Once upon a time, a long time ago, this time of year seemed easier.
A new velvet dress for Christmas pictures. Made by Mom. I had to argue for the one I remember best. Given the choice of red or green, I chose purple… and I loved it!
Left-over Christmas cookies. A new Barbie doll. And a book!
A week or so before school started again.
In my family, Christmas was the big deal. Nobody paid much attention to New Years Eve except for the football fans.
Nobody I knew noticed – or mentioned – the Solstice. Or Epiphany. Or Hanukkah. Or Kwanzaa.
There was no Google Calendar to fill and color code with all the things wrestling for space in the New Year.
This year feels different.
Not simply because of all the What?
It feels different because of the Why?
(Which is no particular surprise if you’ve been reading along for a while!)
It’s clearer, though, just now.
Not simply because there’s so much more getting in, though there is.
It’s clearer because one of my filters has gotten a whole lot clearer.
Or, more specifically, a belief which acts as a filter.
You probably know that I have a thing for hope.
The surprise – for me – is how much that thing for hope has been growing in the last few weeks.
In fact, I woke up this morning with a bit of pre-dawn note taking on the inside of my left hand.
Not invisible ink, this time, but red. (Like red thread.)
Hope… of hope!
Which feels a whole lot like where I am called to live.
Hope, admittedly, for power and internet. (Which is blessedly back on!) And hope for so much more.
Justice. The planet. Peace. Sanity. Love.
I haven’t just hatched all this up myself. In fact, it’s connected to my current bed-time reading!
I’m not going to tell the whole story here. I so hope you’ll read the book, yourself! And, I suspect it will mean different things in your spirit if you do.
In fact, I suspect it was meant to!
The big ah-hah! for me came in three little words, which feel both familiar from my distant past and huge for my future…
Purpose and perseverance.
My purpose is, clearly, hope. For all of us.
My calendar is filling, already, with perseverance.
And behind all this noticing and wondering is the realization that we are able to choose.
We just need to claim that truth.
It won’t solve all the challenges. It will show us the next steps. The next right things, if you will.
And, as it happens, my medicine basket is full of new ways to make those next steps!
Intrigued??? Looking for a bit of help in the purpose & perseverance department? Let’s talk! My multi-holy-day gift to you. Just CLICK HERE and the calendar elves will hook you up!
For now, it’s time for feeding the big beasties. And fluffing the studio a bit. Matrica is Friday, and there’s still time for you to join, too!!!
Then, tonight, I’m attending a dear cousin’s (virtual) wedding… in Hawaii!
ps… need a book? Here are two! One I wrote: Grandmothers Are In Charge Of Hope and one that has me writing on my hand in the wee, small hours: The Boleyn Heresy, by Kathleen McGowan.
