I was so busy and crazy-hectic this last week that I lost a significant amount of sleep and missed church three times. Walking around exhausted and still trying to accomplish 1400 tasks in two hours, I actually told poor Russ to "stop talking" so that I could concentrate on the million things racing through my brain as I frantically bustled around trying to get it all done. The "To Do" list was running like a high speed video in my mind, which seemed to be operating at full capacity, and I absolutely could not take in even one more thought.
With several people I know battling health issues, and the new year just ahead, I am reminded to sit still, quiet myself and just listen. I need to slow down. I need to stop talking. I need to shhhhhhh...
Louise Hay's calendar for today
My first blog of 2014 was on January 1st, almost one year ago. It was titled "Burning the Bowl" and was about a wonderful ceremony that Russell and I had attended, in which you release the old and make way for the new as part of the ritual.
I do not remember the thing that I wished to let go of, which I wrote on the piece of paper and burned in the bowl (apparently, it worked). I do remember the short essay that I received, meant as a message for the year to come. It was printed on a small, rolled up piece of paper and tied with a ribbon. I picked it, at random, from a basket that was passed around. My little scroll was all about being more independent. That sentiment did ring true for me and I referenced that essay many times over the course of the year.
This week I will make time to sit quietly and reflect on the past year. I'll listen to my heart and to my soul's message about the year to come, and try to make it back to that annual ceremony.
I love this shirt!
I wish us all a time of grateful reflection as we look back and appreciate all of the Blessings and lessons of the last year. I hope that we all find the quiet moments that we need in order to listen to our heart's calling for the year to come. May we have the ability to listen to our selves and follow our intuition with faith. May we step confidently toward the goals of our life's journey and toward our own happiness in the new year.
I will end the last blog of 2014 with the same picture and sentiment that ended the first blog of 2014.
Thank you for a wonderful year. Here's to a Blessed continued journey.
Namaste,
T
Thanks to the team of editors and proofreaders
who have checked and improved this blog throughout the year:
For those who don't believe, no proof is possible."
- Stuart Chase
As for me? I believe.
This week, I am reminded of the Truth - that all things are possible, that magic exists, and that we can. "We can" what? We can - anything.
The following is from The New York Sun, 1897. I've always loved this Christmas editorial:
"WE TAKE PLEASURE IN ANSWERING THUS PROMINENTLY THE
communication below, expressing at the same time our great
gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the
friends of The Sun:
Dear Editor -
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there
is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The
Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a
Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon
115 West Ninety Fifth Street
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected
by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except
they see. They think that nothing can be which is not
comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia,
whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great
universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as
compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by
the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and
knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as
love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they
abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas!
how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It
would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be
no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable
this existence.
We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The
external light with which childhood fills the world would be
extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in
fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the
chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you
did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?
Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no
Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that
neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies
dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they
are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders
there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise
inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not
the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the
strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith,
poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and
picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it real? Ah,
Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A
thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years
from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."
- "Is There a Santa Claus?" reprinted from the September 21,
1897, number of The New York Sun.
This year, I was moved by the writing of a nine year old little girl, Basya Fogelman, who read her winning essay aloud at the National Menorah Lighting in Washington, DC. I was also inspired and encouraged by Rabbi Levi Shemtov's comments, which immediately followed:
“Chanukah means different things to different people. To little kids, Chanukah means
presents. To adults, Chanukah means
spending time with family. To me,
Chanukah means going up. You might ask, ‘What does that mean?’ The second night
of Chanukah is symbolic of elevation or ‘going up’because every night you add
more light by lighting another candle. So
too does a Jew by doing this important mitzvah.
This mitzvah will lead to more. As
our sages say, ‘One good deed leads to another.’ We should try to do more good deeds every
day. It’s important to me to add more
light in honor of my grandmother who passed away on the second night of
Chanukah many years ago. My favorite
way to add light is to visit old and sick people and light the menorah and
sing Chanukah songs with them. When I
do this, I know I am not only elevating myself but my grandmother’s soul too.” - Basya Fogelman
“In your homes or via the live broadcast, know that you can
light a candle too.Even if you’re not
celebrating Chanukah, go warm up somebody’s life.Go do another good deed.Go make the world brighter than it would be
without you and in that way, you’re celebrating Chanukah too.Obviously, in the Jewish community we light
menorahs, but spreading light, good, and warmth in the world is a universal
opportunity and message.”- Rabbi Levi Shemtov
While the children are teaching us, here is another good find from Sesame Street, about Kwanzaa. I fondly remember learning all about Kwanzaa when my (then five year old) little sister came home from school and excitedly shared her entire lesson on the holiday with the whole family.
“Just as millions celebrate Irish culture on St. Patty's Day and Mexican culture on Cinco de Mayo, Kwanzaa has grown to fulfill Dr. Karenga's vision. The vision that people of all stripes celebrate the African culture and spirit.” - History.com
This holiday season, I'll keep in mind what the children have taught me. I will be warmed by the purity of love in their hearts and by the magic and spirit of family that fills the air. I will be reminded:
Life is simple. Choose Love. Choose Joy. Follow the Magic. Follow the Light.
Be Love. Be Joy. Be Magic. Be Light.
May we all have a joyous holiday season. May we love and appreciate each other for our uniqueness, for the variations and different traditions within our brotherhood and for the common bond which connects and unites all of us.
There was much debate this past week about whether or not to vacation, but eventually the decision was made and the opportunity was seized.
"We can never make peace in the outer world
until we make peace with ourselves."
- Dalai Lama
"Never be in a hurry;
do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.
Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever,
even if your whole world seems upset."
- Saint Francis de Sales
"Each one has to find his peace from within.
And peace to be real must be
unaffected by outside circumstances."
- Mahatma Gandhi
I hope that even in the midst of all the holiday chaos and with all the stresses of the world, each one of us finds a way to carve out just a little time for self replenishment and peace of spirit.
The perfect end to an extremely busy week came on Sunday.
I attended the wedding of a wonderful friend and his partner. The spirit of Love that filled the air was simply incredible. All who were present felt Blessed to witness the couple's declaration of a most genuine and precious Love. It warmed our hearts, brought tears to our eyes and sent our Spirits leaping for joy. The magic and beauty that we felt defies description by mere words. It seemed we all witnessed a bit of Heaven - the way things are supposed to be. We laughed, cried and drank it all in as if our parched souls had finally found an oasis. By sharing their Love with us, that couple had actually fed our souls.
As they stood before us, baring their hearts to each other, someone in the intimate crowd gathered there in the couple's living room said, "I love love." The woman standing next to me was compelled to introduce herself to me, and I to her. We all came together under that umbrella of Love. There were family members, friends, and complete strangers gathered in a feeling of unity. Isn't that what love is all about?
As I was eventually saying my goodbyes, along with so many lovely people, we spoke of a sense we had, of a "cloud of Love" surrounding us. We bid the couple hold on to that cloud and always refer back to it in times of challenge. I vowed to myself to hang on to it and carry it with me as I ventured back out into the world beyond the comfort of their enchanted home that evening.
With so much going on in the world at this very moment, I will carry the remembrance of that Love this week. I will seek out that which unifies people and accept it as truth. I will dismiss that which seeks to divide us.
I believe we are one family.
Namaste,
T
"Don't let them deceive us
Orchestrating our defeat
Pushing us to ruin
We fight our brother in the street
Just because he wears a different face
What a disgrace
I believe that we're all family
And together we can find all that we need..."
-Tanya Diona
"Family Reunion" lyrics
P.S.
As if Angels have just sent me confirmation of these sentiments, I just viewed these two posts (which I will post, in sequence, after posting this blog):
As I write this, peaceful protesters unite and line the streets across the country...
I began last week GETTIN' IT ON at the gym and I posted this pic in reference to my fitness goals:
On Tuesday, this blog's viewership reached over 17,000 and I was psyched! Then, my "Congratulations!" tweet to the creator of a musical that just moved to Off-Broadway and is getting rave reviews was retweeted by him, to my surprise and delight.
I was having a great time! I thought, "I am going to look for more things to celebrate. Maybe I'll create more things to celebrate!" I fully expected this blog to be titled "Happy Dance" or "Celebrate Good Times Come On!" or something like that.
I soon found this Dr. Wayne Dyer quote and it served as confirmation for me that positivity and celebration could be found everywhere if we choose to see it...
"Everything that happens to you
is either an opportunity to grow
or an obstacle to keep you from growing.
You get to choose."
- Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
After that, I heard a radio segment about Amazon's new version of the assembly line, which utilizes robots to bring the shelves to the workers, instead of the workers having to go to the shelves. The newscaster mentioned a Yale professor who strongly advocates the idea of flipping things around (as Amazon had done with the robots). There it was again - the same message...
"It
turns out there are potential symmetries all around us – ways of flipping
things around that might be just as good or better – if we just look for them."
- Barry Nalebuff & Ian Ayres
"Did you ever
store a ketchup bottle upside down?How
long did it take for Hunts and H.J. Heinz to figure out that they could turn
the label upside down?"
- Barry Nalebuff & Ian Ayres
(Barry Nalebuff is Milton Steinbach Professor of Management at Yale School of Management)
When "one of the worst storms in recent memory" (www.nytimes.com) dumped over seven feet of snow on some areas of Buffalo and its suburbs in three days, it wasn't exactly time to celebrate. When a relative attending Florida State University texted me to inform me of a shooting in the school's library, stunned disbelief and concern seemed the more appropriate response.
When my relative at F.S.U. immediately informed me that she was alright and perfectly safe and sound at home that evening, though, I was naturally overwhelmed with gratitude for that. While the events of that day were undeniably tragic, and our prayers continue to be with the student in critical condition and with the family of the troubled, there is also much to be grateful for. So many students, teachers, parents, relatives and law enforcement officials are surely grateful to be safe and for the safety of their loved ones. We can all be reminded of how precious life is and to appreciate and celebrate every moment of it.
I was scheduled to drive to Buffalo on Thursday and was watching the weather forecast very carefully. As I saw the terrible conditions and even heard the death toll rise, I was also hearing that relatives and many people I know were out of harm's way and doing well. While we prayed for those in need and for the families of those lost, we were also grateful for the health and well being of so many others.
Families all over Western New York were making the most of their situations, and stellar examples of neighbors helping neighbors were everywhere. (Buffalo is called "The City of Good Neighbors" for good reason!) Miracles were taking place when a little "Lucy Grace" came into the world at a firehouse. Just prior to her parents being unable to make it to the hospital for her delivery, her dad just "happened" to meet up with a stranded woman who was a labor and delivery nurse. Shortly after their meeting, another stranded nurse (this time a maternity nurse) found her way to the same firehouse where little Lucy was born.
Social media was flooded with the humor and good spirit of Western New Yorkers flipping their predicaments around into seeing the bright side of things.
We only delayed our trip to Western New York by one day, making it through cleared roads on Friday. On Saturday, we attended an ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL middle school performance of Seussical Jr. Those kids were fantastic to see!!! Two of my cousins were among the performers and I was so happy and proud to see them up there on stage. I loved every minute of that show. I smiled the whole time and when it was done I told Russ, "THAT was the best show I've seen in a long time!" As the kids hurried off to their cast party to celebrate their accomplishment, I smiled for them. They deserved a good celebration for an outstanding job well done.
As we begin another week, we'll celebrate our dear friends as we record new songs in the studio. We'll all celebrate Thanksgiving and family and a whole host of other things that we remember to be grateful for this time of year. We'll celebrate the fact that there's ALWAYS SOMETHING to be grateful for. I will be looking forward to all of the wonderful experiences that await. When challenges come, I'll look for a way to flip them into opportunities of growth. I'll flip out.
:) :) :)
Here's wishing you all a most joyous holiday!
Namaste!
T
"Choose to be in close proximity to people who are
empowering,
who appeal to your sense of connection to intention,
who see the
greatness in you,
and who live a life that gives evidence
that Spirit has found
celebration through them."
– Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Kool and the Gang - live performance of "Celebration"
featuring Buffalo's own (Lackawanna native) Shawn McQuiller,
who has been a member of Kool and the Gang for the last 23 years!
