Want a Happy New Year for 12 months? Hint: Kindness
It’s the first day of the year and tomorrow morning here in New England my cold hectic schedule resumes. The sentiment of “the holiday spirit lasting the whole year through” may be gone by seven o'clock in the morning.
I pondered that spirit carefully. I want this long winter season to be little better this year. Maybe there's some practical wisdom to hold onto more than just a calendar marking the days until summer returns.
I'm curious about one big contributing factor to a joyful season; a time when it’s socially acceptable to be kinder to everyone.
This January 1st, I'm remembering an act of kindness that changed my heart during a tough and relentless time.
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Ghosts are Real: The Five Types You May Experience Today.
#1. MEMORY GHOSTS: Each time I visit my 94 year old cousin, Louise, we have a gentle argument. She asks about family members and I tell her how and when they passed away. We cry sometimes because she has impaired memory and it's as if she's learning this news for the first time.
And then, ten minutes later, she asks again, and I explain again and then she argues some more to convince me that everyone is still alive.
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How Our "First" Escalator Ride Opened My Adoptive Heart
William had been in our family for 14 days when we decided to take the train to Boston for the first time. He was 9 years old. Will was put into the foster care system at age 8. A year later, he joined our family permanently. I'll never know his first words, first smile, or first step.
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Along Came a Spider and Sat Down Beside Her. Well, Actually...
Actually, I sat down next to the spider.
Once a week, I drive to the grand windmills of Cape Ann and arrive at a place called Crooked Cove. In this cove there is a cottage that's the the home of the Gloucester Writers' Center. I drive 60 miles through rush-hour traffic for a two hour meeting to be where I belong. Belonging matters.
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Needlepointing vs. Health Insurance
I always wondered how my grandmother found the time to needlepoint with her busy medical practice. During my childhood overnight visits, I gradually noticed that her home was filled with needlepoint.
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Stubborn Courage: How My Grandmother Became a Doctor in 1925
The reply from the medical school never arrived. Edith's application was not acknowledged. As September approached, Edith resigned to the results that she would not be accepted into medical school.
"They didn't reject you either, " her mother reminded.
For reasons that I can only recognize as stubborn courage, my great grandmother Carrie and her daughter Edith boarded the train from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania with bags packed for the school year.
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How to Stop a Reoccurring Nightmare?...Let it Happen in Real Life.
There was something familiar about this strange waiting period. "This is my nightmare!" I pointed towards the speaker, "Nobody picks up when I call 911! It's happening!"
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Symbols REALLY matter, even ask Asclepius
From your rear view mirror you see flashing lights from a vehicle with a symbol depicting the shape of a snake twisting up a staff. Yup. A snake on a staff. It's an image often seen on an ambulance. That symbol is called the Rod of Asclepius, a Greek mythological God considered the hero of health and healing.
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Evolution of an Energy Healer
Life is not linear and rigid but more of a collection of experiences that bring us closer to knowing the consciousness of our soul – closer to waking up. “When you age, you don’t just get older. You are every age you’ve ever been,” my yoga teacher recently said in class.
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