Opening to the light of the season

This was the year of the perfect turkey. After cooking Thanksgiving dinner This was the year of the perfect turkey. After cooking Thanksgiving dinner for over three decades I finally got it exactly right. The meal has always been insanely good, but this year, it was perfection – moist, flaky, fall apart in your mouth good. I think the secret was singing to the bird. You see, it was a bit behind schedule when I woke up. A few years ago, I got a big roaster like Grandma’s, making slow roasting so much easier than when I did it in the oven. If the “cooking-time” math works correctly, the bird roasts overnight and finishes cooking just in time to take apart before the guests arrive so that I can enjoy my company.

Anyway, back to the story, the beloved bird was in all night and not cooked quite enough when I awakened, so I did two things – one logical and one pure energy. I cranked up the temperature a bit of course, and started singing to the tune of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny be Good.” It just popped into my head. “Go, turkey, Go! Go, turkey, Go! Go, turkey, Go! Turkey be Good!” The pure silliness put me in such a joyful vibration the universe had to respond! I’ve never eaten such a good meal, and I’ve both cooked and eaten the same meal for decades. I blessed and thanked the soul of the bird who lived and died for my dinner and felt the love come back at me. Years ago, the angels came through a channel I trust deeply and said that many animals incarnate as food animals because they enjoy the “rush” of going back into the Light. They don’t see death as we do and ask only for kind treatment. That was new to me at the time. I always have deep gratitude for the souls who contribute to my life – human, plant, or animal.

I feel the Presence of the light strongly these days. The years of practicing appreciation make it second nature. Today, I appreciate the changing leaves, plants growing in the garden, and the crisp, cool blue sky dotted with spattered clouds. I appreciate the people in my personal life, my dear clients, and all of you. I appreciate the cold water in my faucets, the food in my fridge, and the holiday decorations that are finally up after three-day weekend of hauling boxes and climbing up and down a ladder. I love this season.

I am often asked by people how and why I’m so happy. The truth is, I’m not all the time. I work at it constantly. The world could easily get me down a thousand times a day, but I work unceasingly to manage my mind and choose my focus for one simple reason – I prefer to feel good. I prefer to see love, be love, and share love. That’s my essence and yours too. We’re made of it.

Children seek the Light so easily. If something upsets them, they accept themselves first. They have a good sob, an epic tantrum, or a quiet pout. Within minutes, however, if left to their own devices, they’ll find something to feel better about. Focusing on things that make you happier is natural. We’re born to do it. We get trained out of it. We were taught – often unconsciously – that we have to be “responsible” and focus on problems, that we have to dwell on or fight unpleasant behaviors, and that we have to be smart, right, look good, fit in, etc. We were conditioned to focus on problems and join the fight “against darkness” instead of bringing forth the Light from within.

In truth, we can respond best to life when we focus on the solutions. We are happiest when we look for the love around us. We are kinder, more authentic beings when we turn our cheek away from destructive behaviors and focus on the kinder souls or the good within everyone. The Light is there in all cases. Sometimes it just takes more mental muscle to focus on it…. and we can exercise our minds to do so.

This holiday, more than ever – perhaps because the world needs love, peace, and compassion – I’ll be focusing on all that is beautiful about the season. After I finish the newsletter, I’m having Thanksgiving dinner for the fourth time and will cozy up with a good cup of tea, my warm fleece, and perhaps a little Hallmark before bed. Sappy as the shows are, I love how kind everyone is to one another! Whatever helps you focus on love this season, do it. It is, after all, a season dedicated to bringing forth light in the darkness.

Here are a few tips to help you focus on the light during this season…

1. Open to the heavenly light first

Take time in silence to sit with your angels, dear ones in heaven, or the pure presence of the Divine. Put on some sweet music. Breathe, and intend to simply receive. Allow yourself to relax and open. Trust your loved ones, angels, and the Divine are always flowing love to you. As you relax, see if you can open to feeling their love. Imagine it wrapped around you and flowing over you because it is. As you start to feel good, see if you can open to feeling even better. Keep expanding, breathing, and receiving. You are the manger, the lamp, and the dark welcoming the dawn. Open. Nothing can please the heavens more than opening to receive their indescribable love for you.

2. Give the light to yourself

Every day this season, do something kind for yourself. Stop to enjoy a song that you love. Pause to enjoy the beauty around you. Sip something you enjoy. Think of something or someone you are grateful for. As you do something daily that honors your own spirit, you bolster the spark of light within you and begin to experience your own worthiness.

3. Be the light

Be an ambassador of the light and the love that lives within us all. Be kind to someone who looks in need of a smile. Volunteer or sit in silence and pray. Give a little tiny something to someone to share your appreciation. There are so many ways, great and small, to share the love. Do it because it feels good to be your kindest self. No matter what mood you are in, sharing love illuminates your own soul. The love that flows through you must first flow to you.

It would be my heart’s wish that the extra kindness and cheer of the season illuminate our hearts daily; that we take time to savor small moments, to treasure the people in our lives, and to sit in that beautiful silence. We can become the receptacle for the love that is beyond imagination.