Barbara Leigh

Collage of turkey vulture images. Top image is a turkey vulture sitting on a ledge with wings spread wide, many spots missing feathers, face reflected in the window. Middle row is two geese sitting on the same ledge, and then a turkey vulture face closeup. Bottom row is a closeup of turkey vulture feet/claws, and then a turkey vulture walking along the ledge, foot lifted in mid-step.

A turkey vulture wouldn’t change to make us like them more; they are who they are. Know that being who you are is enough.
#helpfulmess

Winter scene with light dusting of snow on the ground, trees in the foreground, fields and roads in the distance, sun shining in a bright blue sky with fluffy clouds.

When you think of incorrect judgements as learning a new skill, you stop judging yourself. Allow yourself to learn and grow, and let go of being right.
#helpfulmess #TryNewThings

Black photo with glowing embers of a fire with branches at various stages of burning and small flames throughout

Flares are pretty from a distance, but they take a lot of energy to maintain and tend to burn the people closest to the fire. It’s okay to be the slow burn.
#helpfulmess

Full moon shining through a bare winter birch tree, with its reflection shining on the pine tree next to the birch.

When you start to worry about only being a reflection, remember the magic of the moon. Your light is unique to you. You have your own presence and magnetism, and that is enough.
#helpfulmess #BeYourself #FullMoon #YouAreEnough

Open electric drill box on the floor, no drill but battery charger, battery and screws in the box, brown and black Maine coon cat sitting in the lid side, looking up with big eyes.

You don’t have to help everyone all the time to be worthy.
#helpfulmess #catHelp #YouAreWorthy #boundaries #KnowYourself

Four eagles in flight at various stages of soaring or flapping wings. Cloudy sky in the background, dark tree line at the bottom.

Sometimes you need someone on the outside to come along and remind you who you are and what makes you majestic.
#helpfulmess

Dried up coneflowers sticking out of snow, some have snow on top. Stems and leaves have ice crystals, also known as hoarfrost, attached to them all the way up, reflecting the sun.

Even when these flowers are dry and shriveled shadows of their former selves, they are feeding the birds and reseeding themselves in preparation for spring. They get battered by winter and yet, here they are once again, beautiful in a new way.
#helpfulmess

fall leaves covering the ground with a few yellow leaves standing out

Like these leaves, the news cycle clutters your mind and it’s hard to pick out the things that energize you. Learn to pause before clicking in to ask whether this piece will drain your power and hope or inspire new ideas and creativity. Choose hope.
#helpfulmess #pause #TooMuch #SetLimits

Candlelight hike through a snow-covered, wooded trail, torches lighting the way

Ignoring your body’s natural urges tends to block creativity. You get stuck. Listening and supporting yourself, stopping to check the whys, and allowing yourself to be a priority are all ways to get your creative juices flowing.

Indoor cat looking out patio door, outdoor cat on the step outside looking in

Relationships are between people and people aren’t always healthy. You are worthy of having a beautiful relationship. Be open to discovering and healing the broken parts of yourself to get there.
#helpfulmess #relationships #YouAreWorthy #YouAreEnough #YouAreLoveable #HealYourselfFirst

scattered twigs and rocks on the ground with arrows and “no” symbols showing how to proceed

Knowing you are worthy of love and have value just the way you are helps you get through the mine fields of life. When you hit the briar patch of doubt, go back to those basics.
#helpfulmess #BackToBasics #YouAreWorthy #TrustYourself

bowl of guacamole

The avocados were ripe so I made the guac anyway. When you make the small choice to take action when you don’t feel like it, you feed motivation and keep from getting stuck. Live your best life!
#helpfulmess #guac #LiveYourBestLife #stuck #goals #motivation

fancy black and red rooster with big red comb on his head, strutting confidently

Whether you are reviving your own personal voice or using your public voice to speak up for what you believe and for the society you live in, know that you are providing hope for those without a voice. Your voice matters!
#helpfulmess #rooster #speakUp #YourVoiceMatters #FindYourVoice

steep, rocky mountainside with large rock in the foreground, pine trees below, metal handle protruding from the rock as a grip, scrapes on the rock where the trail runs over it

My struggles generally don’t involve actual mountains. Most of my bravery involves obstacles like admitting when I’m wrong, or feeling the feelings I have in the moment, or knowing I am enough. Be brave. You are not alone.
#helpfulmess #RockyTrail #MountainClimb #BeBrave #YouAreNotAlone

Shadow of a person on a wooden bridge on a sunny day, with swirling knots in the heart of the shadow.

When you participate in the sharing of stories, you are creating a relationship. People see how you handle their stories. Trust and future interactions are based on how that feels. Handle with care.
#helpfulmess #HandleWithCare #stories #relationships

1 cup measuring cup overflowing with chocolate chips

Hope takes the momentum of the small wins and uses it to fuel action for good. Turns out, action is a great way to accomplish good. Hope drives your future; where do you want to go?
#helpfulmess #hope #TakeAction

Beautiful valley of fall colors, sign on a tree in the foreground that says “Private Property: No Trespassing”

We all experience things that add bricks to our walls. You control your wall. Allowing yourself to explore the whys and what ifs specific to your wall gives you an opportunity to adjust and open yourself up to better relationships. People need people!
#helpfulmess #KeepOut #OpenUp #BeBrave

tree that grew straight then took several bends toward the sun so it looks curly

We are told to rebalance our investment portfolios to stick to our financial plan. In that same way, remember to think about the delicate balance of those other tradeoffs in your life and make sure the way they are weighted still serves you.
#helpfulmess #rebalance #priorities #tradeoffs

Life ring on a stand at the oceanfront in Acadia National Park

The number of things you can care about is directly related to the amount of money and time you have. The more people that can only care about their own circle, the less people there are to fix the bigger problems of the world. Throw the life ring when you can.
#helpfulmess #Overwhelmed

Flower bed of coneflowers and brown-eyed Susans, blue-eyed cat coming out from under the thick green leaves

Daisy loves to go outside, until she’s outside. Sometimes she gets brave and goes to the flower bed but then hides. Is your life like that? You see something that looks wonderful, but you’re afraid to go there, or hide once you’re there? Let yourself shine!
barbaraleighauthor.com/blog/f/scare...

Dead, brown leaf that has been eaten away by bugs and is just an outline connected by leaf veins and little bits of what is left of the leaf blade.

Unlike the leaf, you have the power of choice. You can change the way you spend your life. You can let go of fear and drive out the bugs that are dragging you down. You can decide to live.
#helpfulmess #LoveYourLife #leaf #ChooseToLive

gourds of various shapes, colors and sizes on a wooden pallet

Just as not everyone sees the beauty in a gourd, you’ll run into people who don’t see your beauty. Some people will try to hollow you out to make you useful to them. You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone. You are a delight.
#helpfulmess #gourds #IAmADelight #HappyFall

rocky oceanfront with large tan rocks broken up by a strip of dark gray rock, blue sky and ocean in the background

If the latest item in the news cycle feels like too much, it’s okay to move past and keep going. If your relationships hinge on how you feel about one news item, it might be time to invest more into your relationships and less into current events.
#helpfulmess

splash of pink coneflowers, past their peak flower, in a pale green meadow

Does anyone grieve the coneflowers? Allowing yourself to grieve your life events allows you to move forward with less stress and also gives you practice for the big things like death. Grief acknowledges change and gives it space.

close up of calendula flower with bug feeding in the center

When your goal is clear, you tend to choose the fastest route to get there. It’s okay to recalibrate or change your goal based on new information. Just remember to adjust the rest of your map accordingly. Then, carry on!
#helpfulmess #LessIsMore #CarryOn #Goals

Orange cat asleep, sprawled on wood deck boards in the sun, totally relaxed and smiling

When told to visualize your happy place, I go with visualizing a calm space where I can picture feeling love, laughter, and contentment. Basically, it looks like this cat living his best life.
#helpfulmess #happyCat #LiveYourBestLife #Relax

Many calendula flowers in bloom on a sunny day

Like these flowers, beauty comes when we can let go of the bugs and the weeds and focus on the blooms.

cat sleeping on bed pillow, under another pillow like a sandwich

If it makes you mad, you are less likely to see ulterior motives, and more likely to join in the screaming. Anger takes action. Interrupt the cycle and clearly consider if it aligns with what you stand for. You don’t need to act on everything that grabs your attention. #helpfulmess #AskTheQuestions

Cat face with ears back, clearly not happy

This is Daisy when I go over the allowed number of brushstrokes, by one. Purr, purr, purr, THE FACE. If you don’t stop at THE FACE, you get THE TEETH. The boundary is drawn, the consequences are communicated clearly, my responsibility is to stop.
#helpfulmess #boundaries #MadCat #communication

Gray treefrog the same color as the sidewalk it sits on, midday with only a slight shadow line to indicate he is there

How do you hide? Do you try to blend in? Do you refuse to explore new opportunities and try new things? Do you guard yourself with hate or sarcasm to keep people at a distance? Do you turn those voices in on yourself? Chances are you’re just trying to survive. Choose to thrive!
#helpfulmess #Thrive