A Valentine Wish

Valentine's Day often conjures couples and cupids, romance and roses -- and rightly so! 
Do stop to tell your "one and only" just how much they mean to you. Also remember that love is joy and that giving is as great as receiving! Surprise a friend and stop by! Remind your friends and family members just how much you love having them in your life.

Happy Valentine's Day to All! 

Do you still dream?

A couple of my dearest friends presented me with some books to enjoy during the holiday break.  Like many at this time of year, it took me some time before I was able to sit down and be present with the books— a pause in life that I deeply cherish.

As I began reading the first book, while enjoy my morning cup of tea, I could hear the voice of the author as if she were talking to me, as if she knew just how much I needed to hear these words.

The first chapter spoke to me boldly about discovering your dreams, offering ways to welcome your dreams into your thoughts and allowing them to become alive.  I immediately thought of a book I penned years ago entitled Remembering Who You are Rediscovering Your Heart…

Many of you have heard me share my mantra to “follow you heart and live your dreams.” When I say these words out loud to myself, I find my thoughts wondering through the many wonderful dreams and gifts I have experienced throughout my life. 

Our life journey is so very unpredictable and often a great adventure if we allow it to be. Why put our dreams on the sidelines?

I prepared my second cup of tea.  The author continued with a challenge for the reader: “Pen your dreams (big or small). Look at them; read them; believe in them.” 

I reached for my favorite journal and pen. My list became pages, I started to feel a relief and a sense of freedom.  Releasing my thoughts and dreams on paper was taking the first step to make them come true. I found myself sketching ways to pursue my dreams. There were doors opening and I became lost in creative moments, time giving way to my imagination. I was stretching my creative heart. It felt good to believe in a pathway of joyous experiences and to not allow the day-to-day distractions of life sidetrack these dreams.

I encourage you (as the author encouraged me) to give yourself permission to write down your dreams. Keep them close by and revisit them often. Add to your list. Do not be afraid to write down the big dreams next to the little dreams. Take the first step...it gets easier and easier with each step you take.  

It’s time to truly rediscover your heart and live your dreams. Dreams are our gifts from the Heavenly One to encourage us to live in joy throughout our life’s journey.

January: A Month for Reflection

Generally, the school of thought is to squeeze some annual reflection time in between the holidays and the new year for a few resolutions in the New Year. I'd hope that many of you are going to slow down and take stock of your year during the entire month of January. Take these 31 days to reflect on the past year and really think about what you want to achieve in 2019 -- personally and professionally. Don't rush at the end of December to come up with a set of resolutions that feel a little flimsy and are easy to walk away from.

May the words of poet Mary Oliver be your mantra his year: 

"What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

This January, go back and take a look at each month of 2018 and remind yourself about what happened in each month. Take stock of what you did and how you felt through the highs and lows and jot them down. Now think about the 11 months of blank canvas ahead. What would be your greatest personal satisfaction for the year? Who are the friends you haven't seen in a while that you want to make sure to see this year? Are you making a plan to gather with friends on a regular basis? Are you taking time for your loved ones? In what ways will you do this, this year? What one new skill do you want to learn this year? Are you factoring in your health to your 2019 plan?

Put these thoughts on paper. Now the list is official. Tape it to an inside cabinet, post it to the fridge or to the back of the door. Don't run away from your goals.  Make it a year full of constant joys! 

Reflections for the New Year

With the arrival of the new year, I find a quiet place and embrace some time to just be. The act of simply sitting for a moment of time, in a space of quiet, opens the door to one’s soul for a journey of reflection.

I inhale. I exhale. I take in this moment of life. I reflect upon the sun, the clouds, the bright blue sky and the light of the full moon rising in the distance on this cold winter’s eve.   I reflect upon recent conversations and interactions with colleagues, family and friends. I reflect upon the year gone by.

What a delight it is, I am reminded, to “just sit and be” with a loved one or friend and share in an open and trusted free-flowing conversation with no intent or agenda.

Why haven’t I done this more often?

We fill our schedules so full with daily activities and external noise that our conversations are often filled with “outputting” information shared through texting and other forms of social media as opposed to interactive conversations with one another.  I find myself facing this dilemma of our modern, fast-paced world: say as much as you can in the shortest amount of time. We are all on a hamster wheel of non-stop movement, activities, electronic noise and distractions. 

My friends and I question if we have lost the “art of conversation.” For many centuries the gift of interactive conversation was a treasure for our human spirit. We used to look forward to the time to sit around a kitchen table to share our thoughts while we would break bread—with no boundaries and no time commitments. Where has the time gone?

As we reflect upon the year that has come to a close, find time to welcome in the new season with warm thoughts of new dreams and intentions to be more present for yourself and for others. I would like to encourage all of us to take time to slow down, breathe in and exhale. Silence is time for one’s soul and spirit to reflect.

Then re-engage in the art of conversation with those around you, free of distraction. Turn everything off so you, too, can enjoy the power of sharing and learning from one another.  You never know what you will discover about yourself and those around you if you are willing to reflect, share and listen.  The more you practice breathing this year, the more you will discover ease, peace and comfort in your daily life.  

Just for You!

We’re reflecting on all of the different ways we have explored slowing down this year. Having tea with a friend, sending a written note to a friend and taking a walk were just a few of the ideas we had. One of our all time favorites is taking time to reflect. 

As we enter into hectic December, remember to take some time for yourself amongst all of the preparations. Enjoy the special moments, the memories and the warmth of it all. It is the end of the year, after all. Before you look ahead to 2019, take stock in the many events that took place in your life this year. They all deserve reflection as we make way for a peaceful new year. 

Enjoy your surroundings! Enjoy you!

Warmest holiday wishes to all! 

Thanksgiving and the Art of Conversation

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the rich harvest bestowed upon a family, the blessing of an abundance of food in preparation for the cold months of winter.

Today's Thanksgiving gatherings are still about an abundance of food and getting together with family and friends, with a few modern traditions such as playing touch football, watching the Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade followed by watching a college or pro-football game, if you are at my household! Everyone works up quite an appetite and awaits patiently for the call to eat…

As I prepare for our Thanksgiving gathering, I am reminded that the times we spend at the table are as much about sharing in the delight of good food, as sharing in the delight of good company and the rich cross-generational discussions to be had among relatives and friends.

The meal often lasts much longer than the food on our plates, as we spend time talking and listening to one another, sharing our thoughts and opinions on various topics. And although we would not agree on some subjects, we would continue in the tradition of respectfully agreeing to disagree. One of the greatest gifts I enjoy from this time of year is the cross-generational sharing of wisdom and knowledge.

This year, relish the different viewpoints more than ever. Slow down, engage in a conversation and learn something new.

And, always, always give thanks for the bounty set before you every day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

In the mail...

And, just as soon as I had written about writing a note, in came some notes to my mailbox!

I always remember looking forward to the mailman stopping at our mailbox in the summertime. My mum would send me running down the driveway to "check the mail" at about 3:30pm. We'd have catalogs and magazines, a letter from a friend (and the occasional bill)! It was always so nice to slow down in the afternoon with all of this new information. Before the internet, it was the newspaper in the morning, the mail in the afternoon and the 6:30pm news in the evening that kept us connected.

Some people say it's a dying art, but I like to think otherwise. We may be writing less letters, but what an impact they have when they are received! The reciprocity of staying in touch and the intention of sharing with each word written is a very special act of friendship.

Thank you, my dear friends, for all of your notes. I love hearing from you!