It’s high noon on New Year’s eve, which here in Oregon means the sun is almost due south, half-way up the curve of the sky above the horizon. I’m sitting on one of my favorite pieces of furniture, next to a south-facing window, absorbing as much of those warm rays as possible.
There are a few holiday decorations scattered around the room – some of my “Father Christmas” figures, a small crystal Nativity, some greens and candles, and a small snowy village of 2-4” ceramic buildings with ½” high doorways that I’ve enjoyed collecting over the years.
They’ll stay up until Epiphany, January 6, following a tradition from my mother’s family of honoring the 12 Days of Christmas.
There are a few holiday decorations scattered around the room – some of my “Father Christmas” figures, a small crystal Nativity, some greens and candles, and a small snowy village of 2-4” ceramic buildings with ½” high doorways that I’ve enjoyed collecting over the years.
They’ll stay up until Epiphany, January 6, following a tradition from my mother’s family of honoring the 12 Days of Christmas.
I woke up this morning as the first golden rays peeked through the branches of the old Douglas Fir tree outside my east-facing window - a wonderful sight after over a month of cloudy skies, torrential rains, and hurricane winds. A few days ago, at the solstice, it was too far south (and hidden by clouds) to see through my window.
Today, my first full day in my home for almost 2 weeks, has been quietly unfolding in small tasks, many of them outdoors in the glorious sunshine: sealing a leaky window, gathering some greens from the garden, filling the hummingbird feeder (after watching the hummingbird unsuccessfully test all its outlets), gathering the fallen branches off the front lawn, cleaning off some burned-on goop in the oven, putting together a few things to share as gifts while I’m gone, and, thankfully, a wonderfully cleansing shower-and-shampoo.
Breakfast was pancakes made with eggnog, a traditional holiday favorite in our family, ever since I invented them on a wintry coastal retreat where there wasn’t much else to eat. The other day I found some organic eggnog with no artificial flavoring and when I saw it in the fridge this morning I knew it was precisely the thing. I mixed it into a little gluten-free whole-grain pancake mix, with the added treat today of a handful of pecans. A little butter melted on the old cast iron griddle cooked them perfectly. With sliced oranges and a big mug of decaf coffee – who could ask for anything more delightful?
There’s a ham bone from my daughter Dawn’s Christmas dinner (which her husband cooked and I greatly enjoyed!) in the freezer and I have a few black-eyed peas stashed away – traditional New Year’s Eve fare in my mother’s family – maybe I’ll cook those up with some of the greens from the garden for this evening’s supper, and to share with folks wandering in.
Today, my first full day in my home for almost 2 weeks, has been quietly unfolding in small tasks, many of them outdoors in the glorious sunshine: sealing a leaky window, gathering some greens from the garden, filling the hummingbird feeder (after watching the hummingbird unsuccessfully test all its outlets), gathering the fallen branches off the front lawn, cleaning off some burned-on goop in the oven, putting together a few things to share as gifts while I’m gone, and, thankfully, a wonderfully cleansing shower-and-shampoo.
Breakfast was pancakes made with eggnog, a traditional holiday favorite in our family, ever since I invented them on a wintry coastal retreat where there wasn’t much else to eat. The other day I found some organic eggnog with no artificial flavoring and when I saw it in the fridge this morning I knew it was precisely the thing. I mixed it into a little gluten-free whole-grain pancake mix, with the added treat today of a handful of pecans. A little butter melted on the old cast iron griddle cooked them perfectly. With sliced oranges and a big mug of decaf coffee – who could ask for anything more delightful?
There’s a ham bone from my daughter Dawn’s Christmas dinner (which her husband cooked and I greatly enjoyed!) in the freezer and I have a few black-eyed peas stashed away – traditional New Year’s Eve fare in my mother’s family – maybe I’ll cook those up with some of the greens from the garden for this evening’s supper, and to share with folks wandering in.
Aren’t traditions wonderful? They remind us who we are and where we came from, and give us an opportunity to choose anew who we will be.
Like most folks, I’ve picked and chosen which of the traditions I grew up with I would offer my children, or now, continue for myself. And like some, I’ve invented a few – like eggnog pancakes. Friends of mine tell of having made a pot of chili to celebrate their first Christmas together and continuing to do so for the over 40 years of their marriage, a tradition which their daughter shared with them via cellphone picture-sharing this Christmas day. Others tell of letting go of traditions that have, in the past, put so much pressure on them that the winter holidays were a time of dread, rather than peace and beauty. Good for them!
Like most folks, I’ve picked and chosen which of the traditions I grew up with I would offer my children, or now, continue for myself. And like some, I’ve invented a few – like eggnog pancakes. Friends of mine tell of having made a pot of chili to celebrate their first Christmas together and continuing to do so for the over 40 years of their marriage, a tradition which their daughter shared with them via cellphone picture-sharing this Christmas day. Others tell of letting go of traditions that have, in the past, put so much pressure on them that the winter holidays were a time of dread, rather than peace and beauty. Good for them!
Tomorrow is January 1. Janus, the two-faced god, looks at the past and the future at the same time. This is his month. This is when we realize that much of what has happened in the past year no longer serves us and is no longer necessary, so we release it. This is also when we look forward to the year ahead, seeing with our inner eye what is possible and choosing which of those possibilities we will keep that inner eye focused on.
For what we focus on is what we will experience. That’s psycho-cybernetics. It’s also applied metaphysics, or what Emma Hopkins called “the Spiritual Science.” It’s what’s referred to by “where your heart is, there your treasure is also,” and “keep your eye single.” Our attention, focused with feeling (good or bad), is what frames our experience.
So, today, I’m basking in the warmth of the sun, appreciating the rain that filled my rain gauge several times over this past month, trusting that minimal damage was done to people, homes, and ecosystems in the process, feeling warm and content in my home, aware that I’ll soon be on the road working with others once again, and choosing to focus on a balanced Life of Love and Light for the year ahead.
A Blessed New Year be yours!
R
For what we focus on is what we will experience. That’s psycho-cybernetics. It’s also applied metaphysics, or what Emma Hopkins called “the Spiritual Science.” It’s what’s referred to by “where your heart is, there your treasure is also,” and “keep your eye single.” Our attention, focused with feeling (good or bad), is what frames our experience.
So, today, I’m basking in the warmth of the sun, appreciating the rain that filled my rain gauge several times over this past month, trusting that minimal damage was done to people, homes, and ecosystems in the process, feeling warm and content in my home, aware that I’ll soon be on the road working with others once again, and choosing to focus on a balanced Life of Love and Light for the year ahead.
A Blessed New Year be yours!
R
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