It happened;
it didn’t happen.
The end of the world;
the beginning of a new one.
   

What are you going to do now?

          



     I woke up, after flying all day from Coast to Coast and then some, back to Kaua’i, astonished by her. No really; it doesn’t get old, and perhaps it was the snow, or perhaps it was because I wasn’t quite ready to leave my East Coast loves, or maybe it was the fact that my morning started in darkness and I was compelled to drive for thirty minutes and hike down a hill, in the dark, to a beach to watch the moonset and the sun creep that this morning appeared especially bright.

            Instead of finding an excuse for complacency, perhaps today is the day we start all the things we wish we could have done if we had gotten a second chance.

            What? You say this isn’t your second chance?

           How do you know? And what harm is there in living as if you did?

            What about living as if the collection of your neurons, your bones  and your breath is a confluence of multitudinous perfection at your fingertips? Because it is.

            What about using today as if it is the only one you got?  Because it is.

            What about being grateful that you were give a second chance? Because you did, you got it.
            Now, please, please use it.           

            Everywhere - Hafiz
            “Running
            Though the streets
            Screaming.

            Throwing rocks through windows.
            Using my own head to ring
            Great bells,

            Pulling out my hair,
            Tearing off my clothes,

            Tying everything I own
            To a stick,
            And setting it on
            Fire.

            What else can Hafiz do tonight
            To celebrate the madness,
            The joy
            Of seeing God
            Everywhere.”

 

           

           

           

            I’m home for the holidays. Yes, it’s cold and grey. Yes, it’s busier than ever. And you know what? I like it.

            This year is a bit different; many of my clients and friends are asking me what I think is going to happen in the next 48 hours: How is the best way to prepare?

            I have been told, more times than I can count, from a deep beloved: to Be in the Present.

            Yes, yes. We answer. I AM in the present.

            If we are in the present, this very moment, more than likely there are a few things we would need to remember to not have: the grudge against our girlfriend that always says the wrong thing at the right time; the childhood wound from the parent that didn’t attend the season’s big football game; the parenting wound for not attending your child’s season’s big football game, the anger at the boss, the angst over family gatherings, the traffic frustration, the not enough consternation, the not good enough, the too good to touch, and the list does on.

            Dancing in our cells, along with our divine brilliance, is every story we have ever told ourselves. Being in the present, we would have no time for stories, for past hurts, but only to observe what is happening in this very second not the one that just past.

            Hint: if you look there are miracles of the everyday, all around. Not all miracles are the big ones. Some are your breakfast and your beating heart.

 

           I cannot know what the future holds, but I can plan by how I treat today to set the temperature for tomorrow. Perhaps, the best advice was plastered on the Starbuck’s window right by my father’s house: rekindle the joy; rekindle your wonder that you are alive. There is much we can complain about; there is much we can rejoice over, too. Find it. Ignite it and watch what happens.

Peace to all,

Kate

Read what other Joy Chasers are saying.

The season is upon us: good will toward men and shopping mall lunacy.

I have noticed, here in Hawai'i, not much has changed. There are houses electric with holiday cheer, and our few stores are brimming with reindeer. Yet, the birds seem unaffected; the clouds settling the same.

I plan on packing this quietness and wrapping it in a bow for Christmas; let the currents swirl around me and stay the inner course.  Will I? Will you? If we both, will that decrease the piper's piping and let our swans a-swimming do so in their own peace?

This holiday, with calendars ending and concurrent thoughts beginning, perhaps the best thing to do is slow down. Take one mistletoe at a time and kiss the present passionately.

"Know this Primal Power
that guides without forcing
that serves without seeking
that brings forth and sustains life
yet does not own it or possess it

One who holds this Power
brings the Tao to this very Earth
He can triumph over raging fire
or the freeze of winter rule
Yet when he comes to rule the world
it's with the gentleness of a feather."
      - Tao Te Ching
                    translated by Jonathan Star