My New Year



Most of us take the opportunity to assess life during what we have come to call, the New Year, which is observed on and around January 1.  I, however, rebel that I am, take time to reflect each year on my birthday.

This year, as I sat in meditation, I was overwhelmed by my blessings.  My life is so rich.  Here are but a few examples in the litany of gifts in my life.

  • My spiritual journey
  • My beloved
  • My daughters, each a rare and unique gem
  • My grandchildren...five at the last count!
  • My family and friends, which encompass the entire globe
  • My ability to write
  • My garden
Am I looking at things through rose-colored glasses?  Perhaps.


It is not that I don't live in reality.  I definitely understand the pain, the suffering, the heartache of life.  The choices I make are to find the good, to see the silver lining.  It is a choice.

Recently, a friend wrote a blog post on how negative people can bring your energy down.  She discussed the need to distance oneself from such influences.  I completely agree.  

In my life, I learned the necessity of consciously deciding who to include into my circle as well as what situations best nurture my soul.  This is not egocentric, as some have noted.  It is survival.

Negative people are like vampires.  They suck the life out of everyone and everything they encounter, even when they  are given opportunities to be lifted up.  

For instance, I had a relative who simply could not find joy in anything.  For years, I tried to bring her happiness. Small gifts, special outings, affirmations all went by the wayside.  She reveled in her misery.  Finally, enlightened by a spiritual advisor, I confronted her, pointing out the fact that no matter what anyone did, she found a way to be negative.  Telling her that she was responsible for her own happiness was a wakeup call for me, too.  I no longer needed to try to "make" anyone happy.  My responsibility was only to myself.

Since that day, my life has been a series of blessings.  Long before Oprah made the gratitude journal famous, I was tracking my blessings, words from the heart,  in my journal.  It didn't take long for me to see the pattern in my life, a pattern that has replayed repeatedly.  




So, rose-colored glasses may be part of my look, but I am the one deciding to wear them.  Life is truly glorious when viewed from their filter.

Namaste!
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Happy Birthday Linda!!!

I think it makes a lot of sense, the new year begins on each birthday, and all the other "new year" days of the different cultures. What they all have in common is the practice of gratitude for the previous year and asking for blessings for the coming year. Isn't it amazing that when we appreciate what we have, we just keep getting more.

Love and blessings for a grace-filled year to come!
September 22, 2010 at 1:24 AM
Rev. Linda said…
Thanks, Miruh! I can feel the blessings already!
September 23, 2010 at 4:46 PM
Anonymous said…
Ah you are so eloquent!!!!

And the TRUTH you speak rings all the way to Creator's ears and there is a smile!

Lovely One you have MUCH to be thankful for and I am THANKFUL for YOU!

And Happy Birthday! xoxoxoxox N
September 23, 2010 at 4:47 PM
Rev. Linda said…
Dear N...thank you for your kind words and greetings. It was a wonderful week.

Hugs...L
September 23, 2010 at 4:49 PM
Eliza said…
Hear hear! During My Year To Myself I decided I would eliminate all negativity from my life. I do not watch the news, and I do not read the newspaper. Talk about cesspools of negativity! And I distanced myself from all the negative people in my life.

Like you, I am very realistic about life, but life is still what you make of it. Someone wants to make it out to be awful, then that is their choice. Just as it is my choice to not participate in their perceptions.

I LOVE my rose-coloured glasses. They're sexy *grin*
September 23, 2010 at 7:04 PM
Rev. Linda said…
Oh, Eliza, I like sexy! Thanks for your comments. Keeping negativity at bay is so important! I too stopped watching TV and reading newspapers. Contrary to those who said I was sticking my head in the sand, I know what is happening. I decide what to read about and where to go to get the information, which is much healthier than constantly being deluged with a hodgepodge of he said, she said, they said.

Peace, my friend!
September 23, 2010 at 7:36 PM
Margo Dill said…
I completely agree with you. Bring on the rose-colored glasses any day!

Margo
http://margodill.com/blog/
September 27, 2010 at 3:03 PM
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