Gravity

This year has been one that I'll look back on as one of two or three truly pivotal years in my life.

I've learned more about myself than I have during almost any other year of my life. I've felt pain and I've caused others pain. I've brought joy and helped some people find a deeper, richer sense of purpose and I'm finding that myself, slowly. True self-exploration is rarely graceful or comfortable. But, looking back over a tumultuous time in one's life, there is a quiet, powerful reward that validates the process, however painful or difficult: It's the unmistakable sense that, even with the turmoil and upheaval, you wouldn't go back to who you were before it all happened.

When you're in the midst of it, though, you can feel adrift - rootless - even completely lost. But just as you feel you may break apart, that's when you feel a pull. It may be your friends, your family, your work or some other source. There will be a reminder of your intrinsic worth, your connectedness to everything that means anything to you. And that gravity will pull you through.

So, with your feet firmly on the ground, drawing deep within yourself, know that you are loved - and that you are love. Everything else is just another lesson we're here to learn. Be patient with yourself. Forgive yourself and others. And know that you are a part of something beyond your imagination, and that something is everything - and it's incomplete without you.

So surrender to the gravity.

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Three Ways to Make New Years Eve Safer and Healthier:

1. Prepare a veggie tray with either hummus or dip made with 2% fat Greek yogurt (Whole Foods or Trader Joe's) to take to the party, or to serve if you're the one hosting. Eat a good amount of this before sampling other foods. If you're going out for dinner first, have a salad with lean meat.

2. Have a full 8oz (or larger) glass of water before each drink of a more "celebratory" nature.

3. As the evening progresses, ask yourself if the way you feel at that moment is the way you want to end the year. If not, do something else that feels "right".

Blessings and love to all of you. Thank you for making this blog a success and for letting me be a part of the healthy changes in your life.