I got to play music last night with a couple of friends of mine who happen to be brother and sister. They are amazing musicians. Mary plays the stand up bass and the ukulele and Peter plays guitar like nobody’s business.
We have been talking about getting together for awhile now, and last night it finally happened! We each brought three songs to the table, and practiced each one a couple of times. I brought “Angels from Montgomery” by John Prine, “Ford Econoline” by Nanci Griffith and “Across the Great Divide” by Kate Wolf.
A couple of Peter’s songs, I had heard him play before, “Poncho and Lefty” by Townes Van Zandt and “Souvenirs” by John Prine, but there was one new to me. And I hadn’t heard any of the ones Mary brought, but they were all special and wonderful in their own ways.
And the sound we made playing them together was pretty beautiful. I’m excited to see where this leads. Definitely making more music and having a wonderful time together, but I’m already seeing us doing some shows locally.
I think the sound we have is unique and special. I have been waiting so long to be able to play music with people who like the kind of music I appreciate. I think I have tried to learn a variety of songs over the years to please different audiences, but my heart is really in those soulful folk songs and songs that have a message. Sometimes that’s a country song, but most of the time, it’s songs by artists that most people haven’t heard of.
Maybe that’s what attracts me to them, the thought that I’m playing something different and interesting.
I have heard more than one person tell me that they hadn’t even heard of John Prine until after he passed away and they started seeing all the tributes to him online. And now they are fans of his music and can see what a gift he was to us all!
I think the first time I heard someone play a John Prine song was on a work trip. One of the other shelter directors played guitar and sang, so we both brought ours and planned to get together one night to jam. She played a bunch of John Prine songs and I was just in love with them immediately.
Do you ever have this happen to you? Once you hear an artist you had never heard before, then all of a sudden you’re hearing their music everywhere? Turns out my brother is a huge John Prine fan and he lent me a cassette tape (ya, this was awhile ago) with John Prine on one side and Loudon Wainwright III on the other. I still haven’t given him back that tape and he reminds me almost every time I see him. Haha!
I discovered Nanci Griffith the same way. One of my friends had heard me sing and play guitar at a party and thought I might be able to sing her songs. I was hooked immediately, but thought there was no way I could sing like her. I practiced a lot, singing along with that cassette tape in the car, and finally got a couple of her songs down. What an artist she was!
So what has all this got to do with essential oils? The only connection I can think of is vibrational and how they both lift you up and feed your soul. Music is vibration, your voice, the strings on the guitar, playing the different keys producing the different sounds (vibrations). Essential oils vibrate at different rates as well, and using them can help you feel joyful, calm, peaceful, or nostalgic, just like different pieces of music can do.
Imagine combining them? Music and essential oils? Try it! It’s the perfect combination and so so good for the soul!
Growing up I remember my Mom crushing up an aspirin and putting the crushed up pieces into a spoon with sugar and giving it to us when we were sick. She also rubbed iodine on our chests when we had a fever.
Got a cold, “Here’s the cold medicine. Doctor yourself up.” Got a headache, “Here’s a tablet”. (We went through several favourites over the years).
Nobody ever said, “Here’s some essential oil. This might help.” Nobody.
It just wasn't a thing where I grew up. Everybody I knew did the same thing. Essential oils weren’t even on my radar, or in my vocabulary. They just weren’t part of my life. I actually hadn’t even heard of them.
Fast forward to 2012. A hockey trip with my son to Haileybury. A visit with a friend. A beautiful aroma greeting us as we walked in the door. My first introduction to Thieves essential oil blend. (Cinnamon, Cloves, Rosemary, Lemon, Eucalyptus)
After a couple of conversations explaining what these little bottles were, and how they have been used by people for thousands of years, I was intrigued. Not completely convinced, but intrigued and willing to give them a try.
After getting my first Starter Bundle, I really didn’t know how to use the oils, or what they were all for, but I did love diffusing them. But after a conversation with my friend, where I was talking about this neck ache that I was dealing with, I decided to try a few of my oils on my neck and shoulder muscles.
I put on Frankincense, Copaiba, Lavender, Panaway and then Peppermint. I kept doing this every few hours and it actually helped calm the ache down.
Another time, when I was trying to sleep, my calves were achy, making it impossible for me to fall asleep. Now, I had been in the habit of taking an over the counter pain killer every night before I went to bed because I knew this was going to be an issue, and I needed to get to sleep. But this night, I hadn’t taken one, and my calves were driving me crazy.
So I decided to try putting on some of the Peace & Calming essential oil blend that I had. What’s the worst that could happen, right? Well, almost immediately, the aching subsided and I was able to go to sleep.
Wow!! That was a game changer for me! I haven’t taken a pain killer before bed, as a way to help me sleep, since then!
Now whenever I have a minor issue, like an achy body, or a headache, or a tummy ache, I reach for my essential oils instead of reaching for that bottle of pills.
Many of Young Living’s essential’s essential oils are also approved as “Natural Health Products” by Health Canada, so you can find lots of different essential oils to support you when dealing with different minor health issues.
Here’s a link to Young Living’s Natural Remedies Guide
What’s in my Natural First Aid Kit? Here are a few of my favourites:
Frankincense
Lavender
Peppermint
Thieves
DiGize
Panaway
OrthoEase Massage Oil
Cool Azul Pain Cream
I woke up in the middle of the night last night and couldn’t see a thing. I mean it was pitch black. Usually there is some ambient light in the room, from the clock, or even a bit of light coming through the window that will guide me to the door.
But last night, nothing. Just total darkness. I thought, maybe my eyes are fused shut, you know, with eye gunk or something, so I tried using my fingers to pry my eyes open, but my eyes were open already. I just couldn’t see anything.
I had no sight. I was blind! I was the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced. So many thoughts ran through my head. My head had been aching yesterday, and my eyes were strained. Maybe it was just too much for and my eyes just suddenly stopped working. What am I going to do about work? How is my husband going to cope with this? How am I going to cope with this?
I fumbled my way out of the door, somehow finding the door and feeling my way into the kitchen where I had my phone plugged in. I thought I caught a bit of a light flashing once I got to the living room, and realized, the power was probably out again.
The power had gone off on Saturday for about 6 hours, and it had been really windy last night, so maybe that was it. I located my phone, turned it on, and was relieved to be able to see the screen! Thank God!! I wasn’t blind after all! It was just so dark out, that no light at all had penetrated our bedroom, and left us in total blackness.
We take so many things for granted in life, don’t we? Things that have always been there, like our health, our eyesight, we think will always be there. We don’t give them much thought, do we? We just talk for granted that they will always be there for us.
Well, this strange experience has really made me think about things that I take for granted. It has made me more grateful for my health, my mobility, my eyesight, my mind. So many gifts that I take for granted everyday, that I will now remember to be grateful for.
So many things that I put off doing, or pass on, because I think I’ll have another chance some other time. But maybe I’m squandering my chances. Maybe, just maybe, another time won’t come, or my ability to participate fully won’t always be there.
Life is so precarious, isn’t it? Maybe this little incident was the reminder I needed to remember to embrace chances to experience life, to have fun, to do the things I like to do, and go to the places I’ve always wanted to go to.
Maybe it was a reminder to actually “be present” in my life, savouring every moment, giving thanks for those around me, and for the memories I’m making with family and friends. How often have I squandered those moments, wishing time away when my kids were little and life was hectic and hard? Those are the times I wish I could have back.
Maybe I’m reading too much into this..... but in the light of day, it’s easy to forget the lessons that being in total darkness teaches you. I want to remember this lesson, so that’s why I’m writing this down. Maybe when I read it at a later date, I’ll be reminded to be grateful, to take care of myself, and not take anything for granted.
Essential oil blends for being “in the moment”
Present Time
Live Your Passion
Harmony
Joy
Valor
Learning new things is always a thrill for me. I recently figured out how to create a bio-site on my Instagram account and I was so excited! What can I say, these are the things that make me happy. I am so Not Cool! Hahaha!
Young Living recently updated their MyYL websites so now anyone who wants to build a business through Young Living has a really great tool to use when sharing the oils with friends and family. You can actually create bundles on your website and create a link which you can then share with people who might be interested. It’s so cool!
And the best part is, they offered this to us for FREE for the first 3 months, from February to April! Pretty great, right? And it is super easy to use! So I just had to click subscribe, put in a payment method and my contact info, choose a theme, and Voila!! A pre-made professional looking website all ready to go!
I’m keeping my GetOiling website and I’m going to figure out how to incorporate both. I’m not a techy by any stretch of the imagination, so I’ll probably have to spend some time working on it, but I’ll figure it out.
I find that diffusing my blend of Rosemary, Tangerine and Eucalyptus Radiata helps me focus when I’m working at my computer and trying to figure something out. People also find Peppermint good for that. Apparently, it can help students retain what they’ve learned when they are studying for a test. I can see that. It’s such a bright, invigorating aroma!
I find it fascinating, learning about all the ways that different essential oils can support our bodies. I have a Essential Oils Reference book that I bought from Life Science Publishing years ago, and it is nice to be able to read through it to learn about the origins of the plants that we distill into essential oils, as well as their various components.
I was never a good science student, as my various high school teachers can attest to, but I’m finding learning about the different essential oils and the ways we can use them to support our bodies quite interesting. And it’s so hard to remember all of the information on each essential oil, so having the reference guide is really helpful.
Years ago, my Dad and I were at a Youth and Elders Gathering at Michipicoten First Nation, and we went on a medicine walk. The Elder showed us different plants and how Indigenous people have used them for various ailments over thousands of years. She said we have everything we need to keep us healthy on Mother Earth.
I think the connection to this teaching is what made me explore essential oils even more. They are nature’s living energy after all, and are derived from plants, scrubs, roots, all of Mother Nature’s gifts.
Even though people today are re-discovering essential oils, this is ancient knowledge. People have been using essential oils for thousands of years. Young Living just refined the distillation process and have found a way to bring the most authentic essential oils to people all over the world. It’s pretty amazing, really.
And now, I’m going to put some oils in my diffuser, and try to figure out how how to build some more pages on my website. I think I’ll put some Believe or Envision on the bottoms of my feet too, just to give me that extra support as I try to navigate this IT world!
Wish me luck my friends! Don’t forget to put on your essential oils, and never stop learning!
I put one of those countdown apps on my phone a while back. I’ll be retiring from the organization that I’ve led for 39 years this summer, and I thought it would be funny to be able to check the app and countdown the months until retirement.
I now have 0 years, 6 months, 21 days, 53 minutes and 43 seconds until I retire!
It’s getting real, folks! And I have to admit, it’s starting to feel a bit daunting. Time moves so fast these days, and I still have a lot to do before the end of July. Not to mention, there is still so much work to be done to end violence against women and girls, which is the mission of our organization.
I don’t know if the work will ever be done, and I’ve given almost 39 years of my life to it. So I guess I will just have to be okay with leaving things undone. Hard to do, especially for me. I like to have things organized and running perfectly, all the goals met. But that’s just not the nature of the work we do, and I’m going to have to be okay with that.
The organization is healthy, and we have an incredible group of women working there, some who have been doing the work for over 20 years. So I know I’m leaving it in good hands.
But it will still be hard to leave. I mean this has been part of who I am and of how I identify as a person for more than half of my life!
Still, it’s time. I am ready to move on and do other things.
I’m going to really dive into doing more sharing of Young Living and help people get started with these beautiful, healthy products. I’m going to do more singing and performing. A friend of mine wants to start a little band and do some gigs locally, so that will be fun.
I’ll spend time with my Granddaughter and my kids, go camping, do more walking, and hiking, and hopefully do some travelling. We really want to visit Ireland and Scotland, and maybe Italy.
Being able to lean into other parts of myself, and discover things I didn’t know I was interested in is compelling. I’m going to stay open and curious about life and its possibilities.
Here’s to the next chapter!
** Some oils for the transition:
Abundance
Joy
Valor
Believe
Harmony
Highest Potential
Peace & Calming
Ignite Your Journey
