Ever since the invention of the digital clock, people have started noticing repeating numbers. It's more obvious on a clock with numbers showing than when it happens on an analog clock - you know, the old-fashioned kind, with an hour hand and a minute hand - but it's just as significant... if you need more of that in your life.
Some people see the same pattern over and over - a friend of mine says she sees 4:44 a lot - but for the past year or so I have noticed every recurring combination many times, starting with 10:10 all the way to 5:55. Yesterday, for the first time, I noticed 1:11 twice - afternoon and early morning - and told my husband, who said he often wakes up and sees 9:11, and thinks it's sort of odd.
Sometimes days go by without this happening; other times, I'll see 11:12 or 4:45 and think, Wow, I just missed it, and feel rather badly about it for a few seconds. So, is there a special significance to seeing repeating numbers so often? Probably not, but if you search online, you'll find that people have actually assigned myriad meanings to this phenomenon. (Just now, I looked up and saw 12:11, and I stared at it until the clock showed me 12:12... sheesh! Get a life!)
This need to attach significant meaning to our place in the natural world dates back thousands of years, from believing angry gods cause volcanic eruptions to linking messiahs to comets in the night sky. Although we have a better understanding of these natural events today, simple things like seeing the repetition of numbers still seem to affect us, spook us, or inspire us to understand how such things can happen to us.
If you look up "repeating numbers" on Google, you'll find a dizzying array of answers - communication with angels; the Pythagorean modality of numerology; simple mathematics (recurring decimals and fractions); and even something called "repeating numbers roulette strategy" - all trying to explain what we might be tapping into when we see numbers repeat themselves. Take 2:22 - in numerology, 22 is what's called a Master Number - and according to one web site, 22 relates to our productive side (jobs and responsibilities), so pay attention and don't ignore opportunities coming your way. Okay... I guess.
Other sites tell us that our guardian angels or spirit guides are helping us through these recurring numbers, telling us they are protecting us or with us or... just saying, "Hi, there, we think you're special." One site pulls out all the stops and applies elements of divinity, astrology and tarot cards to give us an explanation. Now that's covering all the bases.
And that's not all... Apparently, there are other numbers that show up over and over, like 16 or our birth date or our address. Another friend of mine is constantly seeing the numbers 2 and 7 together, on restaurant receipts, serial numbers on $1 bills, and license plates. I've been with her when this happens, when the numbers show up on her ticket but not mine, or she'll point to a license plate on the car ahead of us. Well, now, that's odd - but how many times does it happen to me and I'm just not noticing those numbers?
Now, I notice MY numbers (7 is one of them, and all numbers that add up to equal 7, such as 1 and 6, 2 and 5, 3 and 4)... it makes me crazy, but it also makes me feel... a little bit special, whether I want to feel that way or not. That's not a bad thing, now, is it?
But I did find one blog that I totally resonated with. This guy says that it isn't really important WHAT numbers we notice, but it's actually more important that we notice them at all, and with such regularity. One sentence he wrote sums it up (well, he makes several good points, and he gives lots of examples of his own experiences and explanations regarding this strange occurrence):
To truly know and understand what repeating number sequences are specifically trying to say to you is only something you can discover for yourself. The fact that you are noticing them is a symbol of your awareness and connection to the Universe.
He also says this:
I’ve come to understand that the Universe communicates with us in the ways we are open to receiving information. Repeating sequences don’t just happen with numbers. They can come in the form of an animal, a word, a color, a flower and so on. When the same thing continually pops up in your awareness, the meaning of it is bigger than any other person’s theory or interpretation of what a specific animal, number or flower means. Their theories and beliefs are unique to their perception and experiences.
So the next time you see repeating numbers, or a golden dragonfly on the anniversary of your friend's death, or a shooting star on your birthday, just remember: Everything you experience during your lifetime is relative to your own truth, and living your truth will set you free.
To read the entire awesome Galactic Spacebook blog referenced above, here's the link:
http://galacticspacebook.com/profiles/blogs/what-are-repeating-number-sequences-trying-to-communicate-to-you
Wishing you happiness today and every day.
As I stumble around trying to figure out the world of online selling, I find that I have a problem with money. Not spending it - that's the easy part - but how much to charge for the things I make. I've always been uncomfortable with money and have been unsuccessful both at making any significant income or saving money for the proverbial rainy day and with recognizing my own worth. Friends have been kind enough to point this out to me recently, and even though I've been aware of this for years, it has now come around to bite me in the ass. The trick is, what to do about it.
It goes back to my younger days, listening to my parents argue about money. My father had the potential to make decent money (he was a commercial artist and sign painter) but often ended up not making enough to support a family, so my mother (who was a teacher in the public school system) often paid for the important things, like the mortgage and utility bills. This put a lot of stress on their marriage, which finally ended in divorce after 25 years.
I should have learned about money from my mother, but unfortunately both my brother and I seem to have inherited my father's disdain for dineros. My stepfather was pretty savvy about simoleons, but I was already out on my own by then, and didn't learn much from him, either. So now, I am faced with this dilemma about making decent dough, because I don't really want to go back to working in retail (I'm not very good at it, plus I loathe being expected to cheerfully convince someone to part with their hard-earned cash) and I'd rather try and be my own boss for a change.
I've taken an online class and watched a few videos about what it takes to become an entrepreneur, and I've heard some pretty interesting things, like "Make your customer richer with every purchase" and "Ease the customer's pain" - and I get it, I think it's valid, and I can probably do that in a variety of ways. But it's time management and the pricing of goods that I still don't get - in fact, I totally suck at it.
I can write. I can make stuff. I can help people release stress by applying a type of energy healing called Reiki. I'm interested in so many things, like chromotherapy (using colored light to help with various dis-eases) and photography and, well, everything.
So I have a huge learning curve ahead of me... I just hope I'm not too set in my ways or too old to learn a few new tricks.
Just got back from vacation - will post some photos in my next post. Observation: Florida is sunny and warm, New England is sunny but NOT. Lots of catching up to do, and I started with my Etsy shop.
Today I put up two new listings (six items) and here they are! Handcrafted Easter post cards - click on the Etsy badge (upper right) to visit my shop, Seven Sisters Art Ink.
I love using vintage images for these one-of-a-kind special occasion cards... Mothers' Day cards are next! Plus I have a mermaid jointed paper doll I have to finish and put out there... but first, I have to do some writing (such an easy thing to put off when I can play with paper and glue or beads and wire!) If you are getting nice weather, get out there and enjoy it (I have to wait until after the upcoming snow storm...) Happy Spring!
I opened an Etsy shop recently. It certainly is taking up a fair amount of my time (but, I hope and think, in a good way...) and I am just pleased that I finally did what I said I'd do, after years of procrastination.
I've sold several items - thank you, supportive friends - and I'm promoting Seven Sisters Art Ink here and on my Facebook page.
I'm working on some new ideas for potential products, and adding new items every few days or so... like these paper bead earrings with semi-precious stone dangles (pink with amethyst, green with green aventurine and blue/gold with tiger's eye)...
... and lovely embellished post cards for St. Patrick's Day.
In March, I'll offer some sparkly embellished Easter post cards...
... and other handcrafted items. I can also take orders from my web site (see link on the upper right of this page). Click on the square Etsy badge to see these and all the other listings.
Livin' the dream... Etsy-style.
“I do not ask you much, I beg cold comfort; and you are so strait / And so
ingrateful, you deny me that.” King John (William Shakespeare)
Ah, February! It's that month that looks so short and sweet on the calendar, with Saint Valentine's Day right in the center of it, but it tends to drag on and on, bringing very little comfort (cold comfort, indeed) as we stubbornly wait for Spring to arrive in March. And then, sometimes, even March disappoints us, with its relentless wind and cold rain and whatever else it has to hurl at us.
"February is a suitable month for dying. Everything around is dead, the trees black and frozen so that the appearance of green shoots two months hence seems preposterous, the ground hard and cold, the snow dirty, the winter hateful, hanging on too long."
Anna Quindlen, One True Thing
(source: www.gardendigest.com)
My friend Maddie passed away last year - in February - and we had to wait until April for the memorial service. She had hoped to be around until Spring, but she left a little early. Since this year has been so slow and cold and snowy, it made the one-year anniversary of her death that much sadder.
Being unemployed - losing what I now realize was merely a seasonal job for the holidays and not being sure if the other seasonal job will materialize in June - has also been a sobering reality.
One good thing, though, has come out of all this uncertainty... I did finally open my "shop" on Etsy - Seven Sisters Art Ink. It's already proving to be an adventure, but it's February... and it's slow going. Over the next few months, I hope to learn how to promote my wares, how to come up with products that people want and need, and how to feel good about being a "solopreneur" as I get used to the idea of what it means to be self-employed.
Being a writer is also coming into play. I entered the writing contest, and I might enter a photography contest as well. I am working on my "value proposition" product line (something in book form) as I continue to focus on my Creative Purpose... but it's February, right? The sweet little month that lasts forever.
To visit my new Etsy shop, click the link below. As always, you can connect to my web site on the top upper right of this page.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SevenSistersArtInk?ref=hdr_shop_menu
"My idea of a writer: Someone interested in everything." ~ Susan Sontag, writer, teacher, filmmaker and political activist
Judging by that definition, I should qualify as a writer. Myriad topics occupy my thoughts, my musings, my dreams. However, that's only half of the equation. A writer also has to write. Sending emails or posting comments on Facebook certainly involves the action of writing, but it doesn't always solve anything or change anything. It's a response, a reply, a solicitation or an affirmation. So what does one have to do to really be a writer? Oh, right... just write.
Recently I was asked to decide what it was I thought I wanted to do, or was best suited to do, or was really ready to do. Out of all of my aspirations and inclinations, I decided that I should try to be a writer. A real writer. Now, technically, I'm already a writer, albeit one who hasn't been doing much writing. I've already made a living writing for magazines and newspapers, and I even had to write a one-person show for my Master's thesis (Yeah, I have two degrees - never mind that I've never actually invoked either one of them to get a well-paying job).
I've also written for myself: journals, greeting cards and this blog. So, there it is: I've been published and some of my best friends are well-known or up-and-coming writers. So why has it taken me so long to own up to being a writer? Do you want the short list?
Fear.
Laziness.
Inability to stay focused long enough to finish a project.
And, oh yeah, being interested in "everything." That leads to lack of focus, which leads to laziness... and then fear isn't far behind.
So I recently decided to take action to see if I could make something happen. This is what I've done so far:
1. Writing something every day (sometimes it's just a few words on a scrap of paper that I put in my gratitude jar).
2. Preparing to enter a writing competition (in the Picture Book category for a children's literature writing contest). I will send it in next week, before the deadline.
3. Joining a writers' group (I did some online research and found a local chapter of SCBWI - the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators).
4. Creating a writers' group (I just created a private group on Facebook inviting a small group of my friends whom I respect and admire, most of whom are writers).
5. Organizing my work/art space and get rid of some of my mountains of clutter (that's slow and tedious, but I'm working on it).
6. Coming up with a plan of action to jump-start a small business (the one I'm working on now would incorporate my writing and mixed-media crafting skills) which means I will have to sit down and come up with a business plan and value proposition, define my target market and then figure out how to make it work.
Scary stuff, to be sure, but it also feels good to be doing something proactive for myself.
"Whatever will be, will be... The future's not ours to see, Que sera, sera."
I don't begrudge the squirrel his feasting
He's hungry, too, the poor wee beastie
The feeder's filled, there's seeds a-plenty
The birds can share, all four-and-twenty
I only wish they could be neater
(Not easy with a flimsy feeder)
So help yourselves, you hungry beasts
The feeder's filled for future feasts
