Issue #68 The Magic Heron Newsletter – What creature symbolizes honor, respect, and gratitude?

Welcome to the 68th issue of The Magic Heron Newsletter, a fortnightly newsletter with a focus on journaling, writing, and learning nature’s wisdom through midlife. 

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Texas, September 24, 2023

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Hi there !

Gratitude journaling. Love it? Or don’t love it?

Gratitude journaling became popular a few years ago and there are a lot of people who love it. It helps them focus their thoughts past the negativity they experience in their lives and feel uplifted.

For others, it feels fake, trying to “be happy” when they aren’t. And being around someone else who seems “fake” happy and shiny all the time begins to feel like toxic positivity. And there seems to be a lot of pressure to be grateful for everything.

It’s important to “feel” your feelings, know what you are feeling, and address those issues. You can do that and feel gratitude (or not) at the same time without feeling fake.

Journaling helps you deal with the feelings that arise during life’s challenges. Or, just figuring out how you actually feel when you don’t know. You can follow up with something you are grateful for after you journal through those feelings if you decide to.

So, wherever your journaling journey takes you, follow your own intuition and know what and how YOU feel. Don’t jump on just any bandwagon because it is the latest trend. Do what is write (see what I did there?) for you.

If you do love gratitude journaling, check out my comments later in the newsletter about the challenge my best friend and I did together of writing a gratitude to each other every day for 30 days.

And if you don’t… check out the journaling articles below. There are some super cute and fun ideas for your journal.

This week Lion has shown up as the Spirit Animal for the newsletter. Check it out below and see if any of Lion’s teachings resonate with you.

This week’s Newsletter Spirit Animal

Lion Symbolism and Meanings:

Lion teaches us how to walk with honor and integrity. Lion symbolizes power, courage and skill in hunting. If you need to reclaim your own power, Lion can help you take back leadership in your own life.

Look to Lioness to teach you how to nurture and protect the weak. It is the Lioness who actually does all of the hunting and the care of her pride / family. She can help you develop cunning and strength and to have the “heart of a lion” when you need it. Learn her ability to stay silent and motionless with your own time of stillness when going within and meditating.

Lion Symbolism and Meanings:

• Respect
• Honor
• Gratitude
• Liminal
• Confidence
• Power
• Cunning
• Leader
• Stillness
• Silence
• Family
• Protect
• Nurture

Walking with Lion means you are ready to take on new challenges, but not seeking trouble. Working with Lion energy, you do what is right and noble, without ego. The three main qualities that sum up Lion symbolism are honor, respect, and gratitude.

Check out Episode 2 Lion on the new Predators film on Netflix:

Predators | Official Trailer | Netflix

Recently Published . . .

New in the Etsy Shop

1. SPIRIT ANIMAL Garden Spider, Animal Guide Totem Meanings, Spirit Companion, Spirit Companionship, Printable Journal Prompts and Cards

2. SPIRIT ANIMAL Horse, Animal Guide Totem Meanings, Spirit Companion, Spirit Companionship, Printable Journal Prompts and Cards

New Books!

My daughter and I created a whole line of Writer’s Notebooks. Use them for NaNoWriMo, notetaking, for work, or journaling! You can find the notebooks on the Magic Heron Amazon Author Page

1. Salmon Patties, Cakes and Burgers: 25 Best Fish Patty Recipes

2. 2-Ingredient Cookbook: . . . for Busy People

Interesting links . . .

Here are some interesting links I came across on my ventures through Internet Land this week that I thought you might enjoy.

1. The Many Uses For Wild, Edible Cattails

2. Elderberry Mulled Cider Recipe for Immune Support

3. ALL-NATURAL PEST CONTROL TREATMENTS

4. DIY Cinnamon Pine Cones! {How to Make Your Own}

5. Science of Fall Colors

***I use Mountain Rose Herbs for ordering all the herbs I use. Every order I’ve received has always been fresh and gorgeous. Click here to order the herbs you need for your teas, infusions, spices, and other ingredients for your kitchen:

Mountain Rose Herbs

Autumn Recipe . . .

Celebrate Autumn with seasonal recipes! Learn how to make apple butter!

Apple Butter Recipe

Autumn Fun  . . .

Autumn Nature Bucket List! Go apple picking!

Apple picking: How to choose the ideal apples for your needs

Journaling Inspiration . . .

1. Junk Journal Tip-Ins: A Complete Guide for Beginners

2. When You Travel— Take Your Journal

3. The Best Junk Journal You Can Start Today | Commonplace Junk Journal

4. 5 Ways Journaling Can Help You Get Through the Hard Stuff

5. Why Keeping a Commonplace Book Will Change Your Life

Random Nature Fact . . .

The animal with the shortest life span is the Mayfly. As nymphs they life for months or even years, but after emerging as adults their lifespan is only 24 hours.

Nature Journal Video . . .

1. Welcome to the mane event! How do we draw the King of Beasts? What about the Queen? Let’s take a close look at lion structure, anatomy, and patterns.

Africa Series: Lions!

Nature Journal Prompt . . .

Use the picture above to practice drawing in your nature journal and noticing details about this animal.

Lion facts:

Lifespan: 15 years in the wild

Scientific name: Panthera leo

Weight: Female: 270-400 lbs. Male: 330-570 lbs

Height: Female: 3.6 ft, Male: 3.9 ft (at shoulder)

Speed: 46 mph

Habitat: open grasslands, woodlands, thick bush, thick scrub

What it eats: antelope, elephants, rhinos, rodents, reptiles, insects, crocodiles, livestock etc. They will steal prey from leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and wild dogs

What eats (or preys on) it: lions have few predators other than humans. Cubs fall prey to adult male lions, hyenas, leopards crocodiles

Did you know?

Not all male lions have a mane. The two famous Tsavo Man-Eater lions in the Tsavo region had no manes. They killed over 135 people in 1898, stopping the railroad work. The Ghost and the Darkness film was based on that event.

The Ghost and the Darkness 1996 Trailer | Michael Douglas | Val Kilmer

More fun facts:
Find out here what made the lions become man-eaters:

The Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo

What I’m watching . . .

1. We thoroughly enjoyed this film on Netflix about predators. The camera shots were amazing!

Predators | Official Trailer | Netflix

What I’m reading . . .

Since I did a quick read-through of Sheila Bender’s book last year, I’m re-reading it now and following along with the exercises.

I love how she writes her imagery and trying my own.

“Describe what this object—say a desk—looks like without relying on adjectives. Instead of saying “the rectangular desk,” say, “The desk is made of pine, with ten boards about six feet in length joined side by side to make the width of a canoe’s belly.”

Now that the word “canoe” has come up, it is easy to leap to an association like “and lucky days, writing at this desk, I feel myself paddle without a ripple among lily pads and marsh grasses, capturing the tadpoles and minnows of my thoughts even as they dive under the water or hide behind the tall grasses under the wide leaves.”

Look for images to “leap” from your words. Then take the leap.

From page 19:

“Keeping a Journal You Love” by Sheila Bender

Quotes I’m pondering . . .

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”

~~ Lauren DeStefano

and

Let’s pumpkin spice things up a bit.”

~~ Unknown

Questions I’m considering journaling on . . .

My best friend and I have completed our 30-Day Gratitude Challenge that we mail to each other.

I had fun with this challenge and even pulled a few pranks on her in the cards. Fun ways to write in a card are:

• Write in a zig zag (kind of looks like a lost ant on a trail!) all over the card.
• Write in a circle or spiral, starting in the center.
• Start at the edge and write across the edges of the card until you end up in the center.

So, if you really want to annoy your bestie, try these fun ways of writing. I’ve even written entire letters this way!

Question to ponder…. How else can I be annoying to her through the mail???

Journal Prompt . . .

The season of pumpkin spice everything is upon us!

Do you love or hate pumpkin spice? Does it represent Autumn to you or … meh?

Journal about your love (hate) affair with pumpkin spice and your favorite recipes using the spice.

Reviews . . .

If you have bought any of our books or printables and enjoyed them, please leave a positive review on Amazon, Etsy, or Zazzle. Those reviews mean the world to us and help boost us up on the platforms. Thank You!!

Happy Journaling!

. . . Shanna

P.S. Is there something you like or would rather see in the newsletter? Hit reply and let me know!

I’ll be back on October 8th !

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