Breathe 2015
We are coming down the pike towards closure of the calendar year 2015. The sky is gray and there is some rain and it is very cold. In spite of the rain and cold, as I pause to think about the year ending and 2016 beginning, I look ahead with hope and optimism. Maybe it is just the caffeine high from a nice cup of Earle Grey tea; or more likely, it may be that I feel there has been so much pain in the world during 2015 that there is no place to go but up. Whatever the reason, my habit is to accept and move forward with a degree of hope and optimism.
I keep pausing, listening, and waiting; in this moment of pause in which I question my own feelings of hope and optimism on this gray cold day, one story comes to mind. For now, I am choosing to concentrate on a few positive sound bites. One heart warming story is about Canadian knitters who are knitting hats for all the Syrian refugees who are entering their country. As a knitter, it struck me that I could do that. It is so easy to feel as if something one individual can do would be so small as to be insignificant. But, my thoughts return to the vision of dropping a pebble into water and watching the effect ripple out in larger and larger circles. Taking some small step to affect the great, overwhelming problems is worth more time and deeper contemplation, then action!
As I approach the New Year, as always, I continue to stop and wait as my breath enters and refreshes my mental and physical being. I decide to consciously make an effort to be the change I wish to see. After all this is all anyone of us can hope to accomplish. 2016 will come and I know we all will deal with both negative and positive encounters; this is life. How will I personally deal with these ups and especially the downs will depend upon how well I use the tools of stopping, being aware, breathing, and making choices. I have never been one to make New Years resolutions and that will not change. That said, my resolve is the same each and every day, this is to, one day at a time, allow myself space to make wise, useful choices.
I was thinking about Albert Einstein and looked up quotes. The following quote seemed a good one with which to close out 2015 and begin anew, with resolve, in 2016. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.” (from BrainyQuote.com)
Happy New Year!