Message from my Christmas Angel

We’ve come upon it; that time of the year. Its official “The Holidays” are here. We’ve got Thanksgiving under our belt…literally, and as we round the bend toward December the big push begins. The lists of to-do’s start to grow and you now remember why you opted for the calendar with such big boxes a mere 12 months ago. Let’s face it; Christmastime is a busy time.

I was pondering that very issue last weekend. Exhausted from a day of cleaning in preparation for Thanksgiving, I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to put my feet up for the evening. I had a few dishes to wash and then I was home free. And that’s when it happened….in walked my angel. Of course I didn’t think that at the time, I certainly wasn’t expecting her. She floated in and spoke just a few words. It wasn’t exactly what she said that was so touching, but the sweet twinkle in her eye that tugged at my heart; there was something familiar about it. She opened her precious mouth to ask me one simple question, “Mom, can we put the Christmas tree up now?”

I will be the first to admit that I didn’t handle it well. Without even thinking I quickly responded, “Are you kidding? No!” And that’s when I saw the spark begin to fade. I took a deep breath and soon realized from where I had known that bright twinkle of excitement. Once upon a time I held the same elation for Christmas time. (Where did that girl go? I want her back!  I thought to myself.)  Now, she is not one to give up easily. She didn’t miss a beat and commenced the negotiations. She was quite surprised when my next answer was, “OK” and quickly skipped off happily, ready to begin the assembly process.

Sending my own angel to rescue me from the “busyness” of the Season…what He wouldn’t do.

I’m happy to report we had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Our family gathered with food galore not commenting on the bare, yet to be finished Christmas tree in the corner. It might look bare to the untrained eye but I see it adorned in angel kisses, bright twinkling lights, and trimmed in the magic of the Season. Thank you, Christmas Angel!

Jenny,
Sister of Soul

Soulspiration of the Week:
Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas. ~Peg Bracken

Your Golden Buddha

I heard a beautiful (and true) story recently and just had to share...

In 1957, a group of Tibetan monks were informed that a highway was being built and the highway would have to go through the location where the shrine for which they were responsible was currently located. The shrine, a huge clay Buddha, would have to be moved.

Arrangements were made and the day of shrine moving arrived. A crane began lifting the clay Buddha, but as it rose off of its block resting place it began to crack. It was far heavier than all the engineers had estimated. The monks and the engineers examined the Buddha and found several large cracks. A larger crane would be needed and that crane would not be brought in until the next day. The Buddha would have to spend the night in its current location. To make matters worse, there was a storm building and the night would be a stormy one.

The monks covered the Buddha with waterproof tarps on poles to keep it dry overnight. All seemed to be well. During the night, the head monk awoke and decided to check on the Buddha. With a flashlight, the monk carefully checked the condition of the Buddha. As he walked around the huge clay figure shining his light on the cracks, something caught his eye. He returned to the spot on which he had just shined his light. He peered into the crack. What he saw he did not understand. He needed to see more. He went back to his quarters, found a chisel and a hammer and returned to the Buddha. He began carefully chipping at the clay around the crack. As the crack widened, he could not believe his eyes. He ran to wake the other monks and instructed each to bring a hammer and chisel. By lantern light the monks carefully chipped all the clay from the Buddha. After hours of chiseling, the monks stepped back and stared in awe at the sight before them. There, in front of the monks, stood a solid gold Buddha.

After much research, the pieces of the story were put together. The Golden Buddha was the cherished responsibility of a group of monks several centuries earlier. These monks received word that the Burmese army was headed their way. Concerned that the invading army would loot the shrine for its Golden Buddha, the monks covered their Buddha with 8 to 12 inches of clay. When they were finished the Golden Buddha appeared to be a Buddha of clay. The invading army would surely have no interest. The monks were correct. The invading army had no interest in the Buddha. They did, however, kill all the monks before they moved on. The Golden Buddha was lost in history until 1957.

I think there is a Golden Buddha inside each of us. As a child we’re all shiny with possibilities but as time goes on, and we become programmed to believe our abilities and potential are limited, our golden selves become tarnished and dirty, and our exterior becomes hard.

Imagine what would happen if we cracked open and exposed our true selves! Just think what life would be like if our talents and gifts came pouring out! What if your greatest discovery didn’t lie within your future or within the outside world, but rather was within your very soul?

Yes, within each of us lies a golden treasure just waiting to be uncovered and there’s no better time to discover yours.

Kim,
Sister of Soul

Soulspiration of the Week:
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” ~Marcel Proust quotes

Teaching What's Right

We’re continually bombarded with advice about parenting; seems like you can’t get far these days without hearing some sort of report or recommendation. Advice comes from Dr. Phil saying to increase communication, and from Parenting Magazine saying not to bribe too much. Now my personality being what it is, I take everything to heart and try to apply any good suggestions to my personal life.

I hear that reading to your children improves their literacy in the future and so I read to them. I hear that they need to be eating more fruits and vegetables, to which I say, “Bring on the green beans”. I just heard the other day that children are hearing “I love you” less these days, so here comes the “I love you”s. It really goes on and on, and the list gets longer and longer. Seems there’s so much to keep track of in the quest to be the “perfect parent”.

And then I heard it; the mother of all parenting advice! This advice makes remembering all the other advice unnecessary. It’s really very easy but it will guide you from this day forward. The advice: Simply ask yourself every night, “What did I teach my children today?”

It’s no surprise that children learn from example, and everyday is jam-packed full of learning. From the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed, they are examining, questioning, and remembering everything.

So what are we teaching our children each day? Are we telling our son that the computer is more important than his questions? Are we portraying the role of a disempowered woman to our daughter? Maybe we’re showing them that living in a state of overwhelm and clutter is normal? In our relationships are we being role models of a loving and happy couple? Are we teaching them how to deal with disappointment in the right way? Are we teaching them to be safe and set limits? Are we showing them that our dreams and goals are important and within reach?

Spend some time contemplating what you taught your children today. Is it what you want to be teaching them? If not, it’s time to implement a new lesson plan.

Becky,
Sister of Soul

Soulspiration of the Week:
“In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.” ~Jacques Barzun

Listen Up!

As children we are taught to wait our turn. Toddlers as young as 2 or 3 are reminded of this simple concept of good manners every time they budge in line to go down the slide first or grab a toy from a friend. As we approach preschool age and our verbal communication develops, we are then taught the very important rules of the classroom: Only one person should be talking at a time, you must not interrupt, and you must sit quietly and listen. Now let’s fast forward 30 or 40 years. How are we doing with those classroom rules now?

I heard an interesting statistic the other day - immediately after we listen to someone, we only recall about 50% of what they said, and long-term we only remember 20% of what we hear. I was shocked, have I really been missing 70% of what’s been happening?

It wasn’t too long after that I caught myself…I was guilty! While having a conversation with someone in my office, I was only half listening and the other half (if you could call it that) was replying to an email. Shame on me!  I realized what I was doing and immediately took my fingers off the keyboard and turned slightly to face the individual. As I was trying to catch up with the conversation I was stunned to catch myself again a short time later, but this time not just once…twice!

I was anticipating the end of the conversation and felt the need to hurry things along. Instead of listening to this individual make his final point and move on with my day, I interrupted him and finished his sentence by incorrectly stating his position. Yikes! I not only just added another 10 minutes to this conversation simply because I couldn’t sit quietly and listen, I took away this person’s power by trying to finish his thought.

In our fast paced life we think in order to stay ahead and be competitive we must be proud of the fact that we can efficiently “multitask”. This buzz word became popular several years ago as a positive thing and everyone soon added it to their resume. But the fact is Wikipedia defines human multitasking as the performance by an individual appearing to handle more than one task at the same time. New research is showing that humans aren’t as good as they think at handling many things at once. Not only that, but we are finding we’re also damaging our relationships because our interpersonal skills are waning.

Possessing good listening skills can benefit all aspects of your life. It can create strong teams, resolve conflicts, and build trust and respect. It may take some practice on your part, but by simply going back to those once upon a time classroom rules you can become a good listener again.

Jenny
Sister of Soul

Soulspiration of the Week:
"We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak." ~Epictetus