Some reflections as I consider the Stations of the Cross
Touchstones of Love – Everyday Reminders for Living in Love
New Years Resolutions – Oh Wait! – It’s already February!
New Years is as good a time as any. Yes, “as good a time as any.” And that means that any other time is good too. We don’t have to wait until January first to make any changes. You can start anywhere, and we can use the beginning of the year for a new start, or just use today. Just begin.
And then…continue.
Many times New Years resolutions have to do with weight loss. I lost some weight a few years ago. Everyone wanted to know how. I’ll share my secret, if you promise not to tell anyone. (Shhh, I ate less and I exercised more.)
The big secret about so many things in our lives is…. there is no secret. We know what to do. The task is…to do it. Just do it, again and again. Steadfastness is a fruit of the spirit. Constancy in what you know is right will yield good fruits.
What if daily you walked in the sunlight during a break, 5 minutes out and 5 minutes back? At the end of the week you will have walked 70 minutes more than you did before. What if you did it twice a day? What if you thought before you put anything in your mouth? What if you took miniscule bites and savored every small morsel? You might find you have eaten less calories and enjoyed it abundantly more.
A resolution may be to have more equanimity in your life. And to enjoy the physical benefits that follow. Become more aware. At the HearthMath, Inc. They can show you how the difference a thought will make in your heart variability pattern. You can use their equipment to “see” what is happening in your body as it occurs. As you become more attentive to your thoughts, and know the bodily changes they cause, you can make different choices. One participant said this new way of being has spilled over into his home life as well. (In case you didn’t realize this, you bring yourself wherever you go ?) He notices his thoughts before he “blows” and makes a different decision. He is now consciously choosing how he wants to live.
What if this year you decided to read the Bible each day? There are special Bibles and on line programs that have a plan for each day of the year. What if this year you worked on building your faith muscles? As with any muscle it can atrophy or grow stronger. Life may not always go as we wish. Sometimes it presents to us things we wouldn’t want. If we have developed our faith muscles and they are strong it helps us along our way with what life presents to us.
What is it you want for your New Year? Remember that each second is the start of another new year. Where will you be another year from this day? And the next? You’ve heard of “second chances.” What if that’s not about getting two chances - a first and a second. What if it’s about each of your “seconds” being another “chance” to start again – a fresh beginning in each of your seconds?
How do you want to live? What resolution will you make this year? If you fall or fail to accomplish it one time, get up, a start again. Ask your God for help. Begin again.
It’s New Years Day on January 1 and it’s also a new-year-day, today and each and every one. What will you do to improve your life?
How do you choose to live? Write it down.
New Years Day, or… a new-year day, Life invites you…to begin. And I encourage you…to continue.
Lynn Durham, RN, author of From Frazzled to Fantastic! Your One Thought Away From Feeling Better www.lynndurham.com smile@lynndurham.com
I can only love one person at a time.
I can only feed one person at a time.
Just one, one, one…
So you begin…I begin.
I picked up one person –
Maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person,
I wouldn’t have picked up 42,000…
Same thing for you,
Same thing in your family,
Same thing in your business.
Wherever you go
Just begin…one, one, one.
Mother Teresa