A BLESSING FOR THE NEW YEAR

"A glad New Year to all the Earth!"

~ Martin Luther ~

May your heart be full.

May you properly use your will.

May you go with the flow

Regarding things you don't know.

May you appreciate each moment,

Step up to your calling and own it,

Give hugs,

Embrace your love,

And avoid eating too many doughnuts.
:)

I properly align myself with Divine Will. 

CONSIDERING THE NEW YEAR

"The rose of the old year withers away as the new bud begins to bloom." 

~ Terri Guillemets ~

Approaching the New Year is one of the most powerful times of the year. We get a reset button and an opportunity to re-vamp and re-boot. So what will we do with our clean slate?

     Let's be intentional. Let's make decisions, set realistic goals, and commit to work towards them. This is how we enlighten and empower our lives.

I consider which course to chart in the new year and how I want to trim my sails.

THE GLORY OF TWINS!

"All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin." 

~ Lord Byron ~

22 years ago today, I was blessed with twins- two bright and gifted individuals who have given my life depth and substance that it wouldn't have otherwise had. Nick has the ability to understand things and see clearly and crisply. His mind is quick and sharp. And Sienna has this powerful, sultry, intuitive wisdom- this knowing about truth and the soul.
     He is suave and organized. She is creative and free-flowing. Together they are glorious beyond words. My Birthday wish for them is that they might experience themselves and each other through my eyes and feel the abundant and unlimited love and potential that they carry within.

I celebrate and appreciate my children and the gift that they bring to my life.

TIME FOR REFLECTION

"I want to unfold.

Let no place in me hold itself closed."

~ Rainer Marie Rilke ~

This is the interim week- the ending of what has been and anticipation of what is to come. It's worthy of our self-reflection and consideration. What is going well? What do we feel good about? And what needs to change?
     Let's commit to quality living and personal growth, to courage, aspiration, perseverance and heart.

I make the commitment to continuously improve my life. 

BOXING DAY

"Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you." 

~ John De Paola ~

Boxing Day, or 2nd Christmas, was originally meant to be a day of rest for those who worked on Christmas serving others, and truthfully, the after-Christmas energy, in some ways, is the sweetest energy of all. It's empty of expectation and angst, and it's full instead of all that has come and all that is no longer a surprise. It's a big sigh of relaxation, grateful repose, and a satisfied heart.

I bask deliciously in the afterglow of Christmas.

IT'S COME AGAIN!

"Christmas comes to bless us!" 

~ Gertrude Tooley Buckingham ~

Christmas Again!

Amen.

I enjoy each tender loving moment.

WHAT WE'RE REALLY AFTER

"There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves." 
~ Eric Sevareid ~

I think, more than anything else, when it comes to Christmas, what we're after, what we long for, and love, is the feeling. It's a feeling of special-ness, of tradition- the songs and decorations, the sweets and parties and abundance of good food, the gathering of people we love all in one spot at one time. That's what Christmas is to me. It's not about the presents so much as the giving and receiving, and not about the planning and preparing so much as the being.

I allow myself to feel the feeling of Christmas that I long for. 

PRE-CHRISTMAS AWARENESS

"Learn to let go." 

~ Steve Maraboli ~

The thing about Christmas is that it's so weighted down with memories of past Christmases. It doesn't get a clean slate. We come at it all front loaded and pre-conceived; wanting to avoid disasters we've experienced, or repeat successes.
     Let's not. Let's let Christmas, and these days before Christmas, just be what they are this year- just come how they come. Let's allow for limitations and imperfection as well as grace, keep our sense of humor, and be good sports and loving souls. That's the point after all, isn't it? To be loving? To show our compassion and generosity and demonstrate our care? Let's let Christmas unfold fresh and new, like it's the first time, and be strengthened by its roots in the past, but not chained by them.

I welcome the days before Christmas however they come. 

FRESH AND DELICIOUS

"It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. The crisp winter air is full of it." 

~ John Burroughs ~

I like the cold weather for itself- not because it makes it cozy to be inside, but because it wakes me up and feels fresh and exhilarating. I love the sting of it on my cheeks, the expansion it creates in my lungs, the sight of frost and ice sparkles in the sun, and the need it creates for goose down, gloves, and warm socks. Cold weather is invigorating. It makes me happy to be alive. It is steamy breath and bright red berries on bushes and the best energizer I know!!

I love the cold weather! 

   

ACTING AS IF

"Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious." 

~ Bill Meyer ~

Sulky, sullen attitudes are toxic to all they touch. They ooze and bubble like an infected cut. If we're having a bad day, if we wish we were elsewhere, if we find someone particularly annoying, let's rise above it, take the high road, and be bigger than our own pettiness. Let's act as if we're happy and well and interested in everyone we encounter. And if we do this successfully enough, we may just find that happy and well is how we start to feel.

I spread kindness and good nature to others and keep my sulking to myself.

THE EXAMINED LIFE

"Wisdom is not what you know but how quickly you adjust when the opposite proves true." 

~ Robert Brault ~

If we never pause in life then we will never realize the need to re-calibrate. Endless pushing is just that- endless. It gets us locked in a spiraling cycle that unconsciously repeats itself. Pausing gives us a chance to become conscious. And then we can move forward with more focused attention and greater care.

I pause regularly to re-calibrate.

FLOATING DOWNSTREAM

"The greatest leverage for healing is found at the subtlest levels of function." 

~ Rudolph Ballentine ~

Healing is a gentle process. It doesn't happen in a slam-dunk. It's gradual and organic, graded, steady. subtle, and at times, hard to perceive. And surrendering to the process- fully surrendering to it- is actually rather beautiful. We are like leaves being gently carried downstream.
     And perhaps, the whole process of living is the same way if we can only detach from our worry and fear. Perhaps, whether we're aware of it or not, throughout our days and hours, we are being gently and organically carried, like leaves by the current on the surface of water.

I surrender to the process of healing and of life. 

BLESSINGS FROM OUT OF NOWHERE

"Ultimately, there can be no complete healing until we have restored our primal trust in life." 

~ Georg Feuerstein ~

We never know where our good will come from- often not from where we expect. We count on blessings from one direction and they come from another, from sideways and the back corner and above and below. But the meaningful thing, and the thing to remember, is that they come.

I trust that something will always come to make me feel better.

AN ERROR IN PERCEPTION

"There are two kinds of light- the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures." 

~ James Thurber ~

It's so hard to unconditionally trust the people we love and to love them without judgment. We think we know better what's best for them, that they are all wrong and off base, that they need our guidance and direction to find their way. And maybe they do, some of the time, in certain ways; but more often, they need our encouragement. They need to know that we trust them to figure it out, to find the solution, to reach a bit farther than they think they can. So let's stop questioning others and start promoting their own resourcefulness, intuitive knowing, and inner strength.

 I am encouraging rather than judgmental.

THE CYCLE OF PUSH AND PAUSE

"Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know." 

~ Pema Chodron ~

No matter how dramatic life becomes, it is always followed by and patched here and there with moments or more of calm. We feel we can't make it, and then relief comes. We are stretched to our limits, and then the stretching stops. We are tumbled by waves and then popped to the surface of the water- just so far, and no farther.
     Letting go is the lesson and the answer- to stop pushing and fighting and wait, and trust, and keep our faith, knowing that relief is coming, that we will be pushed only so far, and then popped up, and slowed down, and let go.

When I am pushed to my limits I don't have to push back. I wait and trust and know that relief is on its way.

TIME AND HEALING

"The work of healing is peeling away the barriers of fear that keep us unaware of our true nature." 

~ Joan Borysenko ~

I have strength within me that I didn't used to have, and courage enough to face what comes; a heart full of love, a sense of humor, and an intuitive gut. Age and experience have given me  a bit of wisdom and I know enough to know that time passes, seasons come and go, and injured bodies heal.

I celebrate the miraculous healing powers of the human body.

UNITY IN DIFFICULTY

"Pain is the great teacher of mankind. Beneath its breath souls develop." 

~ Marie Dubsky ~

No matter what we're going through, it could always be worse. We don't have to look far to see others in equal or more challenging situations. It's our shared suffering that unites us as human beings, and that raises our compassion and keeps us humble and grateful that we are blessed in the ways that we are- and conscious of the fact that we are not victims, but participants. Suffering is simply part of the experience of life on earth.

I accept my suffering and have compassion for us all.

LESSONS IN THE STORM

"Trouble creates a capacity to handle it." 

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes ~

Anything could happen. That's what makes life a bit scary at times, but also interesting. Unexpected experiences keep us awake and paying attention, vigilant, curious, alert, and ready for action.

I am grateful for unexpected happenings and know they come to teach me lessons and that calm will always come again.

CONSIDERING SELF-CARE

"Let thy hands be as the hands of a good watch, through every golden moment marking the worthy progress of the inner life." 

~ James Lendall Basford ~

What does self-care consist of? It changes from moment to moment and day to day. Sometimes it's moving and sometimes it's being still. Sometimes it's to eat and sometimes it's to stop eating. Self-care is as fluid, dynamic, and ever-changing as the weather, and we must attend to it diligently if we want to be grounded and solid within.

I administer to my changing needs and treat myself with ongoing love and kindness.

THE UNKNOWN FUTURE

"I fear thee not, O untried morrow!" 

~ Julia B. Cady ~

Waiting for the results of an uncertain outcome is a tenuous emotional position. Possibilities on the upside and the downside face off with each other over and over. One tries to distract the mind but it keeps returning to the unknown future like the tongue to a sore tooth. What if this? What if that?
     And none of it changes the outcome- it just comes. So better to soak up the moment and leave the unknown to itself.

I clear my mind of obsessive thinking and let be what is.

PRAYER FOR WILLINGNESS

"Earth's tribulations diminish in proportion to the elevation of our souls." 

~ James Lendall Basford ~

Dear God,

Please free me from doubt and dread, and

Fill my heart with love instead!

Thank you!

Amen

I open to what I cannot understand, and show up willing to experience whatever may come.