Author: Raine Shakti

Raine Shakti believes in living her life cairn by cairn and in helping others learn to do the same. Her day job is in the training and communications field and her best professional experiences are when she is able to empower people. She has spent the last few years reclaiming her life and her inner warrior. Part of this journey was becoming an ordained priestess with the Fellowship of Isis. Her Matron deities are Nephthys who has helped her become a true virgin woman, the Morrigan who has taught her what it means to be sovereign, and Yemaya who has taught her the strength in having a loving heart.

Chick’n Tetrazzini With peas

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Fake Chicken Tetrazzini with Peas

Source: www.bettycrocker.com

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Total Time: 55 min

Serves: 3

Ingredients

  • 1 package (7 oz) spaghetti broken into thirds
  • 2 cups frozen sweet peas (from 1-lb bag)
  • 1⁄4 cup butter or margarine
  • 1⁄4 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry or water
  • 2 cups Fake Chicken Strips
  • 1 jar (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms drained
  • 1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package, adding peas during last 3 minutes of cooking.
  2. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.
  3. Stir in broth and whipping cream. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in sherry, spaghetti and peas, chicken and mushrooms.
  4. Into ungreased 2-quart casserole, pour spaghetti mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until bubbly in center.

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Chicken Tetrazzini with Peas

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Chicken Tetrazzini with Peas

Source: bettycrocker.com

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Main Ingredient: Chicken

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Total Time: 55 min

Serves: 3 Scale

Ingredients

  • 7 oz spaghetti broken into thirds
  • 2 cups frozen sweet peas (from 1-lb bag)
  • 1⁄4 cup butter or margarine
  • 1⁄4 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry or water
  • 2 cups cubed deli rotisserie chicken (from 2- to 2 1/2-lb chicken)
  • 1 jar (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms drained
  • 1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package, adding peas during last 3 minutes of cooking.
  2. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.
  3. Stir in broth and whipping cream. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in sherry, spaghetti and peas, chicken and mushrooms.
  4. Into ungreased 2-quart casserole, pour spaghetti mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until bubbly in center.

Daily Draw: Hija of Earth and Impasse

Hija of Earth from the Herbcrafter’s Tarot and Impasse from the Sacred Traveler’s Oracle are another pair of cards that are perfectly in synch.  Hija tells me to maintain my boundaries while Impasse tells me that sometimes I need to redirect.  I’m reading these cards as a reminder to not only keep my own boundaries, but also to respect others and that sometimes I do need to stop and redirect.  I’m someone who loves to be in charge and loves to drive forward, no matter what the cost.  However, these cards are showing me that that is not always the best way to live.  Sometimes we need to stop, reevaluate, and redirect.  These cards are especially meaningful to me today because I’m giving up something I’ve worked hard for to go in a different direction.  I was finally given the director’s title in February and I’m walking away to spend more time with my family and to have more work life balance.  For me that’s the right choice, even though my ego isn’t liking it too much.

Hija is also telling me that I need to let go of my need for perfection and to just accept that sometimes good enough is all that is needed.  That’s not a lesson I like, but it is the one that I need.

Vegetarian Balsamic Fig “Chicken”

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Vegetarian Balsamic Fig Chicken

Source: Hello Fresh

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Main Ingredient: Chicken

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 35 min

Total Time: 45 min

Serves: 4 Scale

Ingredients

  • 4 ea Meatless Chicken Cutlets Note: We use Gardein Chicken Scallopeni and skip the sauce
  • 1⁄4 oz Fresh Rosemary
  • 4 tbs Fig Jam
  • 2 Ea Shallots
  • 1 ea Lemon
  • 10 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 TBS Olive Oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • 2 oz Veggie stock concentrate

Directions

  1. Season the meatless chicken cutlets all over with salt and pepper
  2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat
  3. Add the cutlets and cook per instructions. Remove from pain and set aside.
  4. Sauce
  5. In the same pan over medium heat, add the shallots, stirring until softened (2-3 minutes). Simmer until syrupy (30-60 seconds).
  6. Stir in stock concentrate and 1/3 cup water. Cook until thick and glossy (2 to 3 minutes).
  7. Turn off heat, stir in 2 tbs of butter. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Thinly slice the cutlets and drizzle with sauce.

Balsamic Fig Chicken

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Add to Plan to Eat

Balsamic Fig Chicken

Source: Hello Fresh

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Main Ingredient: Chicken

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 35 min

Total Time: 45 min

Serves: 4 Scale

Ingredients

  • 4 ea 6 oz Boneless Chicken Breasts
  • 1⁄4 oz Fresh Rosemary
  • 4 tbs Fig Jam
  • 2 Ea Shallots
  • 1 ea Lemon
  • 10 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 TBS Olive Oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • 2 oz Chicken stock concentrate

Directions

  1. Chicken
  2. Pat the chicken try with paper towels
  3. Season all over with salt and pepper
  4. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat
  5. Add the chicken and cook until browned and cooked through (5-7 minutes per side). Remove from pan and set aside to rest.
  6. Sauce
  7. In the same pan over medium heat, add the shallots, stirring until softened (2-3 minutes). Simmer until syrupy (30-60 seconds).
  8. Stir in stock concentrate and 1/3 cup water. Cook until tick and glossy (2 to 3 minutes).
  9. Turn off heat, stir in 2 tbs of butter. Season with salt and pepper.
  10. Thinly slice the chicken and drizzle with sauce.

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Roast Pork Loin with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground fennel
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (3-pound) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
40 garlic cloves, peeled
1 ¼ cups chicken broth
⅓ cup dry white wine
⅓ cup heavy cream

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

You can use a blade-end or center-cut pork loin here. Three to four heads of garlic will yield 40 cloves. Note that the pork needs to be salted and refrigerated for at least an hour before cooking.

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine 2 teaspoons thyme, rosemary, salt, fennel, pepper, and pepper flakes in bowl. Sprinkle pork with thyme mixture. Wrap pork in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. (I did 24 hours)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Unwrap pork and place in skillet. Cook until browned on all sides, about 7 minutes.

Scatter garlic around pork and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until pork registers 130 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer pork to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. (After resting pork was right at 142°)

While pork rests, place skillet with garlic over medium-high heat (skillet handle will be hot) and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is sizzling and light golden brown all over, about 3 minutes. Add broth, wine, cream, and remaining 2 teaspoons thyme and bring to boil. Cook until sauce has reduced to slightly more than 1 cup and is thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Slice pork thin. Serve with sauce.

Nine of Swords

April 29, 2020

This was an interesting card combination as I pulled it as I was thinking about how sad I was to be leaving my job and moving on and about how afraid I was that I wouldn’t do well at my new company.  I literally had those thoughts, then pulled the cards.  What I loved about these cards is they matched what I was feeling, but gave me a very hopeful and thoughtful message.  The Nine of Swords from The LightSeer’s tarot  is all about nightmares and perceiving things are a disaster when they really aren’t.  This card is a reminder to set worry off to one side and focus on the positive.  One of the things that I remind myself of when I’m feeling like no one will like me or I don’t know what to do, etc.  is to remind myself that my new boss and my new team has an incentive to want me to succeed.  They want me to do well so that they do well.  They would not have hired me if they thought I was going to fail because that is way too much work for them.  Everyone wants me to succeed and they are going to be rooting me the whole time.  I have to remind myself of that when I start to beat myself up and think poorly of myself.  I also have to remind myself that it will take a while to settle in at Nestle and that that’s okay.

Once I’ve looked at things and faced reality, the Loss card from the Journey Oracle reminds me that it really is okay to let myself grieve and let myself be sad and grieve if there is really a loss to be grieving.  All the work I’ve done on grief and loss this year reminds me that it really is okay to let myself feel what I need to feel.  I don’t have to be superwoman.


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September 30, 2019

Note:  The last few days and tomorrow will include musing on both the Tarot de St. Croix and the Dark Goddess Tarot because I’m pondering the questions asked by the Goddess of the Month, Tiamet.  I was not happy with the cards I pulled and I’m working to sort things through.

Dark Goddess Question:  What is the new world that is being revealed?

First Impressions:  Fears, light, not being able to sleep

Book:  Worries are not real

Dark Goddess Book:  Fear is getting in the way of seeing the truth

Guidance:  Time will bring clarity

Dark Goddess Guidance:  Separate what you wish for, what you expect, and what you dread in order to see clearly

Journaling

I’m realizing that there is a world out there where I will be able to express my fears and move on with my life.  Sometimes I think it is holding in our fears that holds us back.  My greatest fear is that I am fundamentally unlovable and that there is something wrong with me.  However, I’m realizing through reading books like the Shadow Daughter and others that there is nothing wrong with me.  I am a beautiful, loving, funny, and amazing person.  It is not my fault that my mother cannot love me and treat me with the respect I deserve.  That is about her and is not a fundamental flaw in who I am.  Even though I’ve grown tremendously in the last few years, I’m realizing that there has always been a little piece of my soul that has believed I am unworthy of love because of how my mother raised me.  However, I now know that that is not true and that she is incapable of truly loving.  It makes me sad and i feel compassion for her, but at the end of the day, it is not about me at all.

Rereading her letter through grownup eyes instead of the eyes of a child helped me to realize that my perceptions are correct as the letter was all about her and about her need to have her family.  It was not about us at all, instead it was about how her friends are having great grandkids so she wants great grandkids to show off.  It is as if we were to be used as pawns in her game of one upmanship with her friends instead of being appreciated for who we are.  That’s a cold and harsh reality and I know that there is a little part of me that wishes it wasn’t so and that hopes I’m wrong, but I’m not wrong and that is really who she is.  I don’t need that in my life anymore.

The Banshee tells me to acknowledge those dark bits of my soul, but to let go of them and to know that they are fears and that I am can let go of them and let them fly off into the night like her crows.

Gratitudes
I’m grateful that Sean got home safely
I’m grateful for bundt cakes with the fam
I’m grateful that I got to Minster safely
I’m grateful for the awesome drive with the top down
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September 24, 2019

Deck:  Tarot de St. Croix


First Impressions:  Nightmare, being kept up at nights

Book:  Truth will come with morning

Guidance:  Most of our fears are illusions.  Time will bring clarity

Journaling

This is an interesting card for me because I do a good job of getting myself swirly about what I think is going to happen, then I waste a lot of time worrying which makes my life more difficult.  Then most of the time the thing I was worried about doesn’t even happen.  I was annoyed and pissed off about the thought of having to go to Nidec, then St. Louis.  Well my trip to St. Louis got postponed so I will actually get some time at home.  That has happened to me so many times lately where I have worried and agonized over something that did not come to fruition. 

One of the things that I need to remind myself to do is to take a deep breath when I start to get swirly.  Most of the things that I worry about don’t end up happening.  And even if they did end up happening, most of them are manageable anyway.  And sometimes when I do drop a ball, that’s okay as most of the balls I drop are not the end of the world.  Most of them are things that don’t even matter.  I do keep my eyes on the big balls and the ones that matter and I work hard not to drop those balls.

One of the reasons that I’m so swirly right now is that my biggest nightmare is being stuck in this job.  I’m tired of traveling and it is taking a huge toll on my life.  It is hard to form relationships, I feel trapped, etc. etc.  However, if that is the message that I’m putting out there, it’s no wonder that I’m miserable.  I need to start asking for what I want instead of bitching about what I don’t have.  Once Cam’s trial is over, I am going to start doing some major job magic.

Gratitudes
I’m grateful for the good sessions
I’m grateful for the beautiful weather out
I’m grateful for watching NCIS
I’m grateful that I’m employed
I’m grateful that I have peace and quiet
I’m grateful for making decisions that are in my best interests
I’m grateful that Cam is okay
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July 7, 2019

Deck: World Spirit Tarot


First Impressions:  Nightmares

Book:  Nightmares, confronting our deepest fears, terrifying visions, anxiety,

Guidance:  Look to your intuition for guidance

Journaling

I’ve been binge watching Anthony Bourdain lately and it has me thinking about nightmares and those thoughts that wake you in the middle of the night and convince you that you can’t go on.  I’ve had my share of dark nights of the soul and there have been a lot of times that I am convinced that I can’t wake up one  more morning and go about my pathetic little life.  I’ve convinced myself that everyone would be better off without me, but since I’ve ended up in the hospital for those thoughts and have endured the worst of the worst, I’ve realized that life does go on and in most cases it does get better.  I hold Anthony Bourdain close because he is a reminder that what people see is not always what’s real.  People who may appear to the outside world as if they have it all together often don’t.  They are often struggling and hurting inside and no one knows what’s going on inside their souls.

Souls can be scary places to navigate and it is often in the deepest darkest recesses of our souls that we encounter shame, guilt, and self-hatred.  There are monsters in our souls and they often originated outside of ourselves in the voices of people who told us that we couldn’t do something, or that we weren’t good enough, or that we were bad, or a million other lies.  If we are told such lies often enough, we begin to believe them.  Those lies seep into our soul and mingle with our own traces of self doubt until they are stronger than we would like and they whisper to us in the dark of the night that we’re not worthy, that the world would be a better place without us.  It doesn’t matter how smart we are, how strong we are, how competent we are as those voices in the night can convince us we are nothing.

The voices often show up during the day as well, but it is easier to ignore them in the light.  It is easier to surround ourselves with people who can boost our ego and remind us that we are okay.  It is easier to tally up our accomplishments and realize we matter.  The sunlight shines bright light into the corners and chases away the boogeyman.  However, if we don’t do the hard work of therapy and self discovery, we may not be able to drive the shadows out of our soul.

RIP Anthony Bourdain

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April 9, 2018

Deck:  RWS

First Impressions:  Nightmares, anxiety

Book:  Despair, sorrow, nightmares, grief, death

Guidance:  Prepare for the worst situation, could not have been avoided, are things as bad as they appear?

Journaling

I always view this card as a reminder that nightmares happen.  It does not mean that they are reality.  I need to let go of my fears and worries and focus more on what I can control.  I can’t control what Darshan does, I can’t control what Gadino does.  The only person I have agency over is me.  I spend so much time worrying about what other people do and say when in reality there is nothing I can do to control others.

December 29, 2018

I needed this reminder today.  I am all swirly over John when in reality there is nothing I can do.  He is no longer my problem.  His health is no longer my problem.  His financial issues are no longer my problem.  Absolutely nothing that he does is my problem and I need to let go and let whatever happens happens. 
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November 21, 2017

Deck:  Gilded tarot

First Impressions:  Nightmares

Book:  Crossing her arms to protect her heart, troubled by big problems

Guidance:  Reach out and get the comfort and wisdom you need, allow someone to guide and comfort you

Journaling:

I need to hear this reading about asking for help.  I don’t do such a god job of asking for help.  I tend to hold things in and not let other people in.  The only time I ever truly let people in was right after my divorce and I was so shattered and broken.  The pain was so tremendous that I could not contain it.  I spewed because this pain was horrible.  However, as I’ve healed, I’ve receded into myself.  I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. 

I’m not a recluse and it is not as if I’ve been hiding in a hovel and never venturing out.  I go out and I interact, but I’m standoffish and not thrilled about doing the work it takes to know people.

November 25, 2017

I need to make some time for me.  I am so caught in in Cam that I’m not taking care of me.  I need to step back from her and trust she is in the Goddess’ hand.  I need to let go of my need to hold on so tight.  If I don’t make time to take care of me, I will end up angry and resentful.  I also need to let go and trust.

November 9, 2018

It’s so interesting that this theme of vulnerability has been coming up again and again.  I need to start trusting people and letting them in.  I think knowing that I can be fierce will help me to be vulnerable and to let people in.  This year is going to be all about exploring vulnerability and being more open with other people.  I’m really scared about this, but I know it is something that I really need to do.

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November 8, 2017

Deck; Gilded tarot

First Impressions:  Nightmares

Book:  Troubled by a larger problem, alone and closed out

Guidance:  Reach out and get comfort, be aware of isolation and let someone in to guide and comfort you

Journaling:

It is hard for me right now for me and I find myself continually disappointed by people.  I reached out to the UU’s stupid Laughter in Our Lives group and they disappointed me.  Not one of the people reached out to say, “Hope your daughter is okay.”  Instead they just harassed me and were rude.  Forget them, I do not need that kind of BS in my life.

November 20, 2017

I have to look at things realistically and in a balanced way.  What would I have done if an acquaintance had said her daughter was hurt?  I would have said I’m sorry and asked what I could do.  However, not one of those bitches did that.  I don’t want to be associated with people like that and if that is the level of support the church provides, then forget it.  It isn’t that I need everyone fawning all over me, but an acknowledgement would have been nice.

October 26, 2018

I’m getting chills realizing that I pulled the nightmare card on the day one of my worst nightmares came true.  My daughter was abducted and assaulted.  There was a period of an hour or so where we did not know where she was and I was terrified that she was dead.  Fortunately, we got to her and even though she is struggling, she is still alive and is still being the amazing fighter that she is.

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December 12, 2017

Nine of Air
Dark Goddess Tarot

Deck:  Dark Goddess Tarot


First Impressions:  This card strikes fear in my heart as it shows my nightmare of being continually picked at by birds.  When I am totally overwhelmed, it feels as if birds are picking me apart and that’s what this card makes me think of.  In reality, the birds are not attacking her, but rather accompanying her.  This card is very much a card of fear and nightmares.

Book:  If you would known, do not fear to see.  Banshee wails and chills hearts with her cries.  She brings the prophecy of doom with her wailing. With her cries she sees the world beyond.

Guidance:  Do not give fears a priority when making a decision.  Acknowledge the pain and fear you are facing, but do not let it overwhelm you.

Journaling:

What a perfect card to pull today.  Yesterday, I got an invite to a meeting with Darshan so I, of course, start freaking out and my mind started down the “I’m fired” path.  That makes no sense at all because I’ve been billable and we’re gaining traction on OCM, but that was the first place my mind went.  I’m learning to redirect and talk myself off the ledge, but it still takes work sometimes.

That is the part of the beating myself up mindset that I do.  I’m so mean to myself even when I’ve done nothing wrong, I beat myself up and tell myself how stupid I am.  I need to learn to Stop, Drop, and Roll with my emotions:

  • Stop what I’m doing and breathe
  • Drop the feelings that are causing me pain
  • Roll with the situation and see what comes of it
December 28, 2017
I love the Stop, Drop, and Roll and that’s something easy I can remember.  I’ve come so far over the past few years in emotional health, but I know I’m not there yet.  The first steps were about emotional control and learning not to wear my heart on my sleeve and not to react to every emotion I’ve felt.  Being a consultant has helped a lot with that as I know that I can’t react or I won’t have a job.  It’s one thing to have meltdowns with people who know you well, but quite another to have meltdowns in front of clients.  
However, I know a big part of the reason I have better emotional control now is that I’m no longer in an abusive relationship.  It was really hard to be emotionally stable when I came home and got yelled at for stupid stuff or when everything that went wrong was my fault.  I’m learning to be kind to myself and see that there were forces outside of myself that contributed to my lack of emotional control.
My current phase of emotional healing is about being kind to myself and acknowledging the fear, anger, etc., and recognizing those feelings as valid and talking to myself about why I feel that way and seeing if I can change my mindset to see things a different way.  It is all a process and the best thing is that I don’t have to have all the answers right now.
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April 24, 2016


Nine of Air
Gaian Tarot

Deck:  Gaian tarot


Journaling:

The nine of air is a card of deep sorrow and grieving.  As my physical strength has been stripped away, I find I have no energy for pretense or illusion.  There is a deep grief at the core of my being:  grief over my desire for happily ever after, grief over the fact that I am alone.

This card is about all that binds me to the past.  It is also about trusting that she will take care of me.  It is about letting go and being willing to sacrifice my dreams.  That’s hard for me as I’m scared of being alone and I feel my life isn’t valuable if I’m alone.  However, the flip side is that I am so afraid of being hurt that I don’t let people in.  Even though it is lonely, it is so much easier to hold people at arm’s length then to let them in.  I guess I just have to trust the goddess.

December 24, 2017

This card still resonates with me as I find myself clinging to the old ways of doing things and my old thought patterns.  She has appeared to me multiple times to tell me to let go and I have started to let go, but sometimes when I get scared or stressed, I start clinging to things that I shouldn’t cling to.


Tarot Blog Hop: Fables and Fortunes

We are living in incredibly weird times and one of the suggestions given by our fearless wrangler Jay Cassels for this hop was to “Challenge yourself: Do you know or can you tell us a story using only the major deck (add suits if you wish it) the only stipulation with this is it must begin with Once Upon a Time…”

Here is my tale of life on earth as we go through the darkness.

Once upon a time, a heirophant came to power, but unlike kind heirophants who wanted what was best for his people, this one believed he had dominion over his people and he required them to submit to his will. Anyone who disobeyed him or even disagreed with him was banished from the kingdom and scorned. Unfortunately, people who had lives to live, bills to pay, and other mortal concerns began to tune out his insanity and adjust to life under this narcissistic emperor with no clothes on.


While his power grew, the devil came and those with money and power chose to feed their addictions. They bought more, they spent more, they ate more. And it was not only the individuals who chose to feed their addictions, companies ate more and more oil and used more and more resources. Those with power fed their addictions on the backs of the poor. They thought that it had to be this way and they did not realize they had a choice.




Then the world fell apart as the carefully formed companies and safety nets were blown apart by a virus and people began tumbling out of the windows of the world. Unemployment grew, people grew sick, our economy crumbled and it seemed as if a lightening bolt had struck the world and it was blown apart. Death and destruction came upon the world as people fell sick and cowered beneath death’s feet.

The wise ones asked us to all stay within our homes, to conserve our resources, to go within ourselves, to be hermits. However, even as we pulled back our energies for the world, there were those who realized that even in this place of darkness we could all be beacons of light for one another. We could share music, we could share uplifting tales, and we could be there for others. And the world chose to lay down her swords and take a much needed rest.

The end of this story is not yet written and the fool stands upon the precipice waiting to leap. The question is will the fool lead the lessons of rebirth and revising our lifestyle that the tower provides to allow us to rise or will the fool choose the devil’s addiction?

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My Views on parental Leave

I’ve been a feminist most of my life as I’ve always believed that women should be able to do anything that men should do and that we should be paid the same. However, I’ve also always believed that women shouldn’t get special treatment and if we’re not prepared to do the exact same job that men do, then we shouldn’t get the same pay. When I was 22 and an auditor for the Air Force, I was supremely disappointed when I was sent on a road trip because a more senior auditor chose to stay home to nurse her six month old baby. In my mind, she wasn’t doing her job because she was choosing to ask for accommodations because she was female and in my mind that wasn’t right.

It’s been 30 years since that happened, but I still don’t think it was right to ask for accommodations because she was female and a mother. And I also have issues with parental leave because I don’t think it is fair that new parents get time off when people caring for sick kids, sick parents, or new dogs don’t get the same accommodation. it doesn’t seem fair that people who choose to have children get more time off than people who choose not to have children. In my mind, it would be much more fair to offer everyone a set amount of time to take off for a sabbatical.

Oh I can hear the parental whiners bitching that I don’t understand what they are going through and I must not have children if I don’t think they deserve special treatment. However, I’ve got news for you, I do have children and I went back to work three weeks after having a C-section because I didn’t want special treatment. I signed up to do a job and it was in my best interests to do the job. Yes having a baby is a special moment and a woman’s body needs time to recover, but having a baby is a woman’s choice and not her employer’s choice. She and her partner need to figure it out.

I know this sounds harsh, but it is also harsh to expect people without children to work extra time or sacrifice to cover for people who have children.

Wisdom that Changed Me: Recipes for a Sacred Life

Recipes For A Sacred Life: True Stories and a Few MiraclesRecipes For A Sacred Life: True Stories and a Few Miracles by Rivvy Neshama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recipes For A Sacred Life: True Stories and a Few Miracles is not just another book of feel good stories detailing how other people have overcome adversity. Instead, it is a book of stories that includes specific suggestions for how people can live a sacred life. The book came about after Neshama did an exercise in a book to find her highest purpose. She identified her highest purpose as living a sacred life and she soon realized through a series of synchronicities that she should write a book about how to live a sacred life. Once she set her intention, she began meeting the people who provided the stories for the book.

Throughout the book Neshama shares stories of her successes, her failures, her happiness, and her grief and she provides guidance on dealing with the good days and the bad. One of the practices in her book that really spoke to me was saying hello to the sun each morning. She doesn’t advocate a hard core practice of rising at god-awful o’clock each morning to see the sunrise, but recommends making a conscious effort to say hello to the sun when you first step outside or making an effort to step outside to greet the sun. I’ve started this practice over the last few weeks and it has helped me be more in touch with the world around me. Once I realized how good saying hello to the sun felt, I expanded the practice and I now say hello to the sun, the earth, the wind, and the water. Saying hello to the elements has helped me to realize that I am supported on this journey through life.

What I love most about this book is that each of the vignettes in the book are only a few pages so I can pick it up and read a few pages, then go on with my day. Or I can settle in for a longer read if that’s what I need. This will definitely be a book that sits on my nightstand to provide a pick me up.

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