Tag Archives: Peace

3 More Days until Christmas

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I love Christmas. I felt anxiety at the beginning of the week but decided to let that go right away. It wasn’t easy, but was worth it.

Tonight we had an early Christmas dinner with our friends any my parents. Everyone worked together and it was a fabulous day.

The boys watched football, the kids played outside, the turkey cooked on the smoker for several hours while Mom and I played cards. It doesn’t get much better than that. Juliana baked a pecan pie that we enjoyed with homemade cookies and pumpkin pie for dessert before opening presents together.

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Life is good. Wishing you joy and peace and love. Merry Christmas!

Got Grace?

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I saw this on a bumper sticker today, and it stuck on my mind.

I think it’s the secret to overcoming tragedy, frustration and darkness. We don’t always get to pick the life we wish to experience, and when it changes as it always does, let’s hope we know what grace looks and feels like and can hold on.

I’ve been thinking about grace all day, and wish this for all who are suffering, at this moment, with the hope and knowledge that this too shall pass and life does and will get better again.

Sometimes the world is dark and chaotic and we’re not sure how we will get through the craziness. Grace is that calmness that takes over our body and leads us quietly forward as we navigate through the unknown, one foot in front of the other.

Grace allows us to positively face our fear and not lose control, and is something we can cling to as we figure out how to care for ourselves going forward, even when we are scared.

Grace is what saved me in my darkest hour and grace is what I wish for you, when you’re not sure of the way. Just remember, this too shall pass, and you are loved.

Namaste.

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Control

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I want to explore this topic as I have a ton of ideas floating in my head about control, but since I’m tired I don’t know if I’ll get them all out tonight.

But I’ll start with this. Do you have any relationships you wish to control? I mean no one really wants to control someone else, because that would be bad. But do you have some relationships where you have expectations about how you want things to go, but they don’t go as planned because the other person has different expectations? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.

I have a couple like this. I have these dreams and a very active imagination and I build up these fantasies in my head that don’t go as I have scripted. Because there are other smart and grown up people involved with their own set of images and dreams and needs and wants. And sometimes we’re in alignment and sometimes we’re in conflict.

So for some reason, sometimes I want to be in charge. I want things to go my way. But they don’t. And I don’t have control and I don’t like that feeling. But I’m working on that every day. To let go and to let things just flow. To let others have their way and to not expect them to do what I had envisioned. So simple, right? But that letting go part is so hard. And so what? The best thing to do is to listen, be understanding, share, adapt, and flow.

I’ll give you a silly example. Juliana was sitting in the back seat of the car, and I opened the door to have her move up to the front. But she closed the door as I was talking to my friend, and didn’t move. So I clicked the automatic door button again and told her she could move up front, but again she closed the door and I was confused. I thought for sure she would want to move up front. But she didn’t want to and had her reasons, which made sense. I felt like I knew better and wanted to control the situation and felt agitated. But why? Because I had envisioned her moving and it didn’t make sense to me why she wouldn’t move the way I imagined. I felt conflict, on a very small scale, but this is what I’m talking about. And this same story plays over again and again. Things don’t go the way I plan. Duh. I want to be less rigid and let go of my feeling of need to control situations, and just flow and trust my loved ones. Usually the outcome is better anyway and everyone is happier.

Having big kids or being in a partnership, people that we love are going to disappoint us, but not intentionally, especially because they love us and typically have good intentions. They just have their own agenda and free will and usually aren’t thinking the way we do. The sooner we let go and flow and move our ego out of the way, the happier we all will be. Am I right?

Here’s my joy face from tonight Good things come when you let go. :-). Namaste.

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GGG – Day 19 – Reflection

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“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
― Melody Beattie

Today I’m thankful for time for reflection. Reflection to me is a way to look in the mirror, or look inside and to be still and to see and feel what’s really there. It’s a time for meditation or deep thought or prayer. It’s a form of stillness and a time to be thankful for what and who we are and all we have and all we do.

If we stop to reflect, we slow down for a minute or two or three to actually think and process all of the events and circumstances in our lives. I think this is important to do, to be sure we’re actively making the right choices for ourselves as we continue to change and adapt and grow. If we can slow down to reflect, we can take time to be thankful for all that we have, and to dream and anticipate all that we will become.

So whether you call it reflection, meditation, prayer, savasna, pause, or mindfulness… take a moment to reflect on all that is good and feel the benefits you derive from this simple pleasure and see where you go from here. Peace.

“Be a reflection of what you’d like to see in others! If you want love, give love, if you want honesty, give honesty, if you want respect, give respect. You get in return, what you give!”- unknown

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First rain of the season – I loved it!

Peace

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Tonight I wish you peace, love, and fuzzy, cozy pajamas!!  Don’t you wish you had some just like these??  It was very cold here today and I think winter is in the air.  It’s been a long day of parenting, teaching and patience. I’m exhausted…just keeping it real. How was your weekend?

I hope you all have a good night and a wonderful new week.  We’re excited for Halloween on Thursday and have lots to do to get ready!!  xo

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So What?

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This is another one of my mantras. You might not like it. But if you think about it for a minute, it might make sense.

Life happens. It just keeps coming. Lots of times we react to It, whatever It may be.

Sometimes drama pops up and we are filled with emotions trying to make sense of life event A or life event B. Can you tell I’ve been helping with math homework?

Sometimes we are angry or sad or crazy because of something that happened to us, or our kids, or our well being is just shaken. Sometimes it’s something serious, really serious, and sometimes it just feels serious. And we react. And sometimes keep reacting in a negative way.

My response is… yep, you guessed it…. So what?

So what, really? Really, does it make a difference how you feel? The event just happened. Usually you can’t change it. Sometimes you can and then it makes sense to think of what you can do differently. But most times you just have to say “So what?” Deal with it. Cope with it. Make amends and accept what is as fast as you can so you can go on living and accepting and enjoying the present moment whatever that may be. Accept your new normal and adapt. The longer we feed the drama, the less time we have for joy in the present we might experience.

When Charlie almost died, I had to say so what. What could I do? There wasn’t much I could do to help him and it was out of my control. I had to let go, and let the doctors work their magic and pray to God that His Will would be done. Don’t get me wrong… I tried my best and worked so hard and was at the hospital day and night, and did everything possible to care for him and my family as we went through our personal hell. But when I let go, and stopped trying to find the answers and surrendered to the process and the journey, I found peace. I found grace. I found joy despite the fear and sadness and worry.

And I’ve never wanted to let go of this feeling. I’ve used this strength to help guide me through life and not to react as strongly as I normally would and I’ve practiced saying so what when things didn’t go as planned. And geez, things usually don’t go as planned, do they? So what. I’m going to live the best life possible and so are you. Right?

Really, I think it works for just about any situation. My dad always says, “In 5 years, are you going to remember this moment.” Or, “In 10 years, will it really matter that event A happened?” This is just another way of saying “So what?” Really. Just acknowledge and accept what comes your way and adapt and change and move on. Keep moving forward and finding your happy place. Sometimes it takes a bit longer, of course, but we need to find peace in life. And I think peace comes more quickly when we let go of trying to control what we’ve been handed and just say “So what” or whatever other expression helps you to let go and move on. And please, don’t think for one minute I’m saying that whatever has happened to you isn’t tragic, or scary or sad or miserable or painful or any other negative feeling that you’re experiencing. That is real. It’s just our reaction to the pain is what we can control.

I wish you peace and grace and love. So what?

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Let there be light… It’s a full moon tonight.

Day 343: The Space Between

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I’m in that space – that in between place, living in the moment and preparing for the next chapter amidst the chaos and joy, filled with anxiety and peace. I think they call this transition. Christine described it as liminality in her blog today as she prepares to move her family and transition to a new community in another state. I totally understand what she’s experiencing. You can read about her transition here: Christine’s blog

My toe nail polish is chipped, my hair is wild and curly, the laundry machine keeps whirling, and the sorting and organizing and tossing has begun and I haven’t worked out in weeks. The kids are loud and a bit crazy, I might add. And I think they actually liked seeing me come a bit undone. I can laugh now, but could you see my head spinning?

One of my mottos is to work hard, first, then play. And today I did just that. I organized and shopped and packed and cleaned all day, knowing that I had something fun to look forward to later.

Barbara invited me to join her for dinner and a boat ride. I can’t even tell you the peace that came over me, being out on the water one more time, and spending time with my dear friend. This was the best anti-anxiety medicine ever! Thank you, Barbara!! You made my day.

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Our routines are shaking, our community is changing, and in 5 days I’ll be on another plane heading back home. I’m excited for what’s to come and a little anxious too. I’m sad to be leaving a part of my soul behind with the friends and community that have loved me and my family in this short year. And I’m ready for what comes next, whatever that may be…to hug my family and friends, to resettle in our cozy, little home, and to enjoy all that California has to offer.

Namaste.

Day 311: Goodbye Party

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It’s official… we are moving and tonight it felt real. Patty and Bob planned a goodbye party for us and several of our friends were there. We went on a canal boat cruise through Amsterdam and then to a restaurant for tapas and drinks and dancing. I had so much fun celebrating with everyone and was thankful that everyone came out and enjoyed being together. The hardest part of moving is having to say goodbye to our friends, the best part of Holland. I love you all and am so thankful you are part of my life, forever.

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“(We) are now part of an international community of soul mates, who share the common, universal experiences of surviving – and thriving – in an overseas home.” – Robin Pascoe

I will miss you all so much and hope you all come to California to see me again. You’ll always have a place to stay. And I hope to see you again wherever you may go. Thank you for sharing this magical journey with me.
You are loved.

Namaste.