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I truly believe that time has sped up. It's hard to believe that we are more than halfway through April. The signs of spring are everywhere 🌻 - including the fact that a bird flew into our house last night! Has this ever happened to you? This little birdie was sleeping peacefully inside the wreath on our front door. My husband opened the door to take out the trash, the bird panicked, and flew into the house 😱.

Naturally utter pandemonium ensued - Lol! Our one healthy cat went bonkers! And even the cat who is sick (and apparently has 9 lives, thank goodness) really wanted to get that bird! We humans were running around screaming things like, "Get the cats! Get the bird! What do we do?!" along with other assorted freaked out expressions.

Fortunately, I remembered what to do when this happened to us in Santa Fe, so I'll share it with you in case you ever find yourself in such a situation.

After confining the disappointed cats, we followed the bird until it flew into a small bedroom, then shut the door. We opened the window wide and took off the screen. Next we turned on all of the outdoor porch lights, and turned off every light in the bird's bedroom. Naturally the bird flew towards the light, and in seconds it was out the window and gone.

I love this method because the bird does not have to be captured and it doesn't get hurt. It works like a charm! This is probably the third time we've tried this, and so far success every time. As far as daytime birdie break-ins, I don't know about that...🤔

Now let's talk about 2025...

I think this is a year of transition. It's an exceedingly important year because I think it's a bridge between our old world that is no more and a new, uncharted world ahead. And this is why we see so much chaos.

The biggest mistake we can make is to continue living under a false impression that nothing has really changed, and that life can go on as usual. But the pillars that held up our civilization for centuries are now in a state of collapse. We are going to start seeing the results of that more and more.

So this is a call for extra-conscious living. And most importantly, that starts with creating your own sense of stability in your life. You need to feel that you can count on yourself most of all. That will give you a sense of control, and even bring a general feeling of calm to your nervous system.

I want to share with you the single best way to develop trust in yourself as we go forward into these uncharted waters of the future. This is something I learned years ago when first reading Steven Covey's famous book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People."

This simple, yet powerful tip is to make and keep promises to yourself. Every day choose one promise that you can make to yourself, and then resolve to keep that promise. At the end of the day, be sure to congratulate yourself for keeping that promise, however small or large it might be.

When we resolve to do certain things or make positive changes, and then don't follow through and actually do it, it erodes our sense of self esteem. We believe in ourselves less and less with every passing day.

If you repeat that day after day, you will eventually be afraid to make changes in your life because you will no longer believe you can do it. In that case, the idea of believing in yourself will create fear and anxiety. You will withdraw from your own intentions, and instead find yourself mired in unconsciousness and a litany of distractions.

Now this pattern of not following through with ourselves can't be changed overnight. It is better viewed as a process of evolving. So start with one small promise to yourself. Make sure it's doable. It can be in the form of a physical action, or it can be in the form of a certain way of being. You get to choose what you believe will work for you.

This works in the same way as going to the gym and building up muscle. You don't achieve that with one, single workout. You start small, and build up your strength over time with consistency.

In this case, we're talking about self-trust, which is one of the most necessary pillars of empowerment. We're talking about inner strength and the ability to intend and create what you want.

So I encourage you to try this simple tip for a week or two and then see how you like it. I know you will love the feeling! Then reply to one of my Friday emails and let me know how this goes for you if you try it 😊.

Let's make sure that 2025 matters to us, and use our time wisely this year. Our human evolution is something that should never stop, no matter what is happening in the world.

Have a beautiful weekend, and I'll talk to you next time!

Much love,

Saratoga 🩵