simpleandgrounded

In our small but mighty family,as our daughter calls us, and among a circle of spirit sister friends, the month of January brings the annual selection of Angel Card. We draw from a box of some 72 tiny cards, each card bearing a tiny angel graphic and one key word—an invitation to focus on a particular aspect of one’s inner life during the coming year. I confess to some anxiety about this annual drawing, as well as some heart-pounding anticipation. What do my spirit guides think I most need to work on? Where are the edges most rough right now? Will I even know how to work with this part of myself in ways that help me grow, or enable me to be of greater service to others?

Over the past fifteen years or so, since I’ve collected these cards, I’ve learned that if a word makes no sense to me in January, its meaning will deepen and come very, very clear as the year unfolds. And some years, the word will resonate right away, as if mirroring back to me something I already know needs my attention.

Friendship • Grace • Purpose • Flexibility • Gratitude •Clarity • Resilience • Courage • Awakening

This choosing of a card is a small act with big ripple effects. Like a mantra humming in the background, these words linger and pulse and breathe with each of us all year long—at times in a whisper, at other times more like a jackhammer. With this one word beacon of light on my radar screen, I am almost always looking for ways to activate or express the concept more fully.

The word for 2015 is Courage. While it scares me to wonder what circumstances will require untapped resources of inner courage this year, I also hear this as an invitation to be more courageous in all aspects of life—in my writing, in speaking about difficult subjects, in personal relationships, in physical undertakings, in new adventures, in crossing spiritual frontiers.

At the least, these Angel Cards encourage us to be more mindful, to stop, look, and listen for messages from the unseen. For any and every such reminder, I am eternally grateful.