Thank you 2014!

Impermanence has become an encompassing reality for me. It has placed itself at the seat of my heart and now has a home that has been well established over the last couple of years. It reminds me in every situation of sadness and pain, love and joy that this will come and go. Don't get use to it.  The good stuff comes and it goes. The bad stuff comes and it goes. There is an ending in everything. Regardless of the situation, everything we experience in life are the ingredients to a richer soul, gives us sprinkles of more compassion and steers us towards the path we are meant to be on.  We will be celebrating change by celebrating a new year tonight. So in some way, celebrating new year is celebrating impermanence. Change is good, it brings good things and we get to start over again as a new person, new goals and new life.  Before this calendar marker of change I'd like to take some time to thank 2014 for all the amazing experiences I've have, all the joy and pain I've felt and all the love I gave and received. 

2014 thank you for giving me a family that is supportive and loving. I witness acts of love everyday and am lucky to be on the receiving end of this love daily. Thank you for my nieces that give me a reason to be a better human being. Thanks to my friends that stay by my side whether I am crying or if we are exploring a dark cave together. This year I've experienced so many adventures. Thank you for all the  mountain air, the quiet stillness of a cave, and the beauty of a desert canyon. Thank you bringing out the nature loving freak in me. Thank you for the mornings sitting on a rock, watching the ocean waves come in.  Thank you for my first adventures in shrimping and crabbing! Thank you to Manning Park. Thank you Whiskey Jacks for an unforgettable moment with my Andrea.  Thank you for every breath I took on the summits I looked down from this summer. Thank you to my body that has taken me on these adventures mostly unharmed and exhilarated. Thank you for everyone I've shared these experiences with. Thank you for everyone I had a belly aching laugh with. Thanks for letting me in your lives and sharing all those moments together. Thank you for all the micro-brewery laughs. Thank you for the inspiring people I know and respect that strive to make change in the world. Their hard work and dedication is a gift to me because it makes me work harder and give more. Thank you for all the obstacles the Universe has placed before me. Before I would have thought they were an irritation, now I know they are there FOR me. Thank you so much! Thank you for alone time where I was able to dig up old hidden loves. Thank you for all the modern day luxuries I have like electricity, tap water, a soft mattress, social media, my car, and everything that I use everyday that I hardly think about as it seems so normal to have. I know that we are the lucky ones and I am really grateful. thank you to all the people in the world who's daily actions trickle down to me having a cup of coffee. I don't think you know all that you do for all us who love coffee! Thanks to all the blogs I read out there for all the inspiration you've given me. Thanks for freedom of speech. 

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to You!

The evening is quickly approaching and after recovering from eating a holiday lunch I will soon be headed to a holiday dinner...then a holiday dessert party. I have never had more food, or sweets than during this Christmas break. If you know me personally, you know I don't have a sweet tooth, but I think I must have developed one recently. I'm surprised my pants still fit... Though it makes me fat I think people give me all this stuff because they don't think I am as fat as I think I am... so they give me  bags and boxes of chocolate. It doesn't help that I've learned how to make apple cider and just recently the fridge was full of cream puffs and cakes in a jar from Beta-5. Now they are almost gone... oopsie... Recovery from this will be hard but it's evidence of the great abundance in my life which I am so grateful for. So this Christmas don't worry about having fat bellies, or feeling too exhausted from socializing. Don't feel overwhelmed by the gifts  you recieve or those you have to give. All it means is that you life is full of love and abundance.

Though, on the radio, I am reminded that this is a hard time of the year for many out there. With that I can relate too. I've had low Christmas's and I have had great ones. It's pretty hyped up. It's the worst time to be down in the dumps. For some reason, being down in the dumps is relative to time of the year. If it is summer time and your down in the dumps at least there is sunshine. If it's fall, that bad weather really knocks things down a bit. But if it's Christmas... Christmas! All hell break loose, it's a bunch of BS! I know how you feel.  Last year as I was going through a rough time during Christmas and the last thing I wanted to be reminded of was love and happiness blah blah blah.  I wish for  those who are feeling a little low  to know that Christmas is a truly a time to be with those that care about you. If you have caring people around you then you are  lucky. If you've struggled to have loving family members around you be thankful for those who have volunteered to be a part of your life. If you feel truly alone, be thankful for your spirit because it is your closest friend and will always be there for you. Christmas means nothing else. It doesn't have anything to do with what you want or what you have. That's just the commercialized part of Christmas. It doesn't have to do with having successes or failures. It's a time to just be and feel grateful to have  life. You don't have to have everything you want or need in this moment. Life isn't summed in this two week period. It's just part of the journey.

To all my friends and family, or any passerby reading this post, I wish you a beautiful Christmas. I wish your bellies to be full of delicious food, laughter and gratitude. I also wish for you to make the most precious memories in the remaining moments of 2014. Christmas is a "season" that marks a time to cherish life. It reminds us to make dull moments precious. It gives more value to our time. It's a time for everyone to practice gratefulness before the new year approaches.  So with love to all those I know, and all the souls that I have yet to meet and even to those I will never meet, may you be filled with joy, abundance and gratitude!

Merry Christmas!