Eagle Feathers

My husband found a bald eagle feather in our front yard!

When he showed me what he had found, I recalled sitting on a mountain top while visiting a high school friend in Cripple Creek, Colorado. My friend and I sat there watching two eagles lazily circling in the sky. He told me he hoped I would find an eagle feather up there, because his wife, a native American, had told him if you found an eagle feather it was fortunate and that you were blessed.

So, you can imagine our excitement when he found an eagle feather right here in our own front yard!  I immediately recognized it as a bald eagle feather when he showed it to me. It was beautiful and in perfect condition. I told him that native Americans view finding an eagle feather as a sign of great fortune and that he was blessed to find it.

I decided to do a little research on the computer to see if there were any other indications that finding an eagle feather was indeed a sign of fortune, when I discovered something I did not know existed. The Eagle Feather Law.

It is against the law to possess even one eagle feather and that you can get a
$25,000 fine and even spend time in prison just for having one feather in your
possession!

The native American tribes consider eagle feathers to be sacred and use them in their religious ceremonies. In order to get the feathers themselves, they must apply to the National Eagle Repository and prove their heritage in a recognized tribe to obtain and eventually possess an eagle feather.

So after discovering this bit of information, we talked it over and decided not to keep it. We carefully carried it out back into our woods, and reluctantly placed it on our special rock. Then we held hands and said a little prayer over it, took a photo and walked away.

So, what does the law say you should you do if you find an eagle feather?

"Take only photos, leave only footprints".

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Procrastination

Procrastination is the thief of time  - Edward Young (1683-1765)

For months, no actually years, I have made an attempt to learn all I could about starting some type of home business. Like almost everyone, I want to make money from home!  So what slowed me down to the point that I shelved the whole project? Procrastination... Up until now it has been my greatest downfall, that is until I discovered why I procrastinate.

I have come to realize that I procrastinate because I am a perfectionist. Not so much in the overly picky sort of way, but in that I over think every project I attempt. I try to imagine every possible scenario in my head and everything that could possibly go wrong. My thoughts run all over the place with whatif's and shouldi's to the point where I'm virtually immobilized.  Consequently I never could quite reach my goal because it just wasn't quite good enough.

But herein lies the revelation! Good enough?.. Good enough for whom???  For everyone else? No, not necessarily anyone else,  just not good enough for me. I am my own worst critic and when I think about it, I would never continue a friendship with someone who picks me apart the way I do.  I seem to find fault with every project I attempt as though there is some type of reward for figuring out everything that could possibly go wrong before I begin.

I think it and rethink it and realize it's still not quite perfect, so I would shelve the whole idea for a while hoping to gain new perspective another day.   This is where the procrastination comes in. Often we waste precious time over thinking and eventually the opportunity to accomplish the original goal is no longer there. So either it wasn't really that important or I just wasn't sure how to get over a hurdle. I didn't exactly turn around and go back but I did just sit there waiting for someone to remove the hurdle for me, when all along I could have simply asked for directions and gotten past it.

Whenever you come up on a hurdle in any project and you aren't sure what to do next, go straight to someone who is knowledgeable in that area and ask them to give you some pointers. There are people everywhere just waiting to share what they already know with you, all you have to do is ask.

So start that project you've been putting off today, and if you run into a snag don't be afraid to ask someone else for directions so you can keep moving forward.  When you do reach your goal, be proud of yourself for what you've accomplished.



So, now that you know you can do anything, ask yourself this question ... 

"What am I going to do next?"

Life comes full circle

There are times when it seems that life is one big lifelong multiple choice test. The good news is that you are not only taking the test, but you are also the one grading it too and you have the ability to change your answers at any time.


From the moment of your birth, you must decide how you are going to handle the fact that you are no longer in that nice warm cuddly place you have been for the past nine months. You cannot make comparisons because what is happening at that moment is all you know of this thing called Life.

Up until now, you have been completely content; quite comfortable with a consistently monitored temperature system of shock absorbing fluid that surrounded you and protected you. You have had a lifeline that is a constantly there to make sure you have everything you need. You don't realize it yet, but all of these things are part of the wonderful feeling known as unconditional love.

In your few months of existence you have concluded that all you have to do is be. Even if you could ask for more, you're don't realize there is more; so you decide this is it, this is life, and it appears to be quite good.

You begin exploring your senses, you may feel a bit uncomfortable at times but a slight movement will remedy most of those issues. You have always heard sounds around you, some soothing, some not so much, but they don't really concern you because they do not require action on your part and your reactions to them seem to be involuntary.

Then one day you sense something completely different, an excitement all around you. This is an unfamiliar feeling. You wait for this unfamiliar feeling to stop but it doesn't, it only intensifies. You move around trying to change positions thinking that will make you comfortable again, but the feeling doesn't go away. You see a small amount of unfamiliar light, not the rose colored light you have grown so accustomed to, but a brighter light that seems to be calling to you.

So, curiously you turn and work your way toward it. As the light gets brighter you realize you are on the threshold of something that is making you unsure if you should keep going; and then you feel the touch of someones hand. This is reassuring and you sense that they are there to help you cross over into a bright new world.

For a few seconds you are uncomfortable because the sounds and feelings are unfamiliar to you, but then you hear soothing voices and you are once again enveloped in warmth. You open your eyes and even though they haven't adjusted to the brighter light, you sense that you are safe, and a warm feeling stirs in your heart. You blink your little eyes and think to yourself, so... this is life and it is good.

As you continue on through the years of this experience called Life; you live, learn, laugh, and love your way through it until it all comes full circle. At first it feels somewhat sad and dark, but then you see a brighter light that seems to be calling to you. This time you are not afraid because you remember from your previous experience what will follow, and even though it may be a little uncomfortable at first you realize that this is life, the afterlife, and it is also good.

When your life comes full circle, you know there is nothing to fear, because you know the circle of life is filled, with love.