Be open to new adventures!

My dear friends, we love you so very much.

Life wants to flow through you dear ones. Life offers you a tantalizing buffet of adventures! Life wants to say "Here I am! Try me!" Taste! Look! Listen! Life is nothing more than a myriad of expressions of God's love waiting to be experienced. Life is not about survival. Life is about experiencing love in an infinite number of ways. Life is about knowing the various faces and aspects of God. Life is an adventure of discovering more about who you are each and every day. And dear ones, this discovery is not solely a mental exercise - it is an exercise of opening up to life, tasting life, experiencing life, and seeing what parts of life resonate with you and which do not.

Start a conversation with a stranger and see what you learn about life or yourself. Try a new activity that you are drawn to and experience new joys in your life. See if you can learn why another person thinks differently than you. Open your mind up about new ways you might create income in your life by doing what you love, or simply ways to do more of what you love. Remember what you loved in childhood and see if you can't find ways to explore that energy in your adult life now.

The secret to remaining young at heart, dear ones, is being open to life. If you are open to trying new things, exploring new perspectives, and indeed discovering more and more about you who are every day then the energy of God's love is allowed to flow through your life. You'll want to remain on earth and enjoy its pleasures! Your body will want to adjust to allow you these joys. You'll feel inspired and revitalized. How do you know what gives you joy unless you choose to explore the possibilities life offers?

It costs nothing to read a new book. It is so simple to try a new food. It is freeing in so many ways to have a conversation with someone you disagree with in order to learn how they think. It is inspiring to brainstorm about how your talents might be turned into a business. Who says you can't do these things dear ones? God says you can. God invites you to be open to life. God invites you to think "outside the boxes" that were defined for you during your upbringing. Why can't you love someone who has hurt you? That power exists inside of you, and it certainly feels better than upset! Why can't you make money doing something you love? Why can't you try something that you think "isn't you?" Why not... Ask yourself in the upcoming days. Why can't I branch out a bit in my life and take a chance and try to be more open to life? Try opening up to life dear ones, for in so doing, you will learn so much more about who you are, what gives you joy, and what you'd rather avoid. In doing so, you will learn you are safe, loved, and not alone in this world. Opening to life is really opening to love.

God bless you! We love you so very much.
-- The Angels

Message From Ann

It is easy to get set in our ways. We have our routines, the food we like, the things we enjoy, the people we know, etc. And while it is wonderful to have such comfort in our lives, the very thing that keeps life interesting is its diversity. When I am in a time of great transitions in my life I seek out comfort. When I am in a time of comfort, I seek out new adventures.

Years ago after a divorce, I also had an aging car. I wanted to go up north and go hiking but I was afraid my car would break down. I had no logical reason to believe this, it was just a big insecurity. And so one day I got sick and tired of living in fear, got in the car and headed for the hills. I decided that if I broke down, someone would rescue me and God would make it wonderful. The car had been recently checked. I told some friends where I was going, and thus I drove through a doorway in my life that has provided me joy ever since. After that first hike along a trail I had already known, I purchased a guidebook for the area and every week I took a new hike. Sometimes I got lost in the forests on the side of a mountain and found beautiful spots. Sometimes I veered off the beaten trail. Sometimes I crossed a hike off my list and decided never to do it again. But more often, I was rewarded with incredible joy and places I have long since been taking others when I have the chance. Opening up to new adventures has been one of life's greatest delights.

I try to remain open to new things in my life on a regular basis in the smallest of ways. I try new recipes when they sound good. I read books that inspire me. I have at times, asked people whom I totally disagreed with to tell me why they thought the way they did. In my job I must remain open at all times to anything the angels want to tell someone whether I personally would agree or not.

I think the biggest revelation that being open to life has taught me is that I am not who I thought I was when I was younger! I was raised to think of my strengths as my logic and intelligence. I prided myself on that! I thought that was who I was... the "smart girl." I was an avionics engineer for eight years and did well. But as I started exploring other hobbies, I found that creativity gives me far more joy. I love making things. I love my photography. I love color. It occurred to me the other day that I am far happier being "art girl" than "smart girl" than I ever would have imagined. It is funny at this age to be learning more about my true nature. It is giving me some ideas for projects that will be a lot of fun and inspiring for others too, I hope.

So try something new that draws your attention this week, even if it is reading a new magazine, tasting a new food, going to a web site on something interesting that you never thought you could do. Have a little fun opening up to life and see how life then starts to rush into you, through you, and carry you to other joys!

Happy exploring!
Ann