We Wish You Happiness Now And Always
This is the time of year when lots of people wonder how to send out widespread greetings to all without offending those who hold different religious or cultural traditions at the same time as being politically correct. Well guess what? I am not really bothered by that because I hold the view that we should all be warm, friendly, kind and giving all year round. Not just at Christmas time.
That means the giving of smiles, greetings and love to other’s regardless of race, culture or religious beliefs. So I wish you every happiness for whatever you are doing over the next few days, weeks, months and years. I send you warm greetings and love to nurture your mind, body and soul and I wish you prosperity in every way in the coming year.
Above all, I send out positive and loving thoughts to the thought pool of the world and universe and I trust that as the present custodians we will find a way to live in peace with each other and harmony with our environment.
Have fun over the coming holidays and stay well and safe.
Give a Free Special Gift This Christmas
“Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.”
~ Oren Arnold
Take a Moment to Walk in Another’s Shoes
I have been guilty myself of making judgements about another person in a moment of annoyance or in anger for something I think they have done. That was the case quite recently when I was surprised by the behaviour of some work colleagues who had cut me off without so much as a word and refused to speak to me. For weeks I tried to understand what had happened and why they might do such a thing; looking inside myself for what I may have done to bring this upon myself.
It was not until recently that my attention shifted outside of myself to wonder what might have been happening for them to behave in that way and in that moment, I put myself into their shoes. I gave some thought to their lives at that time and came to understand that a particular set of circumstances that they were experiencing would have been very difficult and who could guess how anyone might behave given the same thing happening. This exercise just let me have a little bit of empathy for those people and I found at that point, that it was easy to move on and accept what had happened.
It is a part of the personal growth experience to accept things as they are and move towards what you want for yourself. I now know that one of the things that I want for myself is to have empathy and concern for others, regardless of how I am affected by their actions. This was just another opportunity to move closer to who I really want to be.
Take Note! Have Fun With Notes of Thanks
I grew up in the era when notelets or note paper were given as gifts and have the words of my mother ringing in my ears; “always give a thank you note”. I personally hand wrote notes of thanks to all who gave gifts for my engagement and wedding and I still write up to five notes per week. For years I have coached management teams to give notes of appreciation to their staff and have invented interesting and different ways for employees to receive notes of thanks. Throughout that time, I was aware that people kept the notes that they were given and treasured them as memories of a special moment.
The giving of a beautiful note is a gift to both the giver and the receiver. The giver has a lovely moment to recall something unique and positive in the person to whom they are giving the note and the receiver gets to feel the moment; feel special, unique and worthy. Giving notes is almost free (some are), fun and yet so powerful. So get busy and set yourself a target – write five notes per week. Write them on the best paper that you can find and post them or hand deliver them. Sometimes I slip them into my guests bags for a little treat later on. Step up to the challenge to find something special in five people you know or come into contact with.
The spin off to writing notes is that over time, you become less critical and more appreciative. Now that has got to be a good thing. Oh, and just a reminder, an email or phone call, while being delightful, will just not do. A note is a note is a note and only a note will do. I will cover how to get started in the next blog.
What is your special note routine?
Compassion Across The World
Today I am thinking about how grateful I am to be safe and secure with my family here in Australia and I send thoughts of compassion to all of those people and their families who are affected by the earthquake in Indonesia and the Tsunami in Samoa. In this time of turmoil of nature, it is important to generate positive and compassionate thoughts and energy.
So I send warm compassion, generosity and love across the world.
