do you hear

“…prayer is when we ask the universe for something, and meditation is when we stop and listen…When we allow ourselves to do both we begin to have a true conversation with the universe.”  - Daily Om

Silent night when all is calm and bright is the perfect time to speak to the universe and maybe not ask but give thanks before we pause to hear her response. Perhaps it’s also just the right time to begin having true conversations with ourselves, new chats with fresh dialogues. As another decade is about to close, the good, bad, better and worse that transpired from 2000 – 2010 will soon be behind me. I don't make resolutions, I do reflect, discuss and get quiet so I can pay attention. This year I’m at peace knowing that I’ve evolved on schedule more adequately prepped to navigate what lies ahead than I was at the brink of Y2K and poised for what else I need to learn.

As you ring in 2011, take a moment to drown out the horns and cheers. Listen…there really is something you need to hear and while you’re at it…

keep your peepers open!®

after post

I love snow on Christmas but can’t remember when was the last time I had a white one so I got a tiny bit giddy when I peeped out the window yesterday and saw flurries. The weather folks had been predicting a storm, then took it back, then said maybe, then I stopped dreaming of waking up to what I think makes the holiday all the more magical. But on this post Xmas day, they say that snow really and truly is on the way. Hooray! (Guess the thought has stirred the Seuss in me.) While I wait, first pair of UGGS at the ready (I finally capitulated this season because my short boots were no match for the deep snows I tromped around in earlier this year), I am going on line to take advantage of great discounts that did not exist the day pre Xmas on two staples in my winter wardrobe. Shopping by candlelight under the warmth of cashmere covers, a cup of nutty hojicha green tea at my fingertips…I feel for all those out at the malls who may not be aware that snowflakes are about to cover the ground because the weather people couldn't seem to pinpoint when or if it's really going to all come down.

keep your peepers open!®

ps – As I was about to post, I got this picture from my close friend who is in a place where a white Christmas can only be in one’s dreams. The warmth of sand on my toes rather than wiggling them around in the fluff of my boots…now I’m dreaming…

glitterati

For those who read this blog on a regular basis, you know how connected I am to nature, how much it inspires my creative energy be it written or visual. So it goes without saying that I was one of the many in the world who stood outside in the dark of the solstice morning gazing at the eclipse. That is until my body went numb ‘cause I live where it was rather chilly at that time of the AM. No longer able to distinguish my feet from the ground on which they stood, I rushed upstairs to leap back under my comforter; the warmth was invigorating rather than quieting so I settled down not for a long winter’s nap but to separate thoughts about what I had just witnessed from others that danced in my head.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth so that the earth blocks the sun's rays from striking the moon. In other words the light of the sun is not able to shed its light on the moon because the earth is in between…sort of like moments in life when we are torn between decisions, can’t see beyond what is obvious, are not close enough to the end of the tunnel to feel the glimmer of light on our faces. But hopefully with perseverance and maybe a little nudging from those who care, we find a way back to our orbit.

I heard Oprah paying homage to her best friend during a recent on air interview. In part she said that Gayle was, “…the therapy I didn’t have and the therapy I don’t need.” No truer words were spoken when it comes to my friends. Goddess knows I have saved millions of dollars and hours on a couch as they spent hours on the phone to save me. My friends are like planets that revolve around me when my world is off course. Never blocking my light they only stand in my way when I can’t get out of my own to keep me from spinning into outer space. If for some reason my glow dims, their energy is what makes me shine bright until I can plug in to my own reserves. Their rays of wisdom wash over me when I am prostrate with disappointment, lifting me to be sun-kissed by the moon of a night sky as many times as needed until I am once again happy, healthy, whole and completely full. Orbiting through life with them is a blast. Never dull, we glitter like millions of twinkling stars be it morning, noon or night and whether I am with one, all, or a combination of some, it's like being in the Milky Way of love.

...and we sure can make a lot of noise, so...

keep your peepers open!®

my favorite things

My best friend and I were talking about this past year, about things we still needed to do when I found myself saying, “I really don’t remember the things I haven’t done but I do recall all the things that I did. I’ve done what was supposed to get done. I’m happy.”

It’s been a year. I walked out on limbs and dared myself to fall, crawled out on others and hoped that I didn’t. I practiced my lifelong lesson of patience with a grace I am proud of which in turn allowed me to hold onto the belief that I will receive all that I desire and deserve. There are many specific accomplishments huge and miniscule that I could recite but won’t. I know what they are, those who need to already do, and others will figure it out in their own space and time.

So don’t begin rushing around like a crazed person trying finish what you haven’t already started. Take a moment. You’ve done exactly what you were supposed to do which I bet is more that you thought. Be at peace with that and just enjoy.

keep your peepers open!®

holiday blues

Each year I have the pleasure of picking decorations for a children’s hospital. As I perused Pier 1 last week, I spotted a big container of red, green and gold ornaments that seemed like the perfect mix of color and design. But as I placed it up on the counter along with my other items, I was not enthused suddenly struck by the holiday blues -- just above the register was a huge snowflake covered in glittery blues and purples. My eyes grew wide, my mouth gapped open. As it spun around, I did too with that container in hand as I began to rethink not just the color palette but my entire concept of decorating.

Snowflakes are non-denominational, airy, pretty representing the entire winter season. I visualized a hanging arrangement that combined lots of tiny whites along with some medium sized blue, green and turquoise balls that I spotted on the Mardi Gras tree, one of several in Pier 1. Of course I had to get several of those big blue flakes and bought all that they had! Going in this direction would be less offensive more encompassing. So if you are just bored with the thought of green and red schemes or don’t believe in any of the religious or cultural celebrations but love the idea of sprucing up, go winter not holiday seasonal. Add in some snow people, glass icicles that reflect light beautifully, pine cones and greenery to bring nature’s scent into a space, white roses, or anything else you find that speaks to winter and go for it.

keep your peepers open!®

the season's bright

The weekends are flying by as we countdown to Christmas and I’m not ready. I used to have all my shopping completed well before Thanksgiving. If I decided to send cards, they were the first one of the season my recipients received even the years I handmade them. I abhor the craziness of Christmas crowds! But scurrying around this weekend to finish gifts, drop off token presents, support friends who have small shops, and pick up items for holiday gatherings really wasn’t all that bad leaving me enough sane energy to finally sit down to address cards which I did remember to order from UNICEF last month. I think having music accompanying me as I moved from place to place was one of the reasons my spirits stayed high, my steps peppy.

Try as I might, I can't resist adding to my collection of holiday music every year. My favorite new addition for 2010 is Christmas Cheers by Straight No Chaser. Upbeat twists to or cool arrangements on classic selections, a couple of songs new to my ears, the a cappella sounds swing, glide, pop, float and keep me smiling from the first beat to the last. I have yet to take it out of rotation when I reload the CD player.

Music really does make the season brighter and if you wait 'til after Christmas, the cost is a little lighter; I always buy just one more CD at sale price to put away for the following December 1. It's the first present I unwrap to start off the holidays (I still can’t decide which rendition by Andrea Bocelli made me shed the most tears, The Lords Prayer or my all time Christmas favorite, Oh Holy Night sung in Italian. I get weepy no matter who sings it or what language it’s sung in much like I do towards the end of It's a Wonderful Life which is coming on now, so keep your ears and…)

keep your peepers open!®

oh christmas tree

When I moved back to Washington two days after Thanksgiving 10 years ago, amongst my many boxes were three filled with holiday ornaments I had purchased year after year in anticipation of having a big tree next year to put them on; all were still in their original packaging since I never had a tree in either of my NYC apartments over the 9½ years I lived there. So on my first Christmas in DC I bought one, hosted a trim the tree party. I cooked, baked, set a festive seasonal buffet table, and kept the champagne flowing as we listened to holiday classics laughing all the way. This would be the start of an annual tradition; my home has yet to see another tree! Full disclosure…those boxes of ornaments were stored away after that first Christmas and have resided way at the back of the top shelf in a closet that is so stuffed, it’s hard to get to them. Call me trifling the thought of getting them down gives me a headache. But I do manage to create some very simplistic decorative arrangements for every room each year, put out the door mat, and hang a wreath on the door, just no tree.

On December 1, I pondered what I would do as the first holiday CD began to play. Would I unearth those decorations…what did I do last year…was there something new I could create? Nothing came to mind as I selected a wreath and mat from the storage closet. A few days later I sat in the middle of the living room floor tying up packages with strings, happily singing along to the same tunes, different genres with still not a clue. Perhaps I would once again place the tiny glass ball ornaments of various colors, some with glitter others plain into a big crystal bowl I thought as I nestled snuggly in bed later that evening. And then in the mid of night it came upon me oh so clear. That huge elongated red serving dish I picked up last year had only been used for food so far but now, just in the nick of time, it would serve up the quintessential answer to my holiday décor dilemma!

I’m so tickled with my simple variation on an old theme. When I lit the candles it was fresh, cool and sparkly and even though there is no tree, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas this Christmas where I live.

keep your peepers open!®

ps – I have a date on my calendar to clean out that closet and move those boxes!

do you

It's my me time weekend, the gift I decided to give myself when I got back from my October travels. The first Saturday and Sunday of each month, I turn off the electronics, eat healthy with the exception of one or two treats that vary depending on what I'm feeling, visit a tranquil spa for a hot stone massage or mud wrap followed by a pedicure and get my hair coiffed. My creative self awakens to explore artistic endeavors if there is something to uncover; I read, doze, catch up with myself as I catch my breath. When I wake on Monday I am restored.

These weekends really do revive me, give me the energy to propel through the month ahead and serve as something to look forward to during stressful moments should they present themselves. So it should go without saying that I do not entertain stress producers of the human sort during my sacred 48 hours but am perfectly happy to invite close friends into the inner sanctum to share a meal, tea, conversation. I take this time so seriously that it is now booked on my calendar through 2011. And why not, we schedule everything else don’t we? A break from the daily to take care of ourselves really should rank right at the top of things to do, should be honored by self and others. Honestly, shutting it down for a couple of days makes me better, keeps me sane, more focused.

The spa may not be your respite of choice, you may not be able to designate an entire two days to do you but get creative. Design some time with your signature all over it. And don’t wait until January 1 to declare it as a resolution that won’t be kept, make it a holiday gift that will keep on giving…you’ll thank me later.

keep your peepers open!®

g

Never has my laptop shut down because the battery is depleted of energy but it did last evening. As it began its internal countdown, the word “hibernate” appeared in the message signaling that the computer was going to sleep in five…four…three…two...

When I woke from an extended nap, it was December signaling the next month in what I call the season of g’s -- gratitude and giving. Who knows why in my waking mind were alternating thoughts about gifts for this year and the rose garden around the corner. Maybe it was remembering that the bushes continue to simply give of themselves in a time when seemingly they should be asleep. Like opening the door to Munchkinland, their patch of Technicolor suddenly reminds me that simple gracious giving is a thing of beauty, suggests I simply give with grace.

Simplicity. Now that that’s settled, a need to slumber is upon me once again so...

keep your peepers open!®