Gift of today

Reading from Tuesday and Wednesday, December 17 and 18, 2013 yoga class

I buy greeting cards from a place online called Cards by Anne.  She sends out updates occasionally and what follows is from her most recent update.

"It is a serious challenge these days before Christmas to live what I believe and preach.  Most of us have long "To-Do" lists, those "details of life" that claim our minutes and hours at this time of year.  Oh, I truly want to keep calm and breathe deeply when I find myself getting a little harried.  But boy, that is not easy to remember.  I just returned from the printer, an errand that should take no more than 10 or 15 minutes.  The owner asked if we could talk for "a few minutes" about pricing (which I should have known wouldn't take just a few minutes!), but I agreed.  Let's just say that it didn't proceed smoothly.  There were interruptions at every turn: phone calls, deliveries, etc. etc. and my patience wore a bit thinner as I waited at the counter. Fifteen minutes turned into 30, and I began thinking about all the items I wasn't crossing off today's list: Special orders to attend to, answering emails, ordering paper, planning tonight's yoga class, writing this email update, etc. etc.  When I came to that item, I almost laughed out loud.  What topic had I planned to discuss here?  Pausing to remember the gift of today!  My intention was to write about remaining centered amidst holiday preparations, and I was doing anything but that!  So perhaps I'll just tell you what advice, I need today, and you can see if it applies to you, too: "Pause for a moment or two or three each day to pay homage to this wondrous Mystery of Life."  That's all.  Then perhaps I'll avoid rushing and savor the gift of this day, this one precious day that is given to us, this one day that will never come again."

AND from the songs of John Denver... his words are timeless and touch my heart... doesn't matter how may times I hear them:

"...thank you for this precious day
    these gifts you give to me
    My heart's so full of love for you 
    Sings praise for all I see..."      from the song, "Falling Leaves"

"...you see, life is a very special kind of thing
    not just for a chosen few
    but for each and every living, breathing, thing, not just me and you
   So in your Christmas prayers this year, Alfie asked me, to ask you
   Say a prayer for the wind, and the water, and the wood, and those who live there, too."
                                                   from the song "Alfie the Christmas Tree"

Lastly... I received a Christmas card from a friend who had moved away.  The front of the card reads:
                                   BE A TORCH
                                   BE A SPARK.
                                   BE A CANDLE 
                                   IN THE DARK.

Isn't that super!!   So... to all of you... A peaceful Christmas Day, and to a New Year filled with possibility.