A very happy (late) Christmas and a very happy, healthy, safe and prosperous New Year to all! Hey, I can still wish everyone a happy Christmas, it isn’t Twelfth Night yet. So there!😊❤️

We had a wonderful Christmas. I was able to get past my dread of the season (given that I was beginning my cancer journey exactly one year ago) and really enjoy the holiday for a change. We were even able to get all our gifties wrapped and under the tree well before Christmas Eve night so there wasn’t any last-minute panic wrapping. I actually sat in our living room early Christmas morning before everyone was up and enjoyed the lights of our little tree as well as the crackling “fire” and holiday music playing softly on our flat-screen. I was able to reflect on my journey and how incredibly grateful I am that I’m still here, very much alive and fairly healthy. I’m holding this little shining bubble very close to my heart – it’s very important for me to remember and reflect on so that I can pay closer attention to the simple joys of the every-day instead of focusing on and worrying about the Big Picture, which does nothing but amp up my anxiety. I’m finally, FINALLY getting in the habit of pulling my mind back to the Now and the more I do it, the easier it becomes. Heh. It’s only taken me SIX DECADES to figure this one out! Derp. Although I suppose I’m one of the luckier ones, really. Some folks go to their graves striving for the unattainable and live out their lives in frustration. I don’t want to be one of them.

So… One of the gifties for me that showed up under the tree was a real, live Tibetan singing bowl! I’d wanted one for years but never caved and bought one. Back at the beginning of December Basil casually asked me if I still liked them. (Yeah, I know. Subtle.) I answered in a very enthusiastic affirmative and sealed the deal, because a lovely hand-hammered bowl now sits in a place of honor on my bedside table. Its tone is amazing and I can now sustain a continuous sound while playing it (not as easy as it may appear – sort of like playing a giant metal wine glass). I’m hopelessly hooked. Now I want a really big bowl, maybe 12 inches in diameter, that has a much lower pitch. Hell, maybe an entire collection ranging in size from humongous to itty bitty might be in order!😆 Their sounds are extremely soothing and meditative, not to mention beautiful, which is why I love them so much.

My resolutions for the New Year were fairly simple: letting go of old bitterness, practicing more mindfulness, being more kind (especially to myself). Also, to quit stifling my creativity. That last one is going to be tough but, as this past year has shown me, I’ve been given an incredible gift and can’t squander it. No, that’s wrong. I’ve been given TWO incredible gifts – my life, and my artistic ability. Time to make better use of both!❤️