Newsletter - January 2011

Thanksgiving in January!

Welcome to 2009! I wish for us all an inspired, creative and healthy 2009.

Thanksgiving in January. Is she daft you may ask? I was fortunate enough to spend Christmas day with a friend and her family. This is out of the ordinary when you are Jewish! I was truly exposed to the understanding of “thanks‐giving”. My friend, let’s call her Maude, is big on family and on Christmas day rounded up all the waifs. There we were – an allsorts: from Jewish to Christian, from single people to families and single parents, from different race and gender… and yet the resounding thread that held us all together, was this transparent yet powerful steel‐like knowingness of giving thanks.

Gratitude comes in many guises; a hug for someone newly divorced, a beautiful meal made with love, generosity of freedom, a text message with a smiley face…. I walked away from that day viewing my life very differently and was acutely aware of much I am grateful for even in this “economic whirlpool” that we are experiencing…

And then before I knew it, it was the 1st of January; the day on which more unfulfilled promises are made than any other day… So, it is with gratitude (and excitement) that I can share with you a phenomenal experience…I attended a workshop on Saturday where goals / dreams are set based on what brings you joy, not based on that you think you should do, or what society demands you do…Setting dreams which bring gratitude to us and others. The workshop was called JoyMap 2009 and it was truly a mapping, with joy, of where I will be in 2009 – a delicious experience. (www.angeladeutschmann.com)

After this experience I truly wonder why we don’t all operate from this place called joy! How easy it is to be grateful when you view the world through these lenses.

Will they bring you joy?
Will they evoke gratitude?

Last changed: Jul 13 2011 at 10:55 AM