Bowl of the Year

I've been reading Sue Bender's Everyday Sacred. The cover image is a simple bowl and since Bender is a potter, the bowl is a central theme in her book. Bender thoughtfully reflects on the monk's beggar bowl, with which he asks for his daily nourishment.

It occured to me that a year is like a bowl - circular, complete, repeating from one year to the next, with an arbitrary beginning / ending point. And yet each year, unique.

What has filled your 2009 bowl? What did you ask for? What came to your bowl unbidden? Perhaps your bowl was filled with ease, perhaps challenge or hardship, certainly it was filled with change.

No matter what your year bowl contains, I imagine it is rich and savory. Yet you may want to spice it up a bit, or perhaps add an accompaniment to cool it down.

Bring your year bowl into your heart space and feel deep appreciation for a year of nourishment, for the gift and blessings of the year. Feel gratitude as well for the challenges, which may take some time to reveal their lessons or blessings.

Lastly, carefully cleanse your bowl and prepare it for a new year of offerings.

May your new year bring you peace.

The Importance of Appreciation

"If there is a sin against life, it consists not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life." Albert Camus

How often do you find yourself wishing 'if only...' If only I could sing. If only I had more imagination. If only I were taller, shorter, smarter, funnier. Oh, the list goes on.

How much of our life we waste by failing to acknowledge and appreciate our own gifts. As we pine away for a different talent or gift, the world suffers the loss of our own 'grandeur'.

As we approach a new year, I ask you to take a hard look at yourself. Do you minimize your creativity, humor, writing ability, or perhaps capacity to care for others? The world is not served by your denial of your gifts and strengths.

I would like to challenge you to embrace your strengths and talents and find a way to share them. Not only will other beings on the planet benefit, YOU will also find greater inner peace and joy in your life.

Happy Holidays to all.

photograph by Danilo Rizzuti on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Overcoming Barriers

My friend Katie and I hiked up the Longs Peak trail Wednesday for a mile and a half (of the 8 mile journey to the summit). Katie is planning to move soon. The mountain that she sees daily from her front door was calling her to walk its trail before she leaves. Katie has asthma, so was unsure of her ability to hike a steep uphill trail. As a precaution, she was armed with meds and a small can of oxygen. However, she did great, only took one hit of oxygen, and hiked further than she expected!

We had a wonderful morning and spent our time talking about art and writing and inspiration and challenges. Concerns about our abilities to hike the trail dropped away as we became absorbed in our conversation. We also created a ritual by a small sheltered rock nook to honor our Mother Earth and pray for her and our loved ones.

I had been avoiding such uphill hikes for the past couple of years, thinking my knees particularly were not up for the climb. I am very grateful that Katie asked me to go on this hike, because the mountain trails give me such deep renewal and I accomplished far more than I thought possible!

Sound familiar? Where in your life do you need a similar big or little push? How might you enlist a friend to help you? Or how might you pay it forward and help a friend?