January 2023
One Day ... or Day One?
Listen to the audio version by Dorothy
As I prepare this message we are already mid-way through January of 2023. I wish you a safe year in good health, with peaceful times, new adventures and joyful moments.
Did your transition from 2022 follow family rituals? Growing up in Northern Ireland it was important that we welcome the New Year with a clean house, so the upcoming year might unfold as it started. Still today I like to have a tidy desk, paperwork filed, dishes put away, all before midnight ... although this past year needed a long overdue major overhaul to deal with papers and projects postponed to one day! Another long ago ritual, important at the time, was that the first footer, or the first person to enter our home on January 1st, carry something in for good luck. As this was generally my father who worked nightshift, he would traditionally pick up a piece of coal from our coal shed to throw on the fire.
Coming to today, I know many of us set intentions with a specific goal plan. Ever since 1987 I have chosen a theme as my year's focus. While some kept me on track, others were a dismal fantasy. A balanced lifestyle, I do admit, has not been my greatest strength! Reflecting on the scurry of the past year and what I neither wanted to have in place nor carry forward, I decided on Pause as my 2023 theme - to know and heed when it was time to pause, to create space in my day for me ... no more 10 hour stretches at the computer, very late evening meals, and continually 'squeezing myself out' to juggle with the next priority. That being said, I remain grateful for past experiences and challenges that eventually had successful resolutions. Perhaps you share my thoughts.
This month's caption asks the question: One Day or Day One? I discovered the notion in last year's November 26 message in The Friendship Book - A Thought for Each Day. A husband told his wife that he'd like to learn a second language one day. Her response was: "right words, wrong order", suggesting he turn it around to being the first day of making it happen instead of something that might never get done. That was a light bulb moment for me and is helping maintain each day's intention ... as of this year's Day 13!!!
Continuing into January, let's have pauses to reflect on our intentions and dreams. We are the architect of our lives so let's design a mental blueprint of its ideal, believing in its possibility. Please trust that what needs to show up appears, the right person makes contact, overhearing a chance conversation plants the perfect seed, a book falls off a shelf, open at the information needed, or we receive a link to an opportunity for our discernment.
A few days ago a friend sent me information about an Irish tour, similar to the pilgrimage I had taken ten years ago with the Sacred Art of Living and Dying. After careful consideration, despite knowing how special it would be, I knew long walks over the craggy terrain of the Burren's County Clare would not be a wise mobility decision for me, today. However, the gift in revisiting the memories reminded me of its highlights and the clarity it provided for my next major venture, which brought me to where I am today. May you too see that 2022 and its prior experiences brought you to where you are today. Should there have been obstacles to overcome may the changes you made prove to be stepping stones to a peaceful pathway in 2023.
I leave you with words of encouragement that author and actor, Richard E. Grant, received from his late wife, Joan, that he and their daughter have a pocketful of happiness in each day. It is also the title of his recent book: A Pocketful of Happiness: A Memoir.
Until next time, do take good care of yourself. May your 2023 be full of promise, rich blessings and pocketfuls of happiness. Always, thank you for sharing my journey. ... Namasté.
Dorothy B.
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Rev. Dorothy Blandford, Ph.D
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Surrey, BC, V4A 6E1, Canada
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