From the Heart

Christmas isn't always about being merry

It's the holiday season...... with shopping and decorations and parties and the busyness of life.

Yet there are those of us who aren't putting up a tree, who aren't buying presents, who are only bystanders to the lights and activities around us.

While the holiday season often brings joy and good cheer it can also be a time of sadness and grief. When a loved one dies during this time the holidays will never be the same. Even when another's death occurs during any other time of the year, that loss is deeply felt during the holidays.

Even estranged relations with family and friends can bring a somber note to this time.

So take note of the feelings of others. Listen and be where they are in the moment. Caring for each other and ourselves is the reason for the season.

And for those of you carrying grief and loss....be patient with yourself. Be with your grief. And determine what is it you feel you need right now. Define boundaries for yourself. Create new traditions.  Turn off the Christmas stress machine. Let go of the judgment of others. Be with those people that support and nourish you. Serve others in a way that brings peace and joy to you.

Honor your loved one. Write a letter to them. Hold them in your heart. Have music around you. The holidays will never be the same, only different. Your grief will come and go. Know that you are loved and cared for in this time of sadness and overwhelm and uncertainty.

No matter your religion may you bring the Christ Mind into your heart this Christmas and Hanukkah season. It's the opportunity to love others and yourself.

Namaste.......may you honor the divine in others as you honor the divine within.

Deciding to do it

As human beings aren't we truly amazing?

I marvel at how I put off doing what I think is a difficult task. Recently I had a computer project with a deadline. I had to make a decision if I even wanted to complete it. Nothing earth shattering, but it was an opportunity for some Internet exposure to my business.

Yesterday was the final day to get it done. But I kept putting it off, finding other things that "had to get done." And while I was putting it off I was thinking about it all the time........I should do it, why aren't I doing it, oh let's do something else instead, maybe I shouldn't do it, let's not do it, I will get to it, it's not that important, it could be important, I can't get it done in time anyway.......Sound familiar?

At the end of my day I sat down at the computer to give it a go and see if I could finish it. Might as well say I tried and failed anyway. So except for some trying moments with the scanner, I got the project done. And it wasn't that difficult after all.

Too often the hard part is just deciding to do it and showing up. Because if I had put all the energy that I used on putting OFF the project INTO the project........well who knows what more I could have accomplished.

Where in your life are you "putting off" and not "putting into?"

Gratitude

Thanksgiving is the gateway to gratitude as we enter this holiday season.

Isn't it a wonderment to see a black sky every night. And then one night there is a sliver of light in the eastern sky. And it become larger each night until it's yellow and glowing and shining down upon us.

What's even more amazing is that in the night it's on one side of the sky. And when we wake up in the morning it's on the other side of the sky. Where did the time go, where did the space go? What happened while we slept or worked the night away? I am grateful for the mystery.