we were mesmerized.

This photo was taken during a reflection time with the group last week in St. George Island. (One of our attendees is a photo and video ninja who managed to catch many of our special moments without anyone even knowing. Thanks B!) 

Hello FTG Friends, 

I am back from the first Paint, Paddle & Play and glad to be with you again in real time. 

Our women's retreat was perfect in regards to the planned activities, exceptional location and dolphin watching, but I learned that this retreat offers sisterhood above everything else. For that reason, I will open the next one up to ALL women, not just those who consider themselves artists or creatives. 

We all need community and it's too easy these days for life to keep us behind walls and screens. With specific intention, we opened our circle in a creative way that safely invited depth and connection from Day One and built from there. I will still call this retreat Paint, Paddle & Play because each of these activities serves as a nurturing route to authentic relationship with self and others. 

Early in the trip, I offered an "Introduction to Mindful Abstract Painting" session. We watched two women who had never painted before have a ball creating with the rest of us. There may have been some dancing involved with fun had by all, so I will offer that session on future trips.

If you are a woman longing for deep, meaningful connections and want to have a blast with other women in a beautiful, oceanfront setting, be sure to sign up for my retreat updates HERE. Several of these women will likely return and many more are watching from my social media posts and the Paint, Paddle & Play Facebook group. I will be announcing 2024 dates soon and am expecting to sell out much quicker this time, so be sure to sign up if this is speaking to you. 

More Paint, Paddle & Play photos are below, at the end of this week's meditation and announcements.

Okay, let's talk about this week's FTG meditations and how we're Never Really Stuck...

While doing a nature meditation on my deck this morning, I noticed a long narrow strip of cloud above me, bordering a portion of my roof. Staring intently, I could see the cloud was moving to the left at a steady pace.
 

If there’s any doubt that things in our lives are moving and we’re never really stuck, all we have to do is look up at the sky for encouragement. Without fanfare and only occasionally detected by us, clouds are moving steadily across the sky. We don’t make that happen; it’s totally out of our control. 
 

If everything above us is shifting, which we can see with our own eyes, we can be inspired to trust that the circumstances in our lives are experiencing shift also. And this occurs without us managing, planning, or monitoring to “make it happen.” 
 

I’m really glad change isn’t up to me. I wouldn’t have chosen some of the paths that have led to many of the greatest gifts in my life.
 

We don’t have to watch a clock to understand that time is passing. What if we could imagine our gifts are being worked out in advance for us every single minute of the day, every week, month and year, even during the moments when it doesn’t seem like anything is happening? What if our gifts are on a spiritual assembly line that operates twenty-four hours a day? We can trust that every second of every day is being utilized for our favor and that time will reveal gifts we cannot even fathom.
 

I heard a great definition of faith last week. Faith is living without scheming. I tried to trace who to credit the statement to, but I learned it’s biblical in nature. (Ecclesiastes 7:29) 

Don’t let me lose you if you consider yourself non-religious. Truth is truth and faith is a universal description for choosing to trust in what we cannot see or explain. Faith is a special invitation to surrender and trust when we feel stuck and are lacking hope because none of our plans appear to be working out. 
 

If we’re worn out all the time, we may want to consider how much of our time and energy are spent trying to figure everything out. Because scheming is exhausting. Trust feels better. 

Faith is a decision, a choice. We can choose to accept life is on our side (because it is).

Everything is falling into place for the next chapter of our lives. The breakthroughs we’ve been longing for have already begun! We don’t have to see it to believe it.  As long as we’ve taken the actions that are ours to take, we can let go and let life unfold at just the right time.
 

This morning, I watched the narrow strip of cloud move a good distance across the sky in a short period of time. I will trust today that all things are aligning for my good, especially when I cannot see it. I know this is true for you, too.