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Spirit Matters: Seasons change and life carries on in unexpected ways · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Spirit Matters, Seasons change, and life carries on in unexpected ways.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Jerlyn Zovada Novak and Spirit Matters. This article
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  Speaker 1: is being read by an automated voice brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by Everlet. This past week, I took advantage of the
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  Speaker 1: lull in hot temperatures and severe weather and sat outside
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  Speaker 1: with our puppy, Ivy Rose while admiring our garden. When
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  Speaker 1: the opportunities presented themselves, Ivy caught a couple of cicadas
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  Speaker 1: and pranced around the yard with their wings desperately fluttering
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  Speaker 1: in her mouth until I swooped in and rescued them.
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  Speaker 1: Our late black labrador Zeke, as many of you might remember,
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  Speaker 1: had a thing for tossing baby bunnies in the air. Apparently,
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  Speaker 1: Ivy has a thing for cicadas and pretty much anything
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  Speaker 1: else she can fit in her mouth. Her curiosity knows
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  Speaker 1: no bounds, and monitoring what she picks up in her
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  Speaker 1: mouth indoors and out is a full time job. The
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  Speaker 1: truth is we both needed the revitalizing medicine time and
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  Speaker 1: nature gives us. The feel of the breeze gently touching
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  Speaker 1: my skin and blowing through my hair helped me escape
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  Speaker 1: my busy mind for a few moments into a more
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  Speaker 1: receptive state. I made a point to notice the way
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  Speaker 1: the wind moved through the trees, and the various colors
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  Speaker 1: and textures of the vegetation in our garden, as well
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  Speaker 1: wild beauty right outside our back door. If you pay
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  Speaker 1: any attention to the cycles of seasonal change, you might
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  Speaker 1: also have noticed a subtle but noticeable shift in how
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  Speaker 1: it feels outside right now. Shadows have grown longer, plants
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  Speaker 1: and flowers are showing early signs of decay, and there
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  Speaker 1: is an ever so slight change in the atmosphere. It's
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  Speaker 1: on its way out, making way for Autumn's official arrival
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  Speaker 1: in September. Part of the reason I needed to be
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  Speaker 1: outside this week is something I think we can all
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  Speaker 1: identify with. When we are forced to stay inside for
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  Speaker 1: too long, we can feel a sense of stagnation in
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  Speaker 1: our bodies, minds, and spirits, and if this continues, we
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  Speaker 1: can begin to feel signs of hopelessness and despair. This morning,
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  Speaker 1: I noticed a post in my social media news feed
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  Speaker 1: of an illustrated garden in full bloom. The words accompanying
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  Speaker 1: it said, look at all the ways you've grown since
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  Speaker 1: last August. It is easy to fall into the trap
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  Speaker 1: of thinking our lives are stagnant or changing too slowly
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  Speaker 1: when we look at them from a day to day perspective,
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  Speaker 1: But when we take a bird's eye view, we often
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  Speaker 1: see much more evolution than we thought. This illustration and
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  Speaker 1: its accompanying words quite effectively helped me pause and think
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  Speaker 1: about what has changed in my life. Since last August.
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  Speaker 1: I have begun to successfully manage two chronic conditions, lymphidema
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  Speaker 1: and sleep apnea, after years decades. In the case of
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  Speaker 1: the lymphidema, my quality of life is noticeably improving. I
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  Speaker 1: feel less brain fog and have more energy to get
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  Speaker 1: through the day. If that were the extent of the
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  Speaker 1: change in my life, it would be enough. But creatively,
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  Speaker 1: I have also made significant progress. My husband and his
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  Speaker 1: sister sold their bakery where I helped occasionally. He and
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  Speaker 1: I have since grown a craft business into rustically charming
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  Speaker 1: floral designs in te Luca and Chotchke's Trinkets and Treasures
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  Speaker 1: in Morris Scott makes handcrafted woodwork and other repurposed items,
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  Speaker 1: and I work with florals. Both locations have been more
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  Speaker 1: successful than we expected. I have grown my skills in
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  Speaker 1: practice with pressed flowers and some minor floral arranging. Through this,
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  Speaker 1: I have discovered a talent I never knew I had,
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  Speaker 1: which brings me personal satisfaction in contributing a touch more
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  Speaker 1: beauty to the world. And of course, we had to
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  Speaker 1: say goodbye to Zeke in January. As many of you know,
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  Speaker 1: losing a beloved pet is hard and the accompanying grief
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  Speaker 1: can be unpredictable. We didn't plan or think we would
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  Speaker 1: be ready to open our hearts to another pet for
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  Speaker 1: quite a while. But then Ivy Rose came along in April,
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  Speaker 1: and she has brought a new energy and sense of
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  Speaker 1: playfulness to our daily lives. My life is quite different
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  Speaker 1: from this time last year, and since the one thing
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  Speaker 1: we can count on in life is change, I expect
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  Speaker 1: next August will surprise me too. Even if we have
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  Speaker 1: physical limitations, our spirits can expand into new territory throughout
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  Speaker 1: our lives. As long as we are breathing, we have
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  Speaker 1: the opportunity to change and grow in new, often surprising ways.
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  Speaker 1: Let us make the most of it through every season
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  Speaker 1: of our lives. Spirit Matters is a weekly column by
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  Speaker 1: Jerrelyn Zavado Novak that examines experiences common to the human spirit.
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  Speaker 1: Contact her at jay Z Blue three three at yahoo
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  Speaker 1: dot com.