Tag Archives: Surrender

Finding treasure in the darkest of places…

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Dear One,

It is in depths of caves, in the bottoms of oceans or far beneath the soil that we find the greatest treasure.

If you find yourself facing circumstances that feel like an insurmountable obstacle, like everywhere you turn there are more questions than answers; if you can’t see the end of the darkness and have no idea how or when you will come upon light…know that you are exactly where you need to be to find your greatest treasure.

The only invitation in these moments is to allow yourself to feel it all, to feel yourself held as you hold the part of yourself that is terrified of the dark. It is in your surrender that you discover the wellspring within you, that you discover the power that you have long sought. It is in these unknown spaces in which you have diverged from the usual path, when you feel lost and alone that you open yourself for a new thought.

You might even get curious, “Why would I create this for myself? What gift is now being revealed to me?”

When you understand that all is unfolding for you, and that you always have the power to create good, you make room within you to find the treasure in the darkest of places.

If you feel stuck and in despair…you are right where you need to be. Feel it all and then, know: things are about to get better than you can even imagine.

Taking deep breaths and feeling it all with you.

❤🙏🏼

Melissa

You Do Not NEED to Suffer in Order to Grow…

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Dear One,

You do not NEED to suffer in order to grow. In fact, it is through sweetness that you truly thrive.

Yes, Life will offer up its challenges–just like the wind strengthens the trunk of a tree so that it is able to rise toward the sky, life will bring the needed elements to strengthen you and align you with the power you possess to create new worlds.

And yet, you need not suffer. When you choose to make peace with what life brings, and turn your attention toward that which is most pleasurable for you moment by moment, you fertilize the soil for your inevitable expansion. When you focus on the needs underneath the fear and anxiety and commit to meeting those needs, you will find yourself flourishing in a state of peace.

It is not noble to choose the “hard” path. To be in the relationship that takes constant “work.” To put in the long hours at work when you truly desire to rest. To say yes for the sake of being “good” rather than saying no in honor of your freedom.

You will grow. This is what life does in its ever-reaching movement toward the light. Life is leading itself, so you can let go of the effort. Choose relationships that simply feel good, effortlessly. Choose to take actions that simply flow and that fulfill you. Make pleasure your first priority and like a tree with proper water and nutrients, you will flourish and rise.

So I ask: What would be most pleasurable for you in this moment? I invite you to go do that, Dear One, and open yourself fully for what unfolds.

<3 <3 <3

©2016 Melissa Simonson

Letting My Longing Lead Me…

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I find myself, right now, in a space between. There are new visions and dreams emerging and yet, there are emotional doors not yet fully closed, a recent chapter whose pages still call for review. There are longings to emerge, shining from the cave, visions of what lies beyond this current chrysalis, and yet, so much is not yet fully formed, much has yet to reveal itself.

I have gratitude for new awareness born to me over this past month…almost like a remembering of what matters to me, like cold water splashed in my face to WAKE ME UP from a dream. So now, I see what’s been missing in my life: Community. Spaces and activities that unleash my inner artist. A clear, tangible financial plan. There is a deep desire to embrace and be embraced as all of me, to be surrounded by artists who are doing their thing, to have groundedness, a clear sense of purpose, to walk in this city likes it’s a playground for my inner magical child.

What I find uncomfortable about this new awareness is being with “the gap” between my current experience and what I long to create: Loving what is while holding space for what is possible; trusting that the vision will inspire new actions to take at the perfect, right time; having patience with the current state of loneliness. There are moments when it hits me now, square between the eyes how lonely and bored I’ve become. Uggghhh. I literally groaned like that when I arose from bed this morning. And it’s ok. And it’s not. Breathing into this duality, right now, and the fact that it has me squirming to break free.

What I’m tuning into now are the paths that appear effortlessly, and trusting that my longing in itself is a prayer, an invisible thread pulling me toward that which I desire. It’s not that I don’t take action, I just take the action that inspires me, when it inspires me. Right now, there is a lot of breathing and listening: Now? (Nope.) Now? (Not yet, Honey.) How about now? (Breathe, Sweetheart, you’ll know what to do when it’s time.)

There is rich community coming into my life. There is a one-woman-show winking at me and sticking out her tongue from a distant horizon. There is a full in-person Soul Purpose Astrology practice here in NYC flowing in. There is aliveness, peace, connection, nourishment–seeds planted, growing steadily from within.

I find that when I’m being awake and open to the full range of my experience, I taste the bitter and the sweet simultaneously. This moment is no exception.

©2015 Melissa Simonson

Oh, Mercury Retrograde.

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Oh Mercury Retrograde.

These words have, at times, been all I can say these past few weeks. Along with, “I surrender.”

The day after this tiny, fast moving planet appeared to be moving backwards on the 21st of January, I was “forced” to face what I had overlooked over the past few months. Illusions evaporated, and I was left with an open space to reinvent my life.

We astrologers often describe Mercury Retrograde as the perfect time to focus on all of the re- words, as in renew, reflect, remember, rediscover, reconsider, revive, etc. It is a time when breakdowns occur in external reality so that we slow down, turn inward, reconnect and realign with what’s true. What is not working, what has not been dealt with or overlooked will rear its head. Where we once felt clear, we now feel fuzzy as to how to proceed, which is perfect. When we surrender to Mercury’s retrograde phases we discover great gifts present in the breakdowns.

This Mercury Retrograde seemed to spin me around, shake me up and spit me out on a whole new life trajectory. And it’s good. I needed to be revived, to wake up to what I was afraid to see. As it stations direct again and begins to continue on its forward journey, I find that I’ve shed so many layers and found clarity in ways that I had no clue I was lacking. There is a sharpness to my awareness and a rediscovery of my courage and resolve, a revival of my commitments.

So, if life has felt like an impossible conundrum of twists, turns and mishaps this past month, I invite you to dig in. What do you now see that was necessary for you to see before proceeding? Where do you now have power, clarity and insight where you didn’t have it before? What have been the gifts hidden behind the breakdowns?

I am loved by every process unfolding in my life, and I’ve come to revere the blessings of Mercury Retrograde, despite how frustrating and rattling they can be.

It’s a good time to experience the power of surrender, y’all.

:)Melissa

Til Next Time, Madison

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I’m waking up one last morning in Madison, WI before heading back home to Brooklyn, NY later tonight.

Home–such an ephemeral experience for me, right now.

I arrived in Madison 2 weeks ago to discover just 2 days into my time here that life as I knew it in NYC was now forever altered. My relationship and our blossoming plans for a life together lay dead in the ground where moments before they had their own heartbeat. I was devastated, my ego grasping for some illusory semblance of control where there was none. I felt utterly alone and struggling to make sense of it all.

I wake up this morning, two weeks later, still in pain, my mind playing its games and weaving stories that make my heart ache with longing and anger and sadness…and yet something has transformed.

I have been blessed to work with 9 extraordinary women in this time. Women who I have been privileged to support as they blossom into their own truth and power–and in the process they’ve unknowingly realigned me with mine.

I’ve had the opportunity to connect with my best friend for the past 21 years to be reminded of the kind of unconditional love that transcends time and distance, and to witness her on fire with passion and purpose as she continues to expand on her path–such an inspiration to me. And then, there are her amazing kiddos–sleepovers with miss JJ only get better through the years.

And at the heartbeat of this trip, I have been here each day, supporting my mom, caring for her doggies…shoveling snow, of course…and finding myself.

I now pass the torch of care for my mom onto my sister who has also been a godsend in helping me process my grief these past 5 days.

I head back to Brooklyn with a heart that is filled with complex emotions, with visions of a future lost, and new ones emerging. No longer part of a “we” or an “us” and also more excited and empowered to be ME than I’ve felt in a long time.

Just me, finding home in the depths of my own being. It’s not as exciting as finding home in a place or another person, perhaps, and yet, it’s more dimensional…more real, somehow, more spacious and freeing.

With each day, with each losing and letting go, I’m coming home to my own heartbeat and discovering little by little what is truly meant for me.

Til next time, Madison.

:)Melissa