Longing for Spring's Sweet Cherry Kiss

Good morning, Vocal Media community, and happy Monday, February 24! Today is the last Monday of the month and since Spring is only weeks away, I dug up an old photo for the latest edition of my huddle. If you are anything like me and over the wintry weather then have no fear; a Cherry Blossom will bring you cheer!

Spiritual Overview:

Combining the wisdom of the Weeping Willow and a Cherry tree produces a complex and multi-faceted spiritual appeal. The long-known grief often associated with drooping Willow branches meets a ray of hope with Cherry's pink allure.

Think: a period of mourning followed by renewal, transformation, and growth. 🌸

Accept: love and healing; the kiss of new life 🌸

Hindsight: allowing sadness in, embracing it as a normal life cycle nourishing all woes, and strengthening roots for the next phase or season.

What Inspired This Huddle Discussion Topic?

A recent work mishap inspired today's huddle discussion and took me back to photographs I captured on April 19, 2024.

First, I apologize for not publishing my Monday Morning Huddle last week, but a work-related accident occupied my time at an urgent care bone & joint center.

Sunday, the day before, I felt a pop in my left knee while running up the stairs at my job, a Marriott-owned hotel. As an Operations Manager, I divide my time between overseeing housekeeping/laundry and a load of administrative work. I do the work of what would be covered by two people at other places.

Anyway, my pain began immediately but I was the only manager on the property so I also assumed the role of MOD (manager on duty this particular day). As I walked the halls with 6o room inspections on my plate, my leg became increasingly weak with a burning sensation running down my leg to the bottom of my foot.

After one hour, I contacted my boss and filed an incident report. I don't know how I did it, but I finished the workday while hobbling in pain. The next morning, I went to urgent care and was taken out of work with a suspected torn meniscus. Tomorrow, I go for my MRI/CT scan to confirm and I am out of work until at least late March.

Frustrated and upset, I have been thinking about all the ways my situation might play out. Will I need surgery? Will my knee brace do the trick? Will I be out of work longer than initially documented?

On one hand, being stuck at home feels unproductive, but considering how much my job takes out of me, tells me that perhaps a much-needed change is in the works.

Then, my own words hit me 🌸🌸🌸

Overextending myself, not having enough downtime, fatigue (mental and physical), subjected to a non-exhaustive list of duties, underpaid, overworked, and unappreciated.

A memory, a recollection of my own words printed in my last Monday Morning Huddle.

As a highly spiritual person, I had another epiphany: Sometimes when you are doing too much, on the wrong path, or in need of change, an event, occurrence, or another situation will come along and throw a wrecking ball into the equation forcing the hand of change.

The very same change one was avoiding.

What About You?

Can you relate?

Is there anything going on in your life that you know you need to change but you are ignoring or promising yourself you will do tomorrow?

Maybe you are a people pleaser, always saying yes to others while all too often saying no to yourself.

Do you put your all into relationships, career, family obligations, or otherwise and feel you are getting nothing in return?

Do you engage in bad habits and want to change but procrastination is your crutch because the transformation process feels daunting?

Do you have a pet project or particular goals in mind that you really want to accomplish but putting actions to thoughts feels like a weighted journey, and you can't seem to put one foot in front of the other and start walking?

Inspiration:🌸🌸🌸

Take a look at the photo collage above of the Weeping Willow Cherry. The images were captured from my office window; the one on the right, today, and the one on the left, April 2024.

The barren photo might feel lonely or depressing as the Willow droops absent of livelihood.

The pink full-on bloom of Cherry's magick lifts one's spirit and captures Spring's finest hour- growth, all that is new, and beautiful in the world.

Nature and all her cycles are a continuous roundabout of stillness to fruition and back to stillness once more.

People are no different.

We wind. We wane. We do it again.

Sensing cycles, the seasons of our lives

Change is imminent

Sometimes with pain

But tears water tomorrow's flowers

The blooms in our gardens

Where love thrives

-Marilyn Glover

Wrapping it Up 🌸🌸🌸

Say so long to February with me and start thinking about necessary changes as March is right around the corner.

Small steps taken today will amount to miles traveled later but, remember, it's not a race- it's all about the journey.

Spring cleaning on your mind?

Great! Apply this to more than just the typical dwelling space clean-out. Put your thinking caps on and start clearing away all the clutter and debris making your life unkept.

Happily, I bid February adieu, not just the weather's chill, but the cold hard facts of my current situation. Sure, sometimes things in life are difficult to accept, but nothing lasts forever. Besides, soon enough, brighter days will prevail and I will gaze out my window again, enjoying Weeping Willow's sweet cherry kiss.

Have a great week, Vocal community, and don't forget to think pink and Spring. It's not that far away!