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Thanksgiving and Christmas – New Year
First, let me take this opportunity to give you warmest wishes for the happiest of Thanksgivings and Christmases, as well as a Happy New Year. God bless you and yours with the highest good for each person. Whatever has happened in your world since this time last year, you have to go on believing that this season and next year can be filled with that highest good, with forgiveness where it is so needed of self and others, and with the joy of living each day the very best you can, doing one thing at a time. May your stresses evaporate and peace replace the space in your being that all the stresses sucked out of you.
That being said, attitudes about Thanksgiving (especially gratitude) and Christmas (joy of Life and givingness in all ways, big and small, to ones you care about deeply, whether it is time, effort or helpfulness in all its many forms) actually begin inside of you…the Heart. If you look inside of you instead of outside at all the commercialism, you will find peace in lieu of stress, joy instead of the rush to find the perfect gift–which you may or may not afford–for someone else, the gift of time spent with loved ones and really active listening to what they have to say to you in lieu of forming a response in your own mind–be it defensive, un-asked-for advice, or anything else.
These Holidays will pass so swiftly that you will wonder where the time goes. It is up to you if you incur stresses beyond your imagination or glide with a smile through your days, enjoying this time of year as it was meant to be.
Our rule is as follows for gatherings:
- “A dry crust of bread eaten in peace and quiet is better than a feast eaten where everyone argues. Better is a dry morsel with joy, than a house full of victims with strife. Better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith, than a house full of feasting with strife. Better a bite of dry bread [eaten] in peace than a family feast filled with strife.”
Having said all this, know that your choices will create your reality at this time of year as well as the rest of the year. Choose wisely what is best for you as well as others for these days will pass and soon you will face the challenges of life that the New Year brings.
God bless you and yours during this time of year. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Hub of the Wheel = Peace
Imagine a large wheel like on a Conestoga wagon or a bicycle. It is round with spokes of metal or wood going to the center hub. All the motion takes place on the circumference or outer edges of the wheel while the hub center is still.
Now think of all the activities you do each day. Think of how busy you are from the time you get up until you go to bed. These are on the circumference. Some days you feel like you have been run over or left behind.
The world today is filled to the brim with doubts and fears of so many things. How can you maintain your center in this crazy world?
The answer lies in what you are focusing your attention on and what emotions and thoughts you are reacting to. Sound simple? Actually, it is. Strangely enough, it is demonstrated on a column in the Temple at Karnak in Egypt. There is a figure shown there who is moving its head from one cheek to another. Jesus said to “turn the other cheek.” Somehow, this lesson has been abused so badly that it interprets to a “It’s OK to hit me again!” mindset. What it literally means is: Change Your Focus!
So how do you manage to perform this task when every minute something more is added to your “To Do List” for the day? It begins and ends with your thoughts and emotions.
Do you long for PEACE and Stillness of Heart and Mind? It is yours immediately when you move from being on the circumference of the wheel to its center! Take deep breaths! Close your eyes! When your monkey (busy) mind draws your attention to things on the circumference, take another moment to brush that thought away without resistance or dwelling on it. Begin to imagine a place with great beauty and quiet. It could be a majestic memory, a mountain cabin, or a peaceful beach. Mine is a wondrous garden filled with scents from the fabulous flowers. I am sitting on a bench, quietly absorbing my surroundings. All else is dimmed like a person in a balloon who can hear sounds from far away till that, too, fades away. This excursion of your mind can take but a few moments, but it will move you from chaos to peace.
When you open your eyes, your perspective is changed. You have found your center and become a spectator of the things on your circumference in lieu of being a participant in the craziness. With that, you can choose to act calmly instead of reacting to outside stimuli. As you continue to breathe deeply, you can then take whatever actions you deem appropriate to those activities on your circumference, but your heart and mind are at PEACE!
Can you imagine a greater gift that you can give yourself? I think not. Peace is yours whenever you stop for a moment and move from the circumference to the hub.
Choose wisely for the choice is yours alone.
God’s blessings on your journey.
upliftingthoughts4u 