Merry Christmas!

It's almost 1 a.m. early on Christmas morning here in Atlanta. I've not seen signs of Santa yet, but the milk & cookies are out and I'm heading to bed soon! :-)

May all your needs for companionship & community be met by those you spend this day with.

Merry Christmas!

The Art of Giving

I began & finished my Christmas shopping today. Not a lot to buy. Planned it that way really. I had been considering my purchases for a while, so it was more about final commitments and taking action. Except that somehow I felt like I was shopping differently than the majority of those surrounding me "out there" today.

The energy in the stores was disjointed at best. I felt the mad dash to "get" permeating everything, but the unheard echo bouncing off people as they passed by sounded like "why am I doing this????". No one seemed to know or even be willing to answer that question as the words dropped to the floor scattered about.

There's an art to gift-giving that is more soulful, less violent, that allows presence with others. The photo above is from a favorite episode of the television show Xena:Warrior Princess where Xena gives Gabrielle an amazing gift. Simple. Profound. Allowing full-presence.

Acceptance of the gift creates a memory and strengthens the bond between them. The gift allows for an experience they might not otherwise have had. They permit themselves to show up in the NOW and move forward in the creation of their path. It's almost as if you see it all unfolding in real-time, whatever that really is!

Over the years I've tried to tweak my shopping excursions so that my gifts are more soulful and allow for more presence with their recipients. Sometimes I do really well. Other times not so much. But I'm always confident each time I embark upon a new excursion that shopping with intention creates different results for me than submitting to the mad dash to "get".

May you leave a wake of soulful, present moments as you spread your holiday cheer this year!

Robin Redbreast

Thanks to all who commented on my debut post. It's only been 24-hours, but I've felt new parts of me expanding and unfolding since opening shop last night!

Yesterday while walking outside, thinking about the Winter Solstice, knowing that as soon as I could carve out time I would make the first post to my blog, I looked up in the trees and saw a Robin Redbreast.

It was a rainy, foggy Atlanta day and yet here sat this bird of spring quietly and powerfully sharing its presence with me. We stood there together for about five minutes before going our separate ways. As we parted I knew it was no coincidence that we had met on the Winter Solstice.

Animals carry various energies that help us to move along on our path, if we will just take notice. Robin embodies the energy surrounding times of new growth & beginnings. They fly in with the winds of change asking us to weed our personal gardens and plant new seeds for the future. They teach that you can experience rebirth & renewal with joy in your heart as you release attachments to the old.

As Susanne said in her comment, "What a wonderfully auspicious day you chose to start your blog!" I think the Robin Redbreast I was hanging out with was saying the same thing in his own unique way.

I didn't logically calculate that the Winter Solstice was the best day to start my blog. As many of you know, I've been talking about doing it for a L-O-N-G time. In the last month, I felt inside my body at a cellular, soul, gut-level that I needed to do this now, which became last night.

The image involves a custom-built luxury liner...say the Queen Mary 2...where the ship's Captain intentionally powers up the elaborate navigational locator system onboard that allows others to know the QM2's position in the ocean...her presence, if you will.

That is what I did last night by opening this blog. I flipped the on-switch letting my position be known by offering my vibration and light to the world. And I chose to do it on the darkest night of the year.

Symbols abound. Creation is at play. Robin Redbreast flies in. Joy flows deep.

As the sign on my front door reads:

"Welcome: received gladly into one's presence or companionship"

The Winter Solstice

Tonight is a favorite of the year. The Winter Solstice. My path to honoring this evening has been a journey that will unfold through stories, insights, ramblings, pictures, and musings that I post here along the way.

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day and darkest night of the year. Each day after it brings increasing light as the earth continues its forward movement of cycling through the seasons. Just as I feel the movement toward increasing darkness on the Summer Solstice in June, in turn I feel the movement toward increasing light tonight. And that always makes me feel hopeful & happy. Basking in the light has a way of doing just that!

I've learned much about living with the rhythm of the seasons and the cycles within the days, weeks, and months of the year. It's helped me to simplify life and be more present each moment. Honestly, I don't know how else to live anymore, but that's a story for another time.

For tonight, I want to welcome you to the beginning of this blog. The Winter Solstice seemed a fitting time to offer my light and my vibration to the world through this space. So...welcome, one and all! I hope you find this a comfortable & fun place to hang out.

Happy Winter Solstice!