New Years resolutions….Yea, right…
How many of these do we actually hit…?
I still haven’t lost the weight from 2018, a certain woman in my life still makes me nuts..(but I’m getting better), I need to leave my stress-filled job of eight years, and I still haven’t found my tribe.
The definition of insanity…doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.
This year, I have one resolution. To Just.Be.Happy.
It’s something that’s in my control, and it’s simply a state of mind.
Think about it.
Right now, just be happy.
If your sink is overflowing with dishes, if your funds are low, if your dog is sick or your kids are making you nuts, those are external things. Not to minimize them, of course…they have their place on the “angst scale”. But there will always be stuff. Always and never-ending….
But what I’ve learned from the past few years is this…
If you go inside yourself, truly inside, there is a quiet place..a place where peace exists…and God, if you believe in the Divine,
When I was a little girl, living in a “three decker” with four siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, a drunken grandfather and my sainted Nana, there was a LOT going on…
and sometimes, it was just too much.
But there was a large lilac bush in the corner of the cement yard.
When I needed a break, I would go hide in back of the bush…smelling the heavenly lilacs, escaping the hot pavement and the chaos and noise around me, and I found peace.
Years later, when I started to meditate, that image would always come back to me..the lilac bush, the scent and the serenity that filled me in the middle of a crazy world.
With that came a major epiphany.
I could go into myself, anytime I needed to, and find that peace. It lived inside me now, and all I had to do to access it was to just stop, shut down, and go inside.
When tumult swirls around me now, as it often does, just knowing there’s a place where I can breath, be at peace, and feel Gods love like I did when I was a young girl..that’s sometimes all I need.
As an extra bonus , now that my dad has passed, I feel his spirit there, inside me too.
God, My dad and peace….what more could a girl want?
Take some time to go inside…without expectation or agenda….you may be surprised…and sometimes you may not want to come out!!
On another bend…
Here’s are two books I’m reading now that I HIGHLY recommend…
“Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes” by William Bridges. Ph.D.
Warning,: this is not an easy read…but It goes WAY above the “fix your life in 30 days” self help jargon….It’s about how the process of transitioning is vital to growing and expanding to the next, better phase of your ever-changing journey…
Let’s face it, we’re at the stage of life where change comes rapidly! From one day to the next, it’s a health issue, a job concern, problems with aging parents or adult children or grandchildren, sometimes all at once.
This is a great book that teaches you to understand and navigate these waves of upending so that you land on your feet wiser and stronger, with deep respect for how you got there…
In it’s 40th year of print, with over 500,000 copies sold , it’s time tested and so helpful at this stage in our lives!
The other is a lighter, more delightful novel….
“Recipe For A Perfect Wife” by Karma Brown (I KNOW..that TITLE!!!)
This story goes back and forth from the 2000’s to the 1950’s and is about a woman who finally takes control of her life…alarming, unforgettable, illuminating and ominous…a great book to read while you’re waiting for your favorite TV shows to return from holiday hiatus!
Have the most amazing, vibrant, surprising, kick-butt decade ahead! Into the 2020’s we GO!
Hang on tightly to those crowns~
Wear Your Crowns 
This has been my mantra for the last 8 years. Not always easy, but, like good posture, it becomes easier with practice and eventually is your default emotion.
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