One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go. Whether it is guilt, anger, love, loss or betrayal. Change is never easy. We fight to hold on and we fight to let go....
Use my eyes to see the eternal candle shine brightly in all things... Use my ears to hear the angelic realms rejoice... Use my feelings to spread warmth to another... Where there is darkness, bring the light of love. Where there is confusion, bring clarity. Where there is sickness, bring relief. Where there is despair, bring faith. Where there is loneliness, bring comfort. Where there is anxiety, bring stillness. Where there is anger, bring peace. Where there is frustration, bring compassion. Where there is regret, bring understanding. Where there is guilt, bring forgiveness. Where there is loss, send light and love to it. Where there are challenges, bring hope... For life presents opportunities to grow and learn. We are only ever given what life believes we can handle. The past is a blessing because it is my teacher. The future is a blessing because it is my opportunity.
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The year of letting go. Truly accepting and understanding the soul has many phases in a lifetime. Knowing that everything will be right, in divine order. Listening carefully to my inner authentic self and using this as my compass to guide decisions. The time to surrender and release. The year of peeling back the layers and finding my inner peace. Finding what motivates and ignites that spark again. The year of staying calm in the eye of the storm. In any moment, just sitting there observing what was happening around me, feeling a cloud of numbness roll in like fog yet feeling totally grounded. Having faith that 'this too will pass'. The year of accepting reality, making compromises and stepping forward on the right path. Always reminding myself 'never never never give up'. The year of making those 'big' decisions and continuing to believe in myself. The year I remained true to myself in every thought, action and feeling. Knowing that I had to take a step back and check in with my thoughts and feelings. The year I began to smile and laugh. The year I decided to live. Waking up and starting each day with positive energy. Feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The year of learning how to hold my tongue. Knowing when to pull back and taking a quiet moment of reflection. The year of renewing my faith in love and believing in being worthy of this. Developing effective communication and contributing to the 'small talk'. Enjoying the craft of my profession and building more confidence in my ability to further a career. The year of learning how to enhance the richness of food and washing it down with many glasses of red! The year of watching the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets I've ever seen. The year of making my decisions and standing by them. Understanding how to be present and being in the moment. The year of self discovery shifted me onto the right path and opened my eyes to respect, loyalty, trust and a beautiful friendship. The year of a truly magical awakening. The year I realised my goals and dreams were finally coming true!
It's Christmas Eve... Almost 11:30pm. I'm at midnight mass at a local Parrish. The room is filled with an ambiance of love. People are chattering... The beautiful organ hymn of Angel Gabriel plays softly in the background. Everyone is waiting with anticipation for the service to begin.
The bells ring signifying the start of Mass. Father steps forward to begin. He speaks of this being a time to reflect on 2015 affirming that for him, 'hope' and 'renewal' are two key elements! I wonder if these elements reflect my year...? Most certainly 'renewal' and in every sense of the word... Renewal has been my 2015! Gee... What have I renewed this year...??? My whole life! I have changed almost every facet of my life! My job... My home... My finances... My geography... My interests... My health... My outlook on life... My world! Everything has been renewed and changed.... For the better! The person I was this time last year in 2014 Christmas Eve is not the person sitting here in this service. But yet something is still familiar about me. I am me. Who I am, is me! Then I think back further... The person I was Christmas 2013 at midnight... Let me give you some insight. I had almost polished a bottle of red on the balcony at a beautiful resort in Fiji... all alone, wondering what had happened to my world! My world had come crashing down. I remember thinking to myself then... All I have is 'hope'! And this has been what I've held onto. I hoped that I would survive. I hoped that I would get through this! Instead.... I should have been thinking... I hope for all wonderful and amazing things in my life! Hope and renewal have been the very fabric of a Christmas Eve reflection (whether it be alone at a beautiful serene place on the islands of Fiji or the pew of a church in London surrounded by my family)! I recognise these two elements present in my life... But I wish to add two more... Acceptance and gratitude. We must accept the hand we are dealt and play our cards accordingly. The other... Always be grateful for the life we have. We have one life here. Accept and be grateful! Hope, renewal, acceptance and gratitude... All elements encompass my 2015! I wonder what brilliance 2016 will offer! People are creatures of habit. They feel comfortable and at ease with familiarity. Every culture have their own routines, food, fashion, sounds and surroundings. It always amazes me when I travel to a different country… I sit back and watch it all play out. Human behaviour is truly fascinating!
Walking through a train station at a new destination, whether it be Singapore, Notting Hill Gate or a bus terminal in Koh Samui, it can’t be helped but to notice the different clothes people wear. Culture, custom and climate denotes fashion. I often think half of the things people are wearing would be foreign to me in my home town yet I walk around there as if that was the norm… enriching the mind’s eye and understanding of culture. Last night I sat in a beautiful wine bar in Copenhagen. Yes… the home town of our Princess Mary. This wine bar was quite exclusive and something I have never encountered before. (It really was one of those moments in my life that I will remember fondly) The wine bar overlooked the kitchen and it was quite interesting to see how a kitchen works in unison with one another. I could hear people at the bar around me talking… speaking in their native tongue… the place was full of different cultures… different backgrounds… It made me think – each culture is so very different yet we all one. The society we are born into shapes a great deal of who we are. We are conditioned from an early age on how to speak, what to wear, what food we should eat... the list goes on. These cultural and social norms are taught from the moment we are born. Ultimately, these cultural and social norms does not define who we are but are rather part of something that is familiar and that we call ‘home’. ![]() The other day at school, for Creative Worship, I was asked to teach a lesson about the 5 joyful mysteries of the Rosary. For those non-Catholics like myself, who are sitting there asking the question… What are the 5 joyful mysteries? Let me briefly explain. The 5 joyful mysteries represent an event from the life of Christ. The beads of the Rosary are divided into 5 decades or sections – each decade represents an event from the life of Jesus and Mary. As I was wrapping up my lesson and reflecting whether students understood the lesson objective, I started to think about my own joyful times in my life. It got me thinking… what are my 5 most joyful moments… and were there any mysteries about them? Ask me this question 2 years ago and within seconds, I could have easily deciphered through 28 years, decided what was what and sequenced these accordingly. But I found as I stood in front of my class, taking a brief moment of personal reflection, this task was becoming difficult. What were MY joyful moments… the big ones… the mile stones! If I had any joyful moments… could I even describe them as mysteries? Are all my achievements in life my joyful events? For example, I graduated from University as a teacher. Was this one of my joyful mysteries? It most certainly has brought me to where I am today. As I stood there pondering over this, more suggestions came rolling in… what about travelling, buying a house, living overseas, getting the car… But I stopped myself – These were all materialistic! All things that society have put into practise. Yes… these things do matter - but – in the scheme of things… 50 years from now… do they truly represent who you are? I simply could not choose 5 major events in my life that were joyful and of course a mystery. Each and every day creates moments. All moments should be felt with the heart. It is vital that we live in the moment and be joyful and thankful for opportunities that present themselves. Each day serves neither good or bad… but what is meant to be. These moments roll into what we call ‘chapters’. As someone wise once said to me, each part in your life is a chapter. At tough times, we have to just sit out and wait the final pages of those really sad chapters before new ones begin. Some chapters are short and some chapters are long. All chapters count because they make up your story. And that is the joyful mystery of my life! ![]() Life continues to move forward. Every day the sun will rise and set. The ocean and tides will continue to roll in. Either the sun will shine or it will rain… It is all in the mind. Choose your day! Live your life! My grandfather always reminded me with three words… ‘Enjoy your life’. Life can be difficult (and boy don’t I know that!) but it also is beautiful!
![]() I play many roles in life. I am a daughter, sister, granddaughter, cousin-sister, girlfriend, wife (soon to be ex-wife), aunty, godmother, uni student, secretary, friend, colleague, mentor, teacher, neighbour… All of these roles have brought me to this point in time! Asha Tyson (a National Bestselling Author and business mentor) once said - “Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don't think you've lost time. There is no short-cutting to life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time.” The most important role in the journey of life – is the role within yourself! The feelings in me matter most! My mind and heart are my compass and I promise to always be true to me. This is my life! A new chapter and I truly believe that the best and most precious times are ahead of me. I have faith that I am on the correct path. This path will deepen my spiritual growth. I promise myself that I will always be true to the person I am and always and always... be the best version of me in life! I’m sitting on a lounge in a world I’ve never known. Everything is foreign to me. The place where I’m staying is about a 35 minute train ride from Milan central, Italy. My new family are Italian – VERY Italian! Despite the language barrier, Zio and Zia could not be any more welcoming and kind. They have opened their home and hearts, knowing very little about me. Everything is different and it is quite a surreal experience!
From the moment I wake up to when I lay my head to rest later in the evening, food is the common denominator. To really understand a statement ‘Italians love their food’, one has to truly dive into this culture to fully comprehend their passion for eating! At this very moment, I can hear Zia in the kitchen preparing the next meal. Zia’s three year old granddaughter is over for the day. She is busy playing a game and wanders past me on the lounge, speaking Italian phrases. I just smile and nod pleasantly. Lunch is about to be served and another feast to share with family. I arrived here on 7th July 2015. My life has completely changed and everything I ever knew about life is evolving into the unknown. My journey is only beginning. To understand my story, it all started some time ago. |
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