Merry Christmas. I hope that some of the peace and joy of the season is in your life.
Drive your car carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself. You deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Winter Solstice
Already it has been good and cold this winter. We have even had snow. People were walking on a lake a few miles from our home. It is 38 degrees at my house right now. That seems warm compared to 11 degrees just days ago. Winter is upon us in many ways.
But wait. What season is this? Today, December 18, 2009, right now, what season is this? It feels like winter, it looks like winter, it must be winter. Hmmm… It’s still the fall.
The Winter Solstice comes this year on Monday, December 21. Here in Washington State, it will occur at 9:47 AM. Our earth rotates on an axis. The Winter Solstice is the time when because of the axial tilt of the earth we are the farthest away from the sun thereby receiving the least direct sunlight. It is also the day when we have the fewest hours of sunlight and the most hours of darkness. For me personally, the long hours of darkness have always bothered me more than extended periods of rain.
It is cold and wet, and yet it is still the fall. The days are short and the nights are long. The coldest and harshest weather is still ahead of us. Winter will “officially” begin here soon.
Even though we are beginning our nastiest season of weather the days will slowly begin getting longer again. I appreciate the irony or paradox of winter beginning as the days begin getting longer. Maybe those aren’t the right words; maybe it’s the symbolism I appreciate. As I have aged the cold weather bothers me more and more. I like winter less and less. It doesn’t feel like it today and it won’t feel like it on the many cold days ahead but the Winter Solstice signals the beginning of change. Even as we prepare for the worst weather of the year change will begin slowly this Monday. Longer, warmer days will come again.
In times of reflection, as always, I pray for the good health, overall well being, and safety of my family and friends. I work to trust that during the coming winter, change is already beginning. On Monday the days will begin getting longer again. The light will return.
It is Friday. The weekend is near. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to seeing you or hearing from you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
CYLP!
P
But wait. What season is this? Today, December 18, 2009, right now, what season is this? It feels like winter, it looks like winter, it must be winter. Hmmm… It’s still the fall.
The Winter Solstice comes this year on Monday, December 21. Here in Washington State, it will occur at 9:47 AM. Our earth rotates on an axis. The Winter Solstice is the time when because of the axial tilt of the earth we are the farthest away from the sun thereby receiving the least direct sunlight. It is also the day when we have the fewest hours of sunlight and the most hours of darkness. For me personally, the long hours of darkness have always bothered me more than extended periods of rain.
It is cold and wet, and yet it is still the fall. The days are short and the nights are long. The coldest and harshest weather is still ahead of us. Winter will “officially” begin here soon.
Even though we are beginning our nastiest season of weather the days will slowly begin getting longer again. I appreciate the irony or paradox of winter beginning as the days begin getting longer. Maybe those aren’t the right words; maybe it’s the symbolism I appreciate. As I have aged the cold weather bothers me more and more. I like winter less and less. It doesn’t feel like it today and it won’t feel like it on the many cold days ahead but the Winter Solstice signals the beginning of change. Even as we prepare for the worst weather of the year change will begin slowly this Monday. Longer, warmer days will come again.
In times of reflection, as always, I pray for the good health, overall well being, and safety of my family and friends. I work to trust that during the coming winter, change is already beginning. On Monday the days will begin getting longer again. The light will return.
It is Friday. The weekend is near. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to seeing you or hearing from you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally.
CYLP!
P
Friday, December 11, 2009
The Holidays--The Good and The Bad
I’m listening to Andy Williams sing Christmas music right now. I put him on because he sings about Christmas, “It’s the most wonderful time of year…” Okay Andy, sometimes it is. And sometimes it isn’t.
The holiday season can be a time for enjoying family. It can be a time of dreading being pulled in two directions by in-laws and even three or four directions by step families.
Expectations of what the holidays are supposed to be like can be met with the disappointment of what they end up being like.
It can be exciting to do so many things and overwhelming to do so many things.
It’s a time to enjoy thoughtfully prepared meals together. We can eat too many helpings and way too many cookies.
It’s a time to experience the pleasure of giving and receiving gifts. That gift giving can cause worry and stress.
Shopping can be fun and the crowds can get overwhelming.
It might even snow a little on Christmas. A white Christmas can be fun. We could be buried in snow like last year. It makes driving difficult and dangerous. The garbage won’t get picked up for a month. There could be massive power outages.
It can be a time of year to be thankful for our jobs. Hating the job you have or not even being employed feels even worse during the holidays.
Work hours can increase this time of year only to be followed by reduced hours after the New Year.
It is a time of year when we experience both satisfaction and guilt.
It is also a time when we can feel gratitude for our blessings and resentment over what we don’t have.
It is a time of joy and a time when sadness can be highlighted.
We can savor our friendships this time of year and feel extra bitter about relationships that have gone bad.
The holidays may help me to realize how happy I am with my life or to see how disappointed I am with my life.
During one holiday season or another I have known virtually all of these experiences; the good and the bad, they are all real.
It is important to remind myself
To take a breath
To relax
To enjoy what is good about the season
To recognize I can only do so many things and be so many places
To work at being patient
To offer forgiveness beyond what I think should have to.
To feel my blessings
To spend more energy on what I can do for others than I do worrying about who does what for me.
To consciously choose to be grateful several times a day. And then do it again.
It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourselves whole, physically and emotionally.
P
The holiday season can be a time for enjoying family. It can be a time of dreading being pulled in two directions by in-laws and even three or four directions by step families.
Expectations of what the holidays are supposed to be like can be met with the disappointment of what they end up being like.
It can be exciting to do so many things and overwhelming to do so many things.
It’s a time to enjoy thoughtfully prepared meals together. We can eat too many helpings and way too many cookies.
It’s a time to experience the pleasure of giving and receiving gifts. That gift giving can cause worry and stress.
Shopping can be fun and the crowds can get overwhelming.
It might even snow a little on Christmas. A white Christmas can be fun. We could be buried in snow like last year. It makes driving difficult and dangerous. The garbage won’t get picked up for a month. There could be massive power outages.
It can be a time of year to be thankful for our jobs. Hating the job you have or not even being employed feels even worse during the holidays.
Work hours can increase this time of year only to be followed by reduced hours after the New Year.
It is a time of year when we experience both satisfaction and guilt.
It is also a time when we can feel gratitude for our blessings and resentment over what we don’t have.
It is a time of joy and a time when sadness can be highlighted.
We can savor our friendships this time of year and feel extra bitter about relationships that have gone bad.
The holidays may help me to realize how happy I am with my life or to see how disappointed I am with my life.
During one holiday season or another I have known virtually all of these experiences; the good and the bad, they are all real.
It is important to remind myself
To take a breath
To relax
To enjoy what is good about the season
To recognize I can only do so many things and be so many places
To work at being patient
To offer forgiveness beyond what I think should have to.
To feel my blessings
To spend more energy on what I can do for others than I do worrying about who does what for me.
To consciously choose to be grateful several times a day. And then do it again.
It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourselves whole, physically and emotionally.
P
Friday, December 4, 2009
Pat, Carl, and Rhonda
I write three blogs--this one, a fishing blog, and a real estate blog. My post today is about something that happened while I was on the way back to the office from a meeting with a client. Please click the link to my real estate blog to see the story about Pat, Carl, and Rhonda. It is very much in the spirit of what I post in this blog.
http://jimpankiewicz.blogspot.com/
It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourselves whole physically and emotionally.
P
http://jimpankiewicz.blogspot.com/
It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourselves whole physically and emotionally.
P
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