Holidays
-
Keeping the light
“Instead of fighting the darkness, you bring the light.” ~Eckhart Tolle Several of our neighbors have taken down their outdoor holiday lights. Some packed them up and put them in storage on New Year’s Day, following some obscure law that requires us to hunker down in darkness as soon as last year’s calendar hits the recycle bin. Blocks of homes that once displayed a dazzling array of colorful lights have gone dark again — as if the carnival suddenly packed up and left town. In my view, neighborhoods and shopping districts aglow with holiday lights are, pardon the pun, one of the highlights of winter — a season that doesn’t…
-
Lessons
“Packaged inside every mistake is a great lesson. And while I don’t want to take the mistake into the new year, I most certainly want to take the lesson that’s packaged inside it.” ~Craig D. Loundsbrough Photo by Cindy La Ferle
-
Happy New Year!
“Kindness, kindness, kindness. I want to make a New Year’s prayer, not a resolution. I’m praying for courage.” ~Susan Sontag Here’s to 2022! Let’s make it The Year of Compassion and Kindness. Right now, that sounds like a tall order, but if we can find even the smallest ways to practice humanity every day, I believe the sufferings of this world will be easier to bear. To borrow from today’s Susan Sontag quote, my prayer is that 2022 will be a year of mending broken fences, healing broken souls, resolving our anger, remembering the needs of others, and finding peaceful solutions to our conflicts. Yes, that will take tremendous courage. Along…
-
My holiday essay in The Oakland Press
“As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year.” ~David Grayson Peace on earth, goodwill to all. Lately I’ve been wishing these winter holiday sentiments weren’t limited to specific dates on the calendar. Last month, for instance, we counted our blessings before slicing the Thanksgiving turkey, but resumed the habit of complaining about everything from corrupt politics to football teams as soon as the good china was cleared from the table….To read the rest of my new holiday essay, click here.
- Christmas, grieving during the holidays, Holidays, Metro Parent magazine, Parenting advice, Photo stories, Where I'm published
Coping with the Christmas blues?
“Behind the polite smiles and greetings people give you, some are hurting and lonely. We can’t always see people’s pain, but they can always feel our kindness.”~Marc & Angel Hack Life The winter holidays have arrived. Christmas carols play nonstop, advertisers urge us to keep on shopping, and everyone’s asking, “What are you doing for the holidays?” But what if you’re grieving a death in the family or facing other difficult changes? That’s why I’m revisiting a “Holiday Blues” feature I wrote for Metro Parent a few weeks before the pandemic. It includes advice from a psychologist who specializes in grief and loss. You can read it here. Photo: Cindy La Ferle
