do more of what you love!

Here we are in the season of light, our homes aglow, hoping time slows down a bit so the beauty of the holidays lasts. It’s so hard to wait another whole year for the splendor of Christmas to roll around once again. We’ve made promises to ourselves throughout the year, ‘this year I’m going to spend less time shopping for gifts and more time enjoying the sights and sounds of the holidays-go to more concerts, bake some cookies, watch more of the holiday classics, spend more time with family and friends.” Why does the time leading up to Christmas seem to pass so quickly?

 One thing I try to keep in mind throughout the year is to spend more time doing what you love.

What brings you joy? Perhaps it is the walking in the woods or down by the beach. Maybe it is in pages of a book or music that drifts to the heavens. Why not eat by candlelight? Why not take out the good china if you have some. It took Tom and I about 25 years before we decided to eat off the tableware we got for our wedding! We get swallowed in the ‘have tos’ forgetting about our ‘want tos’, forgetting about our favorite song that we may not have listened to, our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, the book of poems left on the shelf.

I wonder if we become complacent with this gift of life-waiting for tomorrow before we spend time on joy- ‘oh, tomorrow I’ll get to doing something I love!’ Yet, each day can hold an element of celebration when we set our intention and look toward simple pleasures. Waking and walking with our eyes open to each and every wonder that surrounds us. Did you know that there are exactly five pine needles in each bundle of a white pine tree? Just watching and Amaryllis bloom from a brown withered bulb can be miracle enough. Trying not to settle into a ho-hum vision of life-but acknowledging that each day is not another ho-hum day-it is an amazing gift. 

Of course, we learn and grow from life’s struggles and they are also a very real and challenging part of life. There is work and responsibility, bills to pay, sadness, loss. Perhaps we can temper some of the struggle by adding in small doses of joy- considering self-care, a warm bath, a cup of tea, a gentle walk. 

Helping others, sending that card, making someone banana muffins, ringing your neighbor’s doorbell can also bring us joy and help us to share it. I imagine there are quite a few people out there that could benefit from your reaching out-especially during the isolating times that we have been facing.

So, set a beautiful table, light the candles, turn on the twinkly-lights throughout the year! Turn off the news and head down to the beach for sunset. Take out your favorite old recipe, turn on your favorite music, dance in the living room, dig into a favorite book, take out your watercolors, dust off your ukulele. Spend time remembering all of the things you love.

What brings you joy? That is the place to spend more of your time.