Yoga and Lake Louise
This picture is when I experienced a sudden surprise trip I was able to take to Lake Louise, Canada with my mother-n-law, my husband’s uncle and girlfriend. Last minute someone couldn’t make it and I was able to squeeze in. The trip was like something out of a movie really. Five days on a train from Vancouver to Lake Louise, Canada. I thought I would share this experience with you because it does tie into my book SPIRITUAL.
I am so excited to release by book soon, this is one I have been working on for about a year or so. I have published two other books with a wonderful Mind Body Soul Publisher-O Books (Ayni Imprints) in the UK for my first two books, MIDDLE AGE BEAUTY and LIVE LOVE SOUL.
But for my third, I thought I would try on my own. I must say this process in itself has been a happy soul journey. Trying this avenue has been a leap of faith and fun to try something new. But back to Canada and this photo of me doing a handstand. What made this trip so special, besides being a last minute fabulous surprise?
Well, in 1998 I had been married once before and traveled to Canada for my honeymoon. On the trip I read Dr. Zhivago in Tofino on Vancouver Island. I had always loved the movie with Omar Sharif.
So I finally read the classic novel that special week.
My first marriage was really wonderful in many ways…but with life comes change and with so many somehow we didn’t make through those as well as we had hoped.
In 2002, I ended up getting divorced. I had a two year old son that I dearly loved and the good news was the divorce was amicable for all three of us.
Like most, being divorced wasn’t on my road map. I hadn’t figured that into my scheme of dreams. I felt a slightly sideswiped by this new turn of events. But I was determined to keep my chin up, keep dreaming and believe in my best self. I wasn’t sure if I would ever re-marry. I wasn’t sure if I would be lucky enough to find love again. Maybe that was too much to ask?
THINK BIG- PRAY BIG
A lucky girl like me was fortunate to have a wonderful grandma Lula that shared her wisdom regarding positive thinking during my twenties with me. She sent a copy of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s book, THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING. This book helped me so much in making choices regarding my life. Back to that question- “Maybe that was too much to ask?”
Well, If you know the teachings of Dr. Peale, then you know, he was a believer in prayer and so was I. After a few years of being single, I started praying with my mother that I would meet the right man that would be a great match for not just me, but also as a step dad for my son, Jackson.
We prayed for three years….
In the meantime, I must admit, I had lots of fun with my girlfriends in San Diego. I got on with life. And I became a columnist and a magazine writer for local publishing companies in the area. I didn’t just sit around waiting, my life was full of happy moments and fun times. In fact, even though the prayer had become a ritual, more like a quick conversation to catch up with my mom, I had kind of let go of that dream and was okay one way or the other.
BUT GOD DID NOT FORGET
One day, a few years later, I met a lovely young man that proclaimed he would marry me. “Really?” I asked, intrigued by his confidence.We ended up becoming friends. But would you believe it, we did indeed get married a few years later and he was right.
“Keep your dreams close to your heart.” Last year when I squeezed in last minute in the Canada trip, when we got of the Rocky Mountaineer in Lake Louise, there was another train at the train stop.
It was one that had been used in a movie set and preserved there for tourists to see. The train had been used in the DR. ZHIVAGO movie. When I read that, my heart felt so heavy with love and appreciation for my little circle of life, my ups and downs and all the in between stuff and the meantime moments of waiting for other dreams. What made it extra special is I was with my mother-n-law this time around…another trip back to Canada. (I mean, if you knew what an avid reader I am, this would even make this coincidence even much larger, plus it’s not every day I hop off a train at Lake Louise to see Dr. Zhivago train staring at me.)
So dearest reader, if you are dreaming and praying for new things to come in your life, make sure to keep having fun in the meantime of your schedule. You might need to be a bit patient. Not everything happens when we want it to. But believe in the divine plan of things. Believe in the power of prayer. Never giving up on your inner right to find peace, love and joy.
This book HAPPY SOUL is really about using 10 steps that I share to help through the ‘meantime of our lives,’ the ordinary, which can be extraordinary, too.
Never believe that you do not DESERVE the gift of happiness or true joy. Expect miracles and keep dreaming. You might be surprised at how wonderful life can turn out when you strive for your divine right to be happy. Life is yours to create. I hope my book Happy Soul will be one more tool to help you never give up on yourself.
Life will not always go the way we hoped it would, but if we hang on, God might have something even better than you could have ever thought of before. As I look back over the story of my life, some of the scariest moments were my most important. I am not sure what I would have done without the power of Biblical scripture. It reshaped my future. I am so grateful I held on to my hope of being happy. Being happy isn’t just feeling. It’s a way of life. It’s how you decide when you get up in the morning what way your day will go. In essence, this is the story of my life. This is my journey and what lead me to the ten suggestions to living a happier life, in my newest book, SPIRITUAL.
Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog. Wishing you to be your best self and to always believe in the beauty of happiness and the power of your dreams.
Sincerely,
Machel
