Soul Humming

Christmas Spirit

"A good conscience is a continual Christmas."

-Benjamin Franklin

It seems that more and more every year I hear people say that they just don't have the Christmas spirit. With Halloween decorations hitting the shelves while it is practically the 4th of July, we run right into Christmas so fast and furious it is a bit unsettling.

 

And as many people have had to cut back on frivolous things, Christmas can be stressful with all the shopping and constant urging to Buy, Buy, Buy. There are so many gifts to get. And the kids all want the newest technological gadgets, which can be very expensive. No one wants to disappoint. But no one wants to rack up debt either. That surely can squash your Christmas spirit.

I remember last year I felt pretty bah-humbug. None of my family is here. I haven't seen any of them for a holiday in the last 15+ years. Mostly, I put on a happy face and enjoy my husband's family. It is true what they say, you can never go home again. It wouldn't be the same, I suppose.

So this year, I wanted to try harder to feel the Christmas spirit. I don't just mean to feel the love of Jesus. That is of the utmost importance, don't get me wrong. But that's not exactly what I'm talking about. I mean to slow down, enjoy the season, and revel in the small joys. I want to use my words and actions to actually mean something. When I get a Christmas card, I want to appreciate it instead of sticking it in a holder and rushing off to the next item on my long to-do list. I don't want to wait to be invited, I want to create my own happy each day and share it with all around me.

I'm not up to anything magical. But I am making time to be with my friends. And when I am with them, I am engaged. I am listening and right there with them in the moment, instead of wondering if the bike I ordered has arrived on time.

I am making cookies and treats for the kids. And when they call me for the third time in a row to see the ridiculous things the dogs are doing, I get up from what I am doing to go to them. I need to give them my time, now, especially. They are small for such a short time and I can get caught up in shopping for them rather than truly seeing them. As much as they love new toys, I know they want their parents' attention and interaction even more. They want to be seen, as we all do.

And, it is working. I feel more calm this year. I've made things with my hands for gifts. I've put my heart into these things instead of just my debit card. I don't always make time to create gifts by hand. Life is too busy. So I hope these gifts are appreciated for what they mean.

To me they mean I Care. They are the simple paired against all that is gilded. And in sharing my heart through gifts, cards, hugs, walks, carols, and smiles, I discover that I am finding my way back to being full of Christmas joy.

How is it for you? Are you filling your heart with small happiness?

Are you taking time to be a Christmas angel for those around you? I hope that you are enjoying this season with love.

 

Over Here...

 

 

isn't this what everyone is really thinking?

Favorite Images

 

from a weekend away...

 

 

 

 

 

Soon...

 

Yesterday I got on bloglines with the plan to read some blogs. I hadn't visited the first blog that I chose to look at in a while. Actually, I haven't visited many blogs, including my own, in a long time. When the blog opened the post was titled Happy New Year! I was more than 200 posts behind!

I am living a different sort of unblog-cluttered life these days. For the last year I've been waiting to have the desire to paint again. But I don't really have it. I know that the easiest way to get it is to put my butt in the chair and paint. Instead, I am distracted with these two dorks...

They have no manners whatsoever. One leaps up and eats food right off the table and the other is a secret agent sent from Dog Headquarters on a mission to exterminate or at least terrify every cat she can find.

And as there are two perfectly lovely cats living here, she must work diligently night and day and day and night barking and leaping and throwing herself into such a frenzy that her teeth chatter and shebarks so loud I think the roof will blow off the house. All this keeps a girl busy and out of her studio.

when i have time, i make simple pieces like these horn earrings

and these that have beautiful crucifix medals with sari ribbon

and these which are really colorful from where i sit.

but soon, soon, back to a schedule of painting and a store filled with jewelry and wooden fabulous creatures. soon!

 

Walking

 

going home

past my favorite tree

with languid steps in the night

where dreams await.

special people

 

"Special People"
lyics by Beck

Special people all the time
Special people on my mind
Special people brown and white
Special people getting all uptight
Special people kiss my soul
Special people take control
Special people lick the ground
Special people word up and down
Special people squeeze the breeze
Special people slice their knees
Special people soak up fire
Special people climbing higher
Special people create belief
Special people steal some beef
Special people don't need your plans
Special people got recycling cans
Special people got songs to sing
Special people are happening
Special people stopping fast
Special people hauling ass
Special people are so sincere
Special people got special beer
Special people flick the grease
Special people come in peace
Special people will scrimp and save
Special people will never bathe
Special people in hot pursuit
Special people got the boot
Special people sleep in moss
Special people got the sauce
Special people open wide
Special people ain't satisfied

always

In the family of things...

Wild Geese 

by Mary Oliver

"You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees 

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body 

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain 
are moving across the landscapes, 
over the prairies and the deep trees, 

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, 

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, 
the world offers itself to your imagination, 
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place 

in the family of things."

Prayers for the Sea

  

"We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came."

- John F. Kennedy

 

 

"There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul. "

-Victor Hugo

 

Today my boys and I went with friends out into the great Pacific. It was a gorgeous, shining day that reminded me again how fortunate we are to live here in California. 

But, at the same time, I could not turn my thoughts away from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which are spilling over with BP's oil. It is reported to have eclipsed the Exxon Valdez as the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

I know many of you are as heartbroken and angry as I am over this tragedy. I have been praying for the sea, for all the life that dwells within it, and for all the wonderful people who live along the coastline. But, I am tired of sitting on my hands. I want to do something! So I thought I would post some links to different ways to help. They may seem small, but each person's efforts CAN help.

HOW TO HELP
While those responsible for this well blow out are covering the cost of the Gulf of Mexico clean-up, you can support the ongoing work of the non-profit organizations currently on the ground preparing to respond to oiled wildlife. You can support International Bird Rescue's ongoing rescue work by donating, becoming a member or adopting a bird.

The National Audubon Society is recruiting volunteers in the fight to save "ecologically sensitive areas." Visit their website to fill out a volunteer registration form.

The National Wildlife Federation, in partnership with its colleagues in the Gulf states, is recruiting volunteers for an "extensive volunteer wildlife surveillance network."

The next link will take you to the EPA's site for ways to help and more information to post at your blog or how to follow updates on Twitter and Facebook:

http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/whatyoucando.html

Most everyone has hair (if not on their head then on their pet)...Matter of Trust, a non-profit organization is inviting salons, pet groomers and the abundantly coiffed to send leftover hair trimmings for use in highly absorbent hair mats and booms. According to their website, "Hair is very efficient at collecting oil out of the air, off surfaces like your skin and out of the water, even petroleum oil."

The group boasts twelve locations across region that are ready to receive human and pet hair, and hundreds of volunteers participating in "Boom B Q" parties stuffing the donated locks into recycled nylons to form booms that can be strung along beaches and marshes. Related link: Organization combing country for spare hair to fight oil slick

Speak Up for Cleaner Energy Choices - Tell your senators that now more than ever we need to pass comprehensive legislation that provides America with cleaner and safer energy choices. Speak up and let your voice be heard!

And lastly, please keep the people and creatures of the Gulf in your prayers.

"...when we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings."

- Sogyal Rinpoche

Change

i don't know what i want

 
 

and i don't want what i know

coming up against the edge

of the box.

and i want to set the box on fire.

"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living."