Midwest Review of The ABC Field Guide to Faeries

Today is Father's Day and I would like to express my huge and humble gratitude to my late father for his advice to me.  After he was diagnosed with a six inch tumour on his liver which the doctors had "missed" and given him only a few months to live he looked at me and said, "Sus get yourself out of that corporate job and go and focus on writing your book."  If you had known my father, you would realize just how incredibly impactful these words were for me.  He had been so proud of my accomplishments in the corporate world and to know that he had so little time left on this earth plane and was giving me this advice, really struck a cord with me.  I did take that leap of faith and wrote this book and started my own business.  The road has not been an easy one as there have been super highs and super lows, but I am so glad that I took his words of wisdom to heart.  When this review came in by Midwest on Friday, it touched my heart and felt like a gift from my dad.  Thank you and Happy Father's day. 

Here is the review for the June 2013 issue of Midwest book review magazine "Library Bookwatch"

The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

"The ABC Field Guide To Faeries: Inspiring Reminders of Respect for Ourselves, Each Other, and the Environment" is a creative alphabet book about exotic names of faeries of nature. Filled with stunning, multi media artwork and illustrations, "The ABC Field Guide to Faeries" is intensely appealing to both young and old audiences, and has won several awards for its very special impact of creativity and raising awareness. Every letter of the alphabet is represented by a beautifully illustrated faery whose special task is communicated in verse that displays pleasure and respect for the natural environment and for others. Filled with fun and play, each letter's faery vision has a special message of compassionate awareness of the universe to display. The creative, haunting illustrations combine or blend aspects of the real (butterflies, tree trunks, children's faces and hands,) and the magical or fantastic. This conveys an attitude of mystical serenity and calm, inviting a meditative state. The ABC faeries seem very much in tune with transcendental meditation techniques and tenets. For example: "T is for Transparianthus...who can manifest all of our dreams,/ Can be found floating around magnificent pine trees./ He wants all of your wildest drams to come true,/ So believe this in your heart and in all that you do. ..Transparianthus says: 'If you have a special dream, then request it from me,/ If it is for your highest good, it'll surely come to be. While you wait patiently for your dream to come true,/ Take positive action and see what happens to you.'" "The ABC Field Guide to Faeries" is an imaginative literary and artistic journey for the expanding soul."

 

Thank you MidWest and Thank you Dad.  In deep and humble gratitude. 

The ABC Field Guide to Faeries
Susanne Alexander-Heaton, author
Chantal T. Gabriell, artist
Motivated by Nature
www.motivatedbynature.com
9780981304809, $19.99, www.amazon.com

"Let's 'unplug' from technology and 'plug' into nature."

Picture from my backyard

I have really had my eyes opened lately.  First it was reading a study done in 2011 that stated that the average youth 19 years and younger spends an average of six hours/day on computer/video games and TV.  It went on to state that an “indoor childhood” trend is occurring and it is affecting the mental, emotional and physical areas of children’s lives.

This was followed up by a study given to me by the amazing Gemma Stone who is a wonderful psychologist.  It was from a 2009 article published in Psychology Today that used a term called Nature Deficit Disorder.  This is not a formal diagnosis, but instead “a way to describe the psychological, physical and cognitive costs of human alienation from nature, particularly for children in the vulnerable developing years.”  It goes on to reveal that The Outdoor Foundation did a survey that showed “a decline of more than  11% of participation in outdoor activities among young people age 6 to 17, with the sharpest decline among youngsters age 6 to 12.”  They already knew that within the last 10 years children were becoming less connected with nature, but this study revealed a decline of 11% in one year alone.  What scares me even more about this statistic is this study is four years old and we all know how much technology has increased in the past 4 years.

I am not trying to say that technology is bad, I just want to bring awareness to the disconnect that is occurring between technology time and nature time.

On a recent walk, I was enjoying the robins chirping their happy tunes and the wind rustling through the leaves.  I was taking in all the amazing sounds and beauty that surrounded me. As a side note, the three most soothing sounds to the human ear are wind, water and birds. During my walk, a lady passed by me with her head down and i-Pod on.  She had no idea what incredible sights and sounds were around her.  She was plugged into technology and unplugged from nature, even though she was walking in it.

Last night, I was outside eating my dinner on a patio.  A mother and daughter passed by walking their dog.  The mother was busy talking on the cell phone and missing a wonderful opportunity to instill an appreciation and love of nature with her daughter.  As Robert Bateman has stated, “If you can’t name things, how can you love them?  And if you don’t love them, then you’re not going to care a hoot about protecting them or voting for issues that would protect them.”

It is my belief that as caregivers, we have a responsibility for instilling that love of nature at a young age which will also help with the proven mental, emotional and physical benefits of connecting with nature.

I am curious, what are your thoughts?  

Today is World Environment Day

Picture I took of Amethyst in Scottsdale, Arizona

What does World Environment Day mean to you?  To me it gives us all a chance to reflect and bring worldwide awareness to the fact that Mother Nature needs care, respect and protection too.

Amethyst has healing properties, so I thought this picture I took was the perfect backdrop for the quote by Faery Yolanda. 

What are you going to commit to for today and going forward to leave this earth a better place than you found it? 

I am going to continue to be Motivated by Nature! I will keep sharing insights and lessons that nature so effortlessly shows to me.  Sending loads of sunshine and faery magic your way!

We're wired for connection!

I am currently reading Brene Brown's book, "The Gifts of Imperfection."  It is interesting to me as she makes reference to the fact that years ago if one were to say that we're wired for connection, it would have been perceived as New Age thinking.  Today however, neuroscience has proved that indeed we are all wired for connection. 

Then she said a statement that really resonated for me, "Technology, for instance, has become a kind of imposter for connection, making us believe we're connected when  we're really not -at least not in the ways we need to be."

I decided to have as little as possible technology this weekend and enjoyed some heart to heart connections with friends and family both in person and on the phone.  I truly believe that it is important for each of us to gift ourselves some time where we are technology free and have some great one on one conversations.  I think it is really important to have that balance.  What are your thoughts? 


Wholeheartedness requires 'ordinary' courage

Picture of "heart" cloud this past weekend

 
I am currently reading Brene Brown's book, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. The tag line is: Your Guide to a Wholehearted Life.

In her research she found that Wholeheartedness requires ‘ordinary’ courage.  This is what she meant.....

 “The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart.  In one of its earliest forms, the word courage had a very different definition that it does today.  Courage originally meant, ‘To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.’  Over time this definition has changed, and today, courage is more synonymous with being heroic.”  She goes on to say, “”I think we’ve lost touch with the idea that speaking honestly and openly about who we are, about what we’re feeling and about our experience (good and bad) is the definition of courage.  Ordinary courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line.”

 

She finishes the excerpt on courage stating, “Courage has a ripple effect.  Every time we choose courage, we make everyone around us a little better and the world a little braver.  And our world could stand to be a little kinder and braver.” Amen Brene

 

I felt that this picture I took on the weekend was the perfect backdrop for her quote on courage.  I will share from my heart and tell you that I believe that nature is truly one of our greatest teachers.  Quantum physics has proved that everything is interconnected so it only makes sense to me that nature has many gifts to show and share with us. 

Here is to each of us having the courage to express our truth and to be who we are supposed to be.  Shine your own unique, magnificent light and make this world a better place!

Unique Lives & Experiences with Sigourney Weaver

I just saw Sigourney Weaver speak last night as part of the Unique Lives & Experiences series at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary.  I first want  to express my gratitude to my wonderful friend Lee who had an extra ticket and asked me to join. 

What an evening of being dipped in real, authentic humbleness.  Sigourney, who has over 40 movies to her credit and done numerous Broadway Shows, actually stood up on the stage and shared with the crowd that indeed, she was nervous!

She has a wonderful sense of humour and is an actress with true grit.  She will only take on a role if there is a bigger message than just about the people in the movie.  If she likes a script, she does not care what role she plays, just as long as she gets to be a part of it.  Her real love is live theatre for the camaraderie that it brings. 

Linda Olsen from Global TV was the emcee for the event and did an excellent job of asking Sigourney questions after her talk. 

Sigourney stressed three things. One is she feels it is really important for women to step up to the plate and band together to help deal with a lot of problems the world is currently facing.  The second thing she really stressed was the importance of us truly connecting and communicating with one another.  The final thing was how it is important for us to live in harmony with all other species.

 

It was an evening of observing raw humbleness.  Thank you Sigourney for your authenticity and for your willingness to be such a great role model and mentor. 

The Sweet Things in Life

Picture from my backyard weeping caragana tree and busy bee!

Are you always running from one thing to the next and not taking the time to smell the roses?

This weekend after all the rain we received, the sunshine came out, and my backyard came to life.  I gifted myself the time to just "be" and observe all that was occuring around me.

When I take the time just to be, I find that it helps to bring much more calm into my life.  What are some little things that you can do to help bring some sweetness to your life?

By slowing down and just listening, watching and sensing all that nature shows, you will be helping to bring great sweetness into your life.  Enjoy every loving spoonful!