My dear friends, we love you so very much,

When you walk past a rose bush, do you admire the rose or complain about the thorns? Typically you'd only notice the thorns if you ran right into them. Most of you would simply be drawn to the beauty of the rose. If you were a gardener pruning the branches, you'd be aware of the thorns, but you wouldn't curse them for being there. You would instead, cut away the dead wood, trim off the expired flowers, and simply be careful not to catch yourself on a thorn. The beauty of the blossoms would make this extra effort worth your time and energy.

If however, you were pruning weeds in your yard, you might not feel so inclined to dance around a thorny plant. You might instead pull the weed out of your garden and toss it in the compost pile. In the case of the weed that has a purpose in nature, but not so much in your garden, you'd give it a new purpose as fertilizer for the plants you prefer.

So too, people are going to offer you behaviors that – filtered through your conditioning and perspectives – feel like thorns, branches, blossoms, or weeds. Some words and behaviors feel prickly and hurt when you find them jabbing at you because there is something needing attention in you. Some words and behaviors feel supportive, like sturdy branches, because they validate or encourage you. Some words and behaviors are like the dead wood that has no more usefulness in your life and some are like the blossoms that inspire and uplift you. Still others, like the weeds that have their place in the world, may have no place in the garden of your life except to catalyze your growth.

When someone offers you thorns, you have many choices that can help you feel better than the choice to obsess over the experience of being "pricked by the thorn."

You can look for the blossom. Perhaps these souls are just trying to love themselves. Perhaps they have better qualities that you can admire and focus upon. Perhaps they were just having a bad day. Perhaps you can imagine who they could blossom into. In any case, focusing on the bloom will make you feel oh-so-much better than focusing on the thorns. In fact, some thorny people have so much beauty in them that you choose to dance around the thorns because you feel so inspired by their blossoms. Many of you are in challenging relationships with people you dearly love and would never want to leave, because you chose to learn the power of focusing on the beauty in them and in you, rather than being tugged into focusing on their thorns.

Others have so many thorns and so little bloom that you don't feel inclined to wait around for the blossom. You can decide simply to leave them to their own growth. Some souls, like the weeds in your garden, don't have a place in your life at all except to feed the fuel of your future growth. In any case, all have value to you because they are helping you learn more about who you are and what you want in your life.

You are not only allowed but encouraged by the heavens to be honest about who and/or what behaviors you include in your vibrational mix. You can't always leave a situation or a person but you can remove your focus from that which is unwanted and focus more on that which you desire to see.

You already know that it isn't your job to make anyone else change so you can feel more comfortable. It is only your task, like the rose, to grow your own blossoms, and like the gardener to decide what belongs in your life.

Would you criticize any part of a rose bush? If not, why criticize another human being, or yourself for that matter? If you were pricked by a rose you wouldn't go around campaigning and complaining – "Can you imagine that bush! It pricked me! How dare it! It has no right! What a $#!$. I'm going to tell it just how I feel!" You wouldn't cry and say to yourself, "What did I do to deserve that?" You wouldn't waste more than a few seconds reacting. You'd more likely say, "Oooh, Ow," and pull your finger away. You'd focus on the rose, trim the thorns, or walk away."

Next time someone offers you a thorn – a criticism, judgment, unkindness, etc – say to yourself, "Ooh! Ow!" and pull your focus away. Try instead to put your focus on all the beauty that blossoms inside of them, or shift your focus on something else entirely more pleasing. Don't waste your time in the analysis of why they acted the way they did. As Jesus said, "Turn the other cheek." Turn your focus away from thorny behaviors and towards the good in them or in some other aspect of your life. You are in charge of what you tune into, no matter what life offers. And, as we've said many times, you will always get more of what you tune into, so choose your tuning wisely.

Right now upon your earth, there are a lot of thorny people with a lot of thorny behaviors. Before judging or labeling them bad and wrong, think about them as little rose bushes. They're attempting to grow. They're attempting to protect themselves. They're attempting to find and express their own truth. Perhaps they're afraid. Perhaps they're upset and feel like nobody listens. Perhaps they feel abandoned and don't realize they're abandoning their own loving nature by offering their thorns to you and life around them. Perhaps these are just boundaries that don't yet feel comfortable to them. Perhaps you're the thorny one?

Everyone on your earth is growing – hopefully past the thorns, towards the light, and into the blossom. Everyone is growing into the fullest, most beautiful expression of themselves, whether fast or slow and whether you can see that blossom yet or not.

So like the gardener who navigates the thorns, trims away the dead wood, composts the weeds, and nurtures the blossoming of his or plants, realize you get to decide what grows in the garden of your life, and you get to decide if you are willing to focus more upon the roses or the thorns that life offers.Your freedom and your happiness reside in knowing you alone have this choice.

God Bless You! We love you so very much.
-- The Angels

Message from Ann...

Hi Everyone,

I spent hours this weekend, literally, in my lemon tree. I had already picked the low-hanging fruit and it was now necessary to get on the 8' ladder and/or climb into the tree to reach the higher clusters. I probably picked another 200-300 little yellow bundles of joy which makes this year's count way above 1000! Lulu, my lemon tree, is a generous soul. I named her, talk to her, thank her, and read her the emails from friends and family that enjoy her fruit... and as a result of all that love, this girl gives back. Last year my new neighbors admired her and this year she sent huge branches cascading over the fence into their yard. I had a lovely time in the tree, enjoying the fresh air, rustling sound of the leaves, the periodic chirps of one of my hummingbirds flying in my face, and the glorious, luscious, citrusy perfume.

If you've done it, you already know that picking lemons takes some care and caution. You see, lemon trees have serious thorns - great big, razor-sharp thorns. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Christ's crown of thorns was made from their branches! The first year I picked them I didn't take precautions and I ended up looking like I'd lost a catfight because there were so many scratches on my arms. Now I wear a thick winter jacket from the thrift store, leather rose gloves that go up to my elbows, sturdy shoes, and thick pants. It's not pretty but it saves me from harm. This year I really needed the gear. We had a bumper crop. So far, I've shared over twenty boxes, 10 bags, juiced 4 gallons, and am soon to make lemonade and lemon curd. The harvest was definitely worth braving the thorns.

There are a lot of thorny plants in my yard and in the Arizona deserts. I have 13 rose bushes that have seriously sharp thorns but the beauty they offer is worth the extra care it takes to trim. The climbing vine on the back fence has thorns. On desert hikes, you have to watch out for cat's claw, cacti, and various other thorny plants and stingy critters. I've been stabbed many times but never once spent more than a quick moment exclaiming in surprise.

Yet, like many of us, if a human being offers me a thorn – a passive-aggressive jab, a criticism aimed below the belt, or some such behavior, I had to learn to simply exclaim in surprise and let it go just as quickly. We're trained to obsess over bad behaviors – whether they're our own or that of others. The more I see this from the angel's eyes, the less sense it makes to focus on the thorns at all. It would be like saying, "OMG! Can you believe that lemon tree jabbed me! I was just going to try to admire what was beautiful and without any provocation, at all, she took a shot at me. Unbelievable!" "And that rose bush... really! It just couldn't stop poking at me, could it?" That sounds both humorous and absurd, but the minute a human being offers a thorn we can easily fall into such judgments.

The past few years have taught me to give the thorns offered by people about as much consideration as the thorns on a desert plant. It took time and practice, but I got there. Sometimes people do prick and jab at us, but the angels remind me, that like those plants, these souls are just trying to protect and defend something more tender on the inside. They're afraid, insecure, or just plain petulant when they don't get their way.

So many of my clients have come to the angels for help after being pricked and jabbed by others for their political or medical beliefs. I just talked to one very dear woman today who was sadly crucified by many in her previous social circles for not getting the shot. She is a healthy soul, manages her well-being, and did her homework. She talked to her doctors about her unique physique and has maintained her health very well. Yet she has been pricked and jabbed – not by the vaccine – but by more thorny words than she'd care to count. Just as common, I've talked to people who were guided to get the shot who have been pricked and jabbed by so-called spiritual friends who felt they were crazy.

I can venture a guess that most of you have run across the thorns too. I'm pretty sure we've all been thorny at some point in our lives. So what to do? Truly it is all about deciding where we place our focus. The old paradigm was that you could "pick up" someone's negative energy. The newer 5D understanding is that someone's energy is so compelling you "tune into it... or not."

So when someone offers you thorns, you get to choose. Do we tune into the thorny behavior more than a quick, "Ooh, ow, and pull away," or do we focus as soon as possible on something better – perhaps what is blooming in the thorny soul, or what is blooming elsewhere in your life. Only we get to choose, and if you can remove your focus from the thorns and point it towards what is beautiful and blossoming in life around you, you'll stay in a high, happy, and loving vibe no matter what others are doing.

Here are a few tips to help you de-focus from the thorns of life and focus on the blossoms...

1. Practice looking for the blossoms

Way before someone offers thorny behavior, you can cultivate a habit of looking for the good in life. You can challenge yourself to look for the good in people all around you. See if you can see all the kindnesses being offered in the grocery store. Read articles about people doing good in the world. Try to compliment everyone you know on something you admire.

You can also create a habit of looking for beauty around you where ever you go – at the stoplights, in the stores, anywhere. Focus on it where you find it. Appreciate it. Admire it. I was once in an ugly hotel gym and challenged myself to find beauty. Finally, a gorgeous streak of blue in an otherwise drab print on the wall stood out. I appreciated that color, admired it, and soon I was transported to the feeling of ocean, expansive sky, lapis, turquoise, and angel blue... As the saying goes, "seek and ye shall find."

The more you look for the good, the easier it is to find even under more challenging circumstances.

I was recently told a great story by a woman who looks for the blossoms in special needs kids no matter how they behave. She's an associate and checkout clerk at a local store. She's humble, unassuming and you'd never guess there's so much blossoming inside of her... unless you felt her energy. We talk every time I drop by. I ask about her life and she asks about mine. Last week, she pulled me aside to share a beautiful story. A man came into the store with his grown special-needs son. She treated him just like any other normal human being. The father was so grateful he came back to the store later, thanked her for treating his son with dignity, and gave her a gift card... and $200 in cash. She was overwhelmed. Her willingness to see the blossoming beauty in a soul others might find thorny was a huge blessing to this man who loved his child so dearly, and in return, her simple kindness was reflected right back to her. Needless to say, we both got teary-eyed.

We don't look for the blossoms for any reward other than seeing the beauty in others and life, but sometimes life reflects even more back to us.

2. Don't curse the thorns

Everyone is growing and expanding. People have reasons for their thorny behaviors. If we're honest, we can all think of times we've been thorny too. Maybe we didn't get our way. Maybe we were hurt. Maybe we were setting an awkward boundary. If you can avoid beating yourself up for the times you've been thorny you can cut others some slack too.

This doesn't mean you have to stick around for more painful behavior or even focus upon it. It just simply means that you don't have to get into an EPM state as I call it - "Ego pissing match," pardon the phrase! If someone aims a thorn at you, don't respond. It has everything to do with them and their state of being and nothing at all to do with you. Either consciously or unconsciously everyone is responsible for their own feelings and their own reactions to life.

Keep reminding yourself, that what others say speaks volumes about their inner state and has nothing to do with yours. Don't waste your time cursing or focusing on the thorns. Instead, look for the good in life and you'll be managing your own energy in a happier way.

3. Challenge yourself to look beyond the thorns...

This is advanced, not easy, but worth the effort when you can achieve it. If someone has been unkind, criticized, poked, jabbed, or aimed their pain at you, and you have been practicing the things above, you may be able to say a quick prayer, "God let me see them through your eyes," and if you are willing to not take it personally and not take in their poison, you may be granted the best gift of all – a compassionate glance into the reason for their thorns. Don't expect yourself to be here all the time, but do strive for it when you can.

I once spoke at a conference right after Immaculée Ilibagiza – author of "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust." She was one of the purest souls I have ever met. She radiated light. The book is a harrowing and horrific account of her survival hiding away, with several other women, in a tiny bathroom while people were being murdered outside the walls – including her own family. She tells of her escape and return where she was given an opportunity to beat or spit on her family's murderer. Instead, she forgave him. God showed her that He had a bigger plan for her life while she was praying for her life on the floor hidden away in that tiny bathroom. Years later, seeing through God's eyes, she saw only compassion for a soul so lost in darkness he would kill former friends and neighbors. I was brought to my knees by her story and her presence. She saw the blossoms amidst some of the most hideous thorns humanity could offer. She saw through God's eyes. If she can find compassion after unthinkable horrors, we can certainly strive for compassion when others have a difference of opinion over a shot or a political ideology. It is something to strive for.

God's perspective always feels good. Love feels good. Compassion feels good. We look past the thorns, through God's eyes, for the sake of our own soul first, and therefore emit a positive ripple into the human collective consciousness.

So while many are offering their thorns these days, try not to take them personally. Try to realize that everyone is doing their best to grow in these trying times that are offering profound opportunity for us all to dig deep inside of ourselves, find the love, look for the roses growing amidst the thorns of life. We are all working to realize that we choose what to focus on, and therefore what we will draw more of into our lives.

You are beautiful. You are powerful light. You are a blossoming being! So is everyone else :)

Have a blessed week,
Ann

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