Monthly Archives: December 2012

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Angels In The Moment

We, as in everyone here in the Colorado mountains, woke up to a white Christmas this morning.

The fresh snow is welcomed by young children of all ages. I am one of them. I will not be up on the ski hill today, it’s work time for all the resort employees, but my job will be easier and my heart so much lighter.

I am watching some kids from Florida making snow angels, their high pitched laughter penetrated the windows of the condo and i threw on a coat and went down to see what all the excitement was about.

The boy must be about four. He has been running in circles stopping from time to time to jump up and down. The excitement and joy is more than he can contain. He has no concept of snow angels and no room in his little body for anything but pure excitement. His bright blue and yellow snow clothes dim in comparison to his bright joy filled smile.

His older sister doesn’t even notice his destruction of her angels. She plops down hither and yon, fanning arms and legs, a bright pink blur of motion, then jumps up and plants both hands on her hips, cocking her head and considers her creation. The pause is momentary then she is off to create yet another angel. She is intent on the angel of the moment, never looking back, uninterested in the blank slope ahead of her.

I can’t wipe this big grin off my face as I walk back up the stairs. I am tucking this lesson on living in the now into my heart to take to work with me today. The best gift of all, a lesson in living!

Merry Christmas to all!

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‘Tis the Season

I love the holidays. That has not always been the case, and I’m not entirely certain when things changed, perhaps once money and the pursuit of it was no longer such an important part of my life. This warm fuzzy feeling has nothing to do with presents or gifts or any of the superfluous holiday craziness. It is about a closer connection with family and friends, and as an extension of that, a closer connection with the human race as a whole.

All in all it’s a simple recipe:

1/2 C. of special holiday memories (cull carefully, those that do not inspire will result in a bitter aftertaste)

1/2 C. of hope inspired by the Solstice and the promise of a new season, of the world continuing to turn in her graceful dance amidst the stars.

A generous dose of your favorite music playing softly in the background, not enough to annoy or overwhelm, just enough to inspire humming along.

A dash of Sunshine.

A sprinkling of children’s laughter.

Combine in your heart then let sit quietly for 15 minutes, allow to rise until double in bulk and beginning to sparkle.

Stir briskly and toss into the air. Spread your arms and look up letting the sparkly fall out dust your face into a smile. Share that smile generously, let it warm your heart and spread the glow to friends and strangers alike. Act on any generous impulse to prolong the warmth and sparkle!

Repeat often.

Happy Holidays!

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A Black and White World

It has been snowing, finally.

Two storms have turned the world into a canvas of greys and whites over deep greens and blues and purples. The colors of winter storms sing in minor keys. Muted and unobtrusive the landscape bows to the inevitable.

I know that these days are not forever, that behind the layers of clouds and winds and storms the sun is shining as she always does. I know the bluebird days of winter will be here, maybe even tomorrow, but for now it feels quiet and peaceful, a land at rest.

It is no wonder that Holiday Cards often depict these days. The lovely little vignette of the cabin in the snow tucked into towering pines takes on a peaceful sense of quiet serenity without the sharp shadows and contrast of full sun. The soft skies of greys and slate blues hovering just above me create a smaller, less expansive, almost cozy world. The harsh realities of school shootings, fiscal cliffs, and atrocities inflicted by rebels and governments alike temporarily recede and I am overwhelmed by a strong desire to focus on my immediate surroundings. The world news on radio and TV fades into the distance and this space I live in begs for my attention.

This “nesting” urge is badly needed. My home is awash in the final remnants from two storage units as I continue to work on downsizing to what I truly need. It is time to focus all my creative urges on the space I live in, the only space I have for my own renewal. I am focusing my decisions and energy on enhancing my spirit rather than draining my power. The core spaces need my love and attention and creativity. Meditation for my spiritual core, functional exercise for my physical core, and creative energy for my core surroundings.

This focus will, by no means be perfect. As always there are things that are beyond my ability to change right now. These will need creative solutions to minimize the negative impact they have on my life. First and foremost among them is the other soul that occupies this space with me. I must learn to dampen my caretaker impulses and take back my time for myself. Too long have I succumbed to the needs of a high maintenance personality. It has been, whether I want to admit it or not, my choice to shift my focus away from the things that I need, focusing my energies on  catering to the whims of someone else. In doing so I have created the expectation of constant availability and encouraged the demands. It is, therefore my responsibility to reclaim my space and time. Learning how to this in a loving and respectful way will be my challenge. Although the arrangements are temporary, it will not do to just ignore a bad situation or to create tension or an intolerable situation for the remaining months of the lease. I must expand my creativity….must take it into my relationship with this person and learn to do it gracefully and graciously.

This, then, is my Holiday wish list.

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Another New Day Dawning

Spring revelations

Spring revelations

There are mornings that tug at my soul. Moments that make all else fade to insignificance. The troubles of the past few years shrink to nothing at moments like these and everything that brought me to this point was infinitely worthwhile.

This soul stretching, this sense of newness, of overwhelming magnificence is akin to what I experience when in the midst of the creative muse. It is somehow both internal and external all at once. It is a world all it’s own, whether it is a moment of exquisite beauty or an entire night or day that feels like only a moment, this is why I exist. This is what gets me out of bed, what keeps me going when there is no light to lead me on. This blog is my documentation of the moments of brightness, the exhiliration, my Raison d’être.

This is what I know for sure – no matter how dark or horrible the world appears, the fog will lift to reveal absolute magnificence.