A poem for when you’re feeling the stir of something new… ☕✨
Something new is brewing
Like dark, hot coffee
Or the sun rising on the morning
To enliven and enlighten
All that it touches
Sparking each of us to rise and thrive
To seize the day
In our own way
Something new is brewing
Do you feel it too?
©Ashley Castle Barnes ~ Cat Lady Poet
A poetic reminder that something new is brewing within. Embrace the beauty of the unknown and the excitement of untold possibilities.
Rain or shine,
This waking day
Marks the start of something new
Or maybe nothing at all,
And she won’t know,
She can’t be certain,
Until she takes a step forward
With courage and hope,
Eyes wide open
©Ashley Castle Barnes ~ Cat Lady Poet
What if she takes a step back
And burns the bridges that brought
Her to this moment,
Walks across the ashes
So that the heat beneath her feet
Lights a new fire in her heart
Where the New has space
To rise up and burn
©Ashley Castle Barnes
And then a new sprout emerges
Through the fertile soil of her mind,
Making its presence known
With both gentleness and determination,
It’s time for her to grow
Something new
©Ashley Castle Barnes
It’s that time of year for old things to die and new things to start their journey through the cool, damp soil toward new life.
Just because we can’t see them, doesn’t mean they’re not growing.
And there are many plants that actually bloom in late summer.
So it is with the birth of new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of being.
Some gestate through the winter of our seasons, and some are springing up, to be nurtured through the darker months.
I rather like the ideas that thrive in the dark, maybe because personally, I’m not like that at all.
I like the warm spring and summer months and all the sunshine I can get.
But I also know that the shadow is as important as the light. Maybe more so, for it points me to what I’m not noticing – or what I’m actually avoiding.
Ideas that sprout this time of year tend to be more grounded, more deeply rooted, and often more transformational because of their depth.
It can be easy to avoid these deep ideas because they’re often rooted in vulnerability, which is what makes them so rich, like they soil in which they grow.
I guess you could say I’m a chronic avoider of this time of year because it represents a great deal of darkness for me.
But today, I’m nurturing something rich and new, which gives me hope and inspiration.
What are you growing today?
Looking at her whole life
Through a new lens
This cliff she stands upon
And the blue water below
Look inviting
What if she dives to the bottom
And re-emerges a mermaid
Or a shark
Or the girl she’s always
Wanted to be
The possibilities are endless
©Ashley Castle Barnes
Who would you be if you didn’t have obligations, responsibilities, expectations?
If you had the opportunity to see life in a whole new way, what would you want to see…do…be?
A magical creature? Something fierce?
Or simply a fierce and magical person with a story to tell?
The blue water is waiting.
What are you jumping into today?
Where no (wo)man has gone before…
Welcome to 2021! It’s been a wild ride already, right? And it’s only February!
But putting politics and pandemics aside for a moment, it’s been a while and I’d to share with you a bit about what’s going on in my world.
Over the past year, I’ve used my pandemic downtime to do a lot of deep exploration around my business. Did you know that I’ve been coaching and/or healing for over 8 years now??
I first started as a health coach, then a writer, then a healer, and now find myself as a more integrated version of all that – and more.
You see, as it turns out, there are 2 things I find that I’m really, really passionate about:
And most especially, how these two seemingly disparate passions align to inform the work I do.
After all, I’ve worked in the corporate world for over 20 years. I AM that empathic woman impacted by the soul-sucking nature of some corporate environments – and I’m also that woman who has spent years cultivating energetic tools, coaching, healing, writing as a way to shift and transform my experiences into a strong sense of purpose and alignment with my inner wisdom.
All of this self-exploration has culminated in my theme for this year: Boldly Going. Though this came to me based on my dreams and goals for myself and my business, it seems appropriate on a larger scale too, considering what’s going on around us.
The work I do with women like you and me is transformational – deep shifts and healing, stepping into our power and purpose, finding the places in our work and lives where we’re truly meant to be.
In a world that seeks to keep us feeling stuck and powerless…to keep us searching…to put and keep us in neat and quiet little boxes, what could be bolder than having the courage to transform and show up exactly as we are?
To kick off this bold new year, I’m forming a bold NEW group!
Feminine Leaders Rising – An intimate, committed circle + mastermind program for women professionals (and others) who want to explore energetic tools and processes to reach the goals and dreams they’ve been putting off using the Divine Feminine energy of connection, healing, intuition, and compassion, instead of powering through and forcing things to happen. We will support each other to be vulnerable, to identify our soul’s wisdom and take steps toward our purpose, to heal the old wounds that hold us back, and reach our personal and professional goals encircled by the safety and sacred space of other heart-centered women. If this sounds like what you need right now, I invite you to reach out!
What this also means is that, after nearly four years, the time has come to wind down the Awakening Angels Circle so I can focus on different goals.
My vision for the Circle has always been to inspire other women to step into their power and (self) leadership, whatever that looks like for them, encouraging them to be their true selves, to find what makes them come alive and go do it, to be the change they want to see – and it would be inauthentic of me not to do the same.
What I know is that when something ends, it opens up space for something new. New space is opening for me, and also for you.
And I’m so very excited to see what this year has in store for both of us.
All my best,
Ah, the promise of a new day
The whisking away
Of old ways of being
Making way for a path
That’s not quite clear
But on its way
Feels oh so real
Cat Lady Poet 