When i was young, ending one year and beginning another was a very big deal. As I have matured into my senior years, I have come to see time in general as a mental construct. Whether on a clock or a calendar, time makes it possible for us to organize our lives and coordinate with others. In reality, at least for me, time is a mental construct. When the sun sets by 5pm in winter, I happily put my pajamas on before cooking dinner if the fancy strikes me. Of course I live alone so this choice affects no one but me. Bedtime remains the same, by 10pm.

In a few days, by our calendar, 2023 begins. It happens on a Sunday this time. In other cultures, this may not be so. Why do I bring this to your attention? Because many in our age group live alone and holidays can be a challenge to our mental and emotional wellbeing and stability. When most people in our culture and among family & friends are celebrating, we are wondering if anything worth watching will be on tv. 

This doesn't...

From "ZEN Cards" by Daniel Levin:

 INNER PEACE

Inner Peace Brings

FULFILLMENT.

Attain It,

And Life Works.

Give It Away

And HAPPINESS

Becomes

Elusive.

CALMNESS

In All Activity, Practice

CALMNESS.

To Remain Calm Amidst

The Chaos Of Life Requires

A Tremendous Amount Of

Focused ENERGY. Be

Calmly Active And

Actively Calm.

HARMLESSNESS

ALL Beings Fear

Violence. All Beings

Fear Pain. When You See

YOURSELF In All

Your Brothers And

Sisters, Then How Can

You Bring Harm

To Them?

HARMONY

Restore Harmony.

Create PEACE In

All Situations. Rather

Than Pushing The River,

FLOW With It.

Contact me with questions, appointment requests, or whatever is on your mind and heart:   [email protected]            Please consider joining my online meditation group 

A quote from Abraham-Hicks (https://www.abraham-hicks.com):

You are the creator of your own reality,

and so you are not in jeopardy,

You do not need to control the behavior of others in order for you to thrive.

Your attention nothings that you think they of that keeps you from you thriving if, in fact, what keeps you from thriving.

It is not what they do to you;

It's what you do to you in fear of what you think that they will do to you.

Contact me with questions, appointment requests, or whatever is on your mind and heart:   [email protected]            Please consider joining my online meditation group 

The sun sets. The sun rises. Whether we want it to or not, life goes on. Whether my plans manifest as reality or not, life goes on. As I wrote in my last blog, plans either work out or they don't. After many hours of facing and owning my disappointment, frustration, sadness, grief - it's been fun, hasn't it?!  Yes, I am capable of sarcasm.

Here is one of the major lessons I learned from this past year:  I have no control on whether or not my dreams and plans actually happen. i do, however, have a choice of how I respond in either case.

If my plans work out, I can stay in the moment and have a blast. If my plans fall through, I can stay in the moment and accept and process my very natural disappointment. Then I can say to myself "Well, that didn't work out so what do I want to do now?" This is the first step in consciously creating my own life by living fully in the present moment...which gives birth to the next moment(s).

Life goes on whether my plans unfold or not. I...

Do you dwell on the past? If you do, are you remembering loving and joyful experiences or are you caught in the cycle of ongoing regret, embarrassment, or fear that others will find out? 

If you remember joyful, happy memories and those memories elicit joy and happiness in the present moment, good! If you remember happy, joyful memories and those memories cause you to compare them to your current situation, what experience are you creating in the now? If you bring forward experiences that are painful and then judge yourself or your behavior, what experience are you creating in the now?

Do you consciously realize that you have a choice every moment to create your own experience? I learned at an early age to bring the past into the present and it wasn't always in order to experience the blessings of my life. My past mistakes were brought up to me in an accusatory manner or to make me the brunt of humor. The goal was to embarrass me. It worked.

I was fortunate to learn,...