I would say this past year was full of Trauma and Blessings. I recently saw a Facebook post from a friend: “A TV commercial just asked ‘How will you remember 2017?’ Ha, with PTSD I think!”
That stuck with me – it has been a traumatic year, with daily assaults to our country, our people, our earth… It’s so easy to point to 2017 and be relieved it is over. I feel like we have been in a grueling boot camp. BUT we have graduated – stronger, more clear, knowing how to fight and how to be centered and how to love.
On Christmas morning as I was laying in bed doing Reiki on myself, I was thinking of all I am grateful for. I was surprised at how long my list was, and how much good has happened this year, in spite of, and in some cases, because of what is happening in our country and our world. We are being forced to wake up.
Many people are feeling sad, stressed, and scared. We are being called, trained, to be kinder, more gentle, more compassionate with ourselves and others. We are being called to take better care of ourselves – body, mind, spirit, emotions. We are being called to breathe and come into the moment, right here and now, to see the flower, the tree, the butterfly, the beauty and magic that is life.
We are being reminded that we have choice – choice about where we put our focus, what we think, how we care for ourselves and others. We have choice. We are not powerless.
We get to work harder to feel good. But we can feel good.
I found that the best way for me to feel better when I feel sadness about what is happening on our planet is to send love – the ultimate healer. Just love. As we give, we receive. Always.
“It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Here’s a wonderful, quick, simple way to start your day. It helps me to feel good, and it takes less than a minute:
- Smile
- Take 5 deep breaths
- Let go of yesterday
- Name your blessings – at least 5
- Set your intentions for today
I hope you are feeling centered, grounded, and in awe at the many blessings in your life.
“The more you focus on words that uplift you, the more you embody the ideas contained in those words.” – Oprah
“Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” – Gloria Steinem