November 6, 2023
November has landed on our doorsteps with an air of anticipation as the holidays approach and plans begin to take shape. What can we create in the kitchen, our family, and our community? These thoughts and ideas are interlaced with remembrance and reflection. Our bodies carry sense memories of our mother’s or grandmother’s kitchen, the family table and traditions, the wishes and wonders of childhood. Even still, the arrival of the holidays triggers those feelings in a mixture of joy, pain, and longing.
We are each instilled with the urge to create, as we are made in the image and likeness of God. We look for ways to create what we wish to experience in our lives, our relationships, and the world around us. Connecting with our creativity “is fundamental to think about the future, to imagine the future, and certainly to imagine a better future” (Welby Altidor, former Executive Creative Director of Cirque du Soleil). The holidays inspire creativity and hope, which together can lift us all higher.
Creativity and hope are cultivated from within, even if they are inspired by someone or something outside us. As we connect with our inner wisdom, we begin to create deeper connection with others. These connections build hope and allow healing to happen. I firmly believe that this is how we create an energy shift in our world, from hate to love, from conflict to cooperation, from divisiveness to unity. That would make a better future for all of us!
Everything that’s created comes out of silence. Your thoughts emerge from the nothingness of silence. Your words come out of this void. Your very essence emerged from emptiness. All creativity requires some stillness.
-Wayne Dyer
In stillness, we activate intention and imagination. These are our power tools. The more we use them, the more we realize and appreciate their value. If we could remember that we carry these tools, we would use them daily. Instead of succumbing to discouragement and anxiety in these turbulent times, we can step up to the plate, so to speak, and wield our superpowers. We are braver than we think. Try using this affirmation as you start each day:
“I am equipped, empowered, and anointed!”
Create a daily practice that includes holding space for silence, imagining a healthy, harmonious world, and setting an intention to uplift others. As you allow Love and Joy to flow through you, you will become a conduit for hope and healing. Your presence will uplift and illuminate your environment.
This journey continually brings me back to myself and shows me that change happens from the inside-out. When I became a parent, I found that every challenge was an opportunity for me to change something in me. I dug into the dirt of my inner garden to pull out the weeds and plant new seeds. I had some spiny, ugly weeds show up that I had never seen before! Exhaustion and exasperation were their fertilizers. My mom was a source of wisdom and grace through all of it, offering perspective and understanding. She planted many good seeds in me. I just need to continue the weeding and watering. This, too, is part of the creative process.
As you behold the world around you and feel a sense of exhaustion and exasperation, turn within to the silence that waits for you. The noise that fills our days gets into our heads and wears us down. Silence is essential for our sanity and wellbeing. It is the key to our creativity. It is the space that holds Wisdom and Love and heals our weary souls. It is also the starting point for any change we wish to see in the world, and anything we wish to manifest. If we can cultivate the stillness daily, we will discover greater peace, joy, and wholeness this holiday season.
Comfort & Joy,
ej