Christmas and Hanukkah are almost here, are you here?
Or are you where I sometimes find myself: in my head.
Somewhere between goal setting in my business for next year, thinking of things that I wish I had started earlier because then I could get them for people this year, looking around my living room at the card rack (everyone has a card rack as furniture, no?), the boxes of Christmas decorations with my inner thoughts and expectations as visible to me as if they were sitting there next to the large green rubbermaid box with the red lid….
I thought I will go through them and choose only the things that I actually use and then give the rest away when people could actually use the decorations BEFORE Christmas – seems like more of a gift than after Christmas when some charity shop needs to find space for these items….or so I thought last year and so “saved” this task for “now”.
When I made my December Creativity Challenge, I tried to think of placing prompts where they would make sense in what I imagine people’s month to be, I checked when the full moon would be, and when Hanukkah starts. It was an attempt for the challenge to ring true at different points during our shared experience of this month.
On Sunday, after fighting a cold (slight flu) for a few days, with my biggest symptom being self-pity ( as a result of missing out on some fun friend time )- I was starting to feel really negative and sad.
The sun was shining and even that was bugging me because I didn’t really have the energy to do all-the-things that the garden needs -which would be great to do on a sunny day.
So instead, Lilly and I just “went” outside. We went for a short walk and sniff around the hood. Short.
And then we came back to the garden “just” to have a look around. It was the advice my mom would have given me, so many years ago now. “Go outside”.
I wandered around the garden and marvelled at what is blooming – in December!
I took some pictures.
I noticed some things including some bulbs that are doing their thing despite their current circumstance…
I took a few pictures of Lilly even though she was sitting on some plants in a garden bed ( normally frowned upon). But it’s winter and those plants aren’t even going to be here when the ice hits them.
When I came back inside, I realized my little visit outside had given me two things: an adjustment to my outlook – I felt much better and my example for my Creativity Challenge for the prompt: A connection to someone who has taught you something helpful.
When I wrote the prompt, I anticipated using the connection between all the things that I hang on our tree that have been made by important people in my life; how I think about them, and what I have learned from them when I open the box of tree decorations and pick up each one. I imagined that many people would be putting up their tree this weekend or perhaps they had already.
There are lots of aspects of life at this time of year where there are reminders of absence: of time, of special people, of place (both literal and figurative) and of resource of some kind. I acknowledge that.
It is also a time in many traditions of giving.
I believe the greatest gift we can give ourselves and those who are special to us is: presence.
Being present in real life if we can. Being present over the miles if that is the case. Listening. Being with someone. Not changing anything that cannot be changed, but walking alongside. Celebrating the wins!
Being present for ourselves is also a gift. Perhaps the one that leads to the energy to share with everyone else we love.
Being present is the gift.
🌲 🌲 🌲🌲 🌲
I wish you peace on your path,
Lise-Lotte