Michelle Candland

I’ve been thinking a lot about doors lately.  Big doors, small doors, creaky doors, silent doors, heavy doors, revolving doors, doors in our mind – they all have some characteristics in common.  Doors keep people in, let people out, open to hope, close to despair, provide motivation, peak curiosity and can cause unexpected pain if you’re not paying attention.

The doors around me have been opening and closing so rapidly it’s difficult to keep up, but it’s certainly keeping me on my toes!

Sometimes it’s as if the door of opportunity opens ever so slightly when we’re not looking for it and we can miss something very special just because we were preoccupied.  I would suggest that it behooves us all to become more vigilant, more aware of our surroundings, more prepared to act; but without a plan we won’t know what we’re prepared to act on.  Spend some time noodling on your life plan, thinking about what you want your future to look like. If you can clearly see your plan you will more readily recognize the doors that could open to opportunity or sense the doors that might begin to close behind you before you’re ready.

And there’s nothing wrong with a healthy sense of self motivation or at least curiosity – open some doors on your own and see what’s on the other side

A Pleaser in the Making

Wow – where did the time go?  There’s a little less than a week left in February and it’s proven to be an eventful month thus far.  “Common Threads” made its much-anticipated debut as evidenced by the stack of boxes in my garage and in the warehouse of my distributor, New Century Press.  My husband finally had the opportunity to read it for the first time, as did our children and the reviews were glowing!   Unconditional love is a wonderful thing …  as therapeutic as it was to finally share the stories that have been the fodder for my principles as an adult, I was still a little nervous about how the truth would resonate with the people in my life who never knew about the big bumps in my path as a child and poor decisions I made as a young adult.   I crossed my subconscious fingers in hopes that they would judge me by who I am today rather than what occurred during my life in the past and I have not been disappointed.

This month marks my 60^th Birthday – who knew that sweet little kindergartener (how could you not love a face like that?) would get so old so fast!  Certainly not me – today’s 60 is the new 40!  I don’t feel much older inside – it’s just that pesky mirror and all that bright light that puts a damper on things.  I’ll just do the best I can with what I have and try to remember what Gretchen, an awesome aesthetician told me once during one of her amazing facials, “I have one word for you – slather!”  She was referring to how I should be applying lotion.  Good tip …

March is the “ramping up” month in preparation for the official announcement for “Common Threads” in April so you’ll be hearing and seeing much more of me going forward.  The book is available on Amazon right now and will be available in Barnes & Noble and Borders in March.  If they don’t have it on the shelf, ask them to order it!  My messages are loud and clear and the inspiring stories of the nine other women profiled are nothing less than amazing.   I’ll update as the future unfolds.

Natural Beauty

One of the many joys of living in southern California is our weather.  It allows roses  to bloom in January and ample opportunities to take a walk in the sun and contemplate what lies ahead.  We can’t change what occurred in 2009 but we can certainly learn from those experiences and make every effort to weave our life tapestry with clear intention as we move into 2010.

Take the time to set your short and long term goals, write them down, and chart your course with confidence.  Surround yourself with people who will encourage you with unconditional love and give yourself permission to succeed, because you’re worth it!

Never Stop Believing!

The holidays have always been a special time in my life.  As a small child I have memories of the aroma of fresh pine, silver tinsel sticking to everything, presents under the tree and avoiding my father when he was drinking.  Fast forward to the first Christmas after I moved out when I was 18.  I had no money, my family was still angry with me for moving out and it didn’t feel like the holidays at all.  That Christmas I couldn’t afford gifts but I still wanted to give my family something from the heart so I wrote a Christmas prayer, put it in a small card and sent it off.

Thankfully a great deal has changed since then but that time of strained relationships began a tradition that lives on today.  The prayer has transformed into more of a message but my family still looks forward to seeing a new one each year.  My mother used to say that she could always tell what had transpired the previous year by the tone of my message.  I suppose some things don’t change.  This is the message I included in my cards for 2009.

2009 has been a year filled with life lessons.

Some were reminders of values learned long ago

and some were new to this generation.

We were encouraged to do more with less

and embrace Life’s simple pleasures.

Unconditional love taught us

that it’s more about the who and why

than the what and where

and it became clear that those in need

have no particular zip code.

In the coming year

may we all celebrate our haves

rather than begrudge our have nots

and may joy and contentment

occupy a part of each day.

Have a blessed holiday season!

Hi! It’s Michelle Candland here and welcome to my little blogosphere!

If you’ve had an opportunity to read a little about me you know I’m no spring chicken so I wasn’t born with an i-anything in my mouth. That being said I’m planning to have a great time communicating with those of you who have an interest in my book, “Common Threads”, or those who may want to share a life experience with me that we have in common, a valuable lesson you’ve learned along your path or those who may have a specific question for me.

Some of my observations will be concerning my desire to help others learn life lessons without actually experiencing the pain – others will be exploring passions I’ve grown to love along the way. I look forward to hearing from you!

Michelle