Friday night grateful moment

riday night, home with my guys after a few days away and oh how lovely it is. There is NOTHING like one's own space, bed, pillow... but it's the people who make coming home so entirely exquisite.

light

I'm' grateful for my One Little Word, for the reminders of Light that I see everywhere, even on dark and gloomy days (there were a couple of really overcast days in Seattle this week, and then a day filled with sunshine!).

I saw these words posted on a friend's FB wall this week:
"It’s dark because you are trying too hard.
Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them."
-Aldous Huxley

Exactly what I've been thinking about--how to handle the heavy stuff, lightly. It's going to be a good year to explore that concept, I can tell already.

I'm grateful that the two-year search for gray boots is over. (Famous last words, but I do believe them to be true. At this moment, anyway.) And no, that's not one set above. Those were the latest choices (I am not willing to confess how many pairs of boots have been sent back. Somewhere more than two and less than 8, how about that?) I went with the ones on the right, the taller, darker ones. But I have been wanting and looking and coming up empty on gray boots, lo these two years. I believe my mother's words to me at some point in the search were: "Sher, maybe gray boots just aren't in fashion." Scandalous words. Challenging words! Ha.

I was fortunate enough to have dinner with my brother and SIL and nieces in Seattle this week. Indian food, no less. We had a lovely visit and catch up, with lots of hugs and laughter. It was wonderful to see them. Won. Der. Ful. I am a lucky girl to have such a beautiful family.

My time away was split between learning and sharing with community foundations and United Ways from across Washington (at the Gates Foundation) and trustee time at Children's Home Society. It happened to fall on the same week, so I just rode the wave of thinking in the nonprofit space, and played catch up on work emails on my phone! Such an amazing organization, those Gates people. Listening to what they are trying to accomplish, and aiming for--in both a global and a local way--is humbling. I am so grateful for that opportunity. Then my time with CHS was full of much of the same, but in a more tangible and concrete way--nuts and bolts of the operations of a statewide nonprofit. After the 30,000-foot-view of Gates, it was a nice "back to reality" today, complete with a carpool moment with a long-time trustee that reminded me what a true lifetime of giving back looks like. Grateful. Me.

What's a little time in Seattle without some glassybabies all over the place? The dinner last night in the atrium at the Gates Foundation had these sweet votives scattered on every table. I am always grateful for the glow of the glassybaby.

In the lobby at the hotel I stayed at, the picture above, and the two below. Color! I am always grateful for splashes of color in my day, in my week. And if it's green, well... so much the better.

Mosaic on the floor. Pineapples = symbol of hospitality. Love!

Glass bouquet. Color! Love!

peace

Wishing you a path to peace (and gratitude) this weekend.

One Word 2013: Light

hink about it: 2013. What good comes of something, anything, even a new millenium, becoming a teenager? While my personal experience as a parent has not been such that the teen years are horrific or earth-ending, by any means, there's a reason why teenagers have the reputation they do. Boundary stretching, arrogant, annoying, impatient with everyone older than 20... If we think the past few years have been challenging, what is ahead in this coming year? Hmmm. Between you and me, I am not holding my breath for 20-THIRTEEN to be anything other than a hormonal temper tantrum of a year.

That being said, I *also* think it could quite possibly be a great year (yes, I can have it both ways). Mostly because, dammit, it needs to be. It HAS to be. And, frankly, we can either let the teenager rule, or we can show it who is boss. Am I right or am I right?

On the heels (and pardon the whiplash after that slightly gloomy intro) of my Grace recap yesterday, I offer you my One Word for 2013: Light.

Light (as a child of God):
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." Ephesians 5:8

Light (as a wife and mother):
"There are two ways of spreading light…To be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it."
-Edith Wharton

Light (as a friend, colleague, fellow traveler):
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd."
-Rumi

Light (as a woman):
"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
-Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

Light (as a citizen of the world):

He who would travel happily must travel light.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

So, what does another word for another year really mean? Well, for one, it gives me a handy jumping off place for goals. It's when I am able to align so many of my current thoughts and inner workings with One Word that I know I've arrived at a word that will work for me (theoretically) in the coming year. I usually turn over any number of words for a month or two in my brain before landing on one that really resonates.

The past couple of months I've been mulling over 2013 and where I'd like to go:

*Lighten up (see what I'm able to do with one little word?) means working toward a few fitness targets.

*Being light also means getting organized, paring down, cleaning out those sock and makeup drawers that I've been meaning to get to, for years. When I read the Saint-Exupery quote above, I think about having less of a footprint on the earth, consuming less...

*Lighten up also translates into taking myself less seriously. Seriously.

*Being a light (lamp) to others, at home and away: I think about my abilities to listen, to empathize, to show compassion, and my need and desire to grow in those areas.

*I'd like to work on my devotional time (focusing on my Creator as The Light), finding ways to make prayer and scriptural meditation meaningful and consistent as my life requires additional balance.

*To shine light on a topic is to gain wisdom; there are a number of areas, professionally, where I want to learn and grow.

And I know the list will expand and morph over the year. I'm very much looking forward to seeing where it grows to.

Always, there are a few online resources to help in the journey:
One Little Word: I just signed up for this year-long class. I think it will keep me more on track in a gentle way (not like some online classes that are all-in for weeks at a time). (Come join me! That would be awesome!)

My One Word

One Word 365

Here we are, on the brink of another year; a year destined to be filled with joy and sadness, challenges and opportunities, the full range that every 365-day cycle provides. But rather than wishing for a good year, or even a great year, I wish for you the strength to meet whatever your year brings--and I wish the same for myself. If it is good fortune, so much the better. If it is less than that, may you (and I) be surrounded by love and comfort and courage. And light.

‎"I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being." 
-Hafiz of Shiraz

One Word 2012 recap: Grace

race has been my One Little Word for 2012, the word I chose to focus on, to bring more of into my life. And like any highlighted characteristic, it seems, the simple act of choosing GRACE flipped a switch to spotlight my need. Upon deciding on the word, I almost immediately felt utterly challenged--both in the giving and receiving of Grace. I had to take a few deep breaths and remind myself that, cliche as it might sound, this wasn't about a specific destination, but about the road to be traveled along the way.

Here, at the tail end of 2012, I am quite glad I chose Grace. Articulating the word, and keeping it present in my mind and heart throughout the year, was very worth the effort. Was I human? Sure. Did I act graceless at times? Oh yes. But did I come to better understand grace in my own life and work to share that outwardly in my relationships with others? Yes, I did.

Like Focus (2011), and Pause (2010) before it, I know that Grace will stay with me, long after 2012 is gone. Each word remains a part of me--reminding me, keeping me company, guiding the way--with a kind of cumulative effect. By the time I'm an old woman, all kinds of words will have visited my years, even circling back around for a retool from time to time, maybe. It's a welcome image.

I mentioned the Grace journey only a few times this year:
*In a Mid-Week Reminder about the magnitude of being present to what our life offers.
*Another Mid-Week Reminder about grace in the turnaround.
*And in a Friday Night Grateful Moment, when I mention a Bible verse that highlights grace: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

Could I stay with Grace for another year? Quite definitely. But I'm moving on, adding Grace to the word pile and picking another to focus on and build goals toward. I'm really quite excited about 2013, in many ways. Can't wait to share...

Mid-week reminder: Grace in the turnaround

s I continue to explore my word for this year--grace--I was delighted to discover this image, tucked away, forgotten, on my iPad. It was the perfect reminder I needed for today... this week... this year.