Thanksgiving is here. So is the gift of choice. How you celebrate, where, and with whom.
In this time, with this virus, the choices are different. And the impact on your way of living and relating is great. I’m witnessing the loss, disappointment, loneliness, and fear that is present.
And the courage, resilience, and strength in the human capacity for adaptability.
As I listen to the world, I hear your conversations that focus upon what was lost and speculation of when it will be returned. I listen to my own thoughts that echo that approach.
It seems that the benchmark for living, even in the midst of upheaval, remains the way of the past.
This framework of your life is familiar and, like most of us, you depend greatly upon familiarity. It is built into your survival system and allows you to move through your day in a habitual manner. This is an effective and efficient way of expending your mental, emotional, and physical energy.
Yet, life is inviting a different response by necessity.
It is a chance to reevaluate what is meaningful and how we connect with one another. I hope you don’t miss this invitation by trying to figure out how to celebrate Thanksgiving like you did before … with COVID adaptations.
Every moment, when lived with awareness, offers a choice of how to engage this life. To explore how to enter the intimacy of living within your body, relating to those around you, and choosing how you approach your moments. And your holiday.
I hope you can settle in and enjoy moving more slowly.
To reflect upon the goodness of your life and the simple pleasures of living. In the slower, quieter movement throughout the day, there is a natural invitation for reflection. It’s larger than sharing your gratitude before a turkey dinner. Although that is quite lovely. You have the opportunity to sit within the invitation of gratitude to see, feel, and experience its presence in your daily life.
Life is mostly quiet now. Granting opportunities for silence and slow movement.
I feel a deep, abiding gratitude for these quiet moments. For this disruption to all things normal so that I can see and feel what is here within me, around me, and between me and the world. I’m aware of how much I’ve missed in the scheduled movements of my life. How busy I’ve been attending to my life and how much living I’ve overlooked.
As the stillness beckons, I am pulled away from the need to attend to the noise of the world.
What emerges is the richness of simple actions. Like walking my dog as the sun sets lower in the sky. Feeling the wild wind whipping my hair. Hearing the leaves crunch beneath my feet. Surrounded by the dark, tangled wood with just a hint of the outline of a doe and her child. I stop to connect and chat a bit. Mother to mother.
The night is quiet. The trees are dancing.
Darkness is not yet broken by the light of the moon, yet graced occasionally by sweeping headlights. What a gift to walk out of my door into this tame wilderness.
Entering the warmth and light of my home, I feel complete. Blessed. Grateful.
I wish you deep stillness during this holiday weekend. I hope you feel the connection with yourself and the wonder of your life. May you you seek meaningful connection. With your memories, your socially distanced guests, your ZOOM or phone conversations.
I hope you consider who may be in need of connection and reach for them with love.
I hope you feel the gratitude for the ease in which you live, even in the midst of great difficulty. And for everyone who has contributed to your wellbeing in those tiny and huge ways.
May the essence of Gratitude be your companion not only on Thanksgiving, but in every moment of your life.
Thank you for every way you contribute to this wonder of a life. So that I may benefit from your presence. So we all can.
Peace be with you and with all. No exceptions.
German researchers explored the question “What are your personal strategies for happiness?” Two primary strategies, personal and social, emerged. They found that people who set personal goals, like getting a better job or staying healthy, didn’t budge on the happiness meter. Whereas those with social strategies like spending time with family and friends or volunteering not only followed through, they reported increases in happiness. Social connection is consistently identified as an important factor in well being. Social connection doesn’t have to be in person, but it does involve people! Reach out and let others reach in.
Learn the one essential skill that allows you to face any challenge with confidence, sturdiness, and inner calm.
More than a technique. It’s a game changer.
ia Sophia has arrived. This “Way of Wisdom” offers an invitation to step upon a Living Spiral Path and discover a new understanding of what it means to embody the Mystical Feminine.
For the past fifteen years I have lived and taught within the Mystical Feminine. I have sat within many circles and immersions with women as we explored how to practically and powerfully engage Feminine wisdom in everyday life.
When my daughter was in eighth grade, she and her Girl Scout troop were beginning to explore ideas for their individual Silver Award projects.
Around our dinner table, we tossed around possibilities. Nothing landed. Nothing stirred real interest. So we encouraged her to do what we have always trusted. Stay open. Listen. Pay attention to what people are talking about in the world.
Driving into Soul Sanctuary last weekend, I noticed the trees were engaged in a wild dance.
I should have paid closer attention as I got out of the car, because the wind nearly took me with it. Walking to the door, I had to lean in and brace myself for a moment just to stay upright. The cold whipped through my clothes and found every uncovered space, sharing its bone-numbing chill.
We recently had a big snow in my neck of the woods.
Everyone was hunkered down. The fridge was full, chicken soup was bubbling on the stove, and my book pile sat patiently on the coffee table. As the snow covered the neighborhood and the plows dumped fresh mounds over our carefully shoveled walk, we took turns peeking outside.
As a kid, snowstorms were pure joy.
“I think we need to be friends.”
Those were the first words out of my mouth when I introduced myself to Rev. Hilda Covington. We’d just finished a county meeting of nonprofit mental health and social service agencies. She was the presenter that month. We almost didn’t meet because Hilda arrived an hour and a half late to a two-hour meeting.
Life has a rhythm. It speeds up and slows down according to mysterious forces.
Your personal rhythm dances with the celestial bodies, seasons of the year, developmental phases, and the pulse of your Soulful evolutionary process. Living in harmony with these rhythms is in many ways hard to understand as it is a complicated and deeply personal process. Your rhythm dances with everyone’s rhythm in the grand Cosmic Dance.
