The Quiet and Solitude of a Retreat

Ah, the quiet has moved in
The presents have been wrapped and unwrapped, the frenzy of activity that built up to one fantastical day of Christmas is done. The waft of relief and exhaustion paint our home with gratitude, and solace. We can now relax, and slough off all of the expectations placed on one lone day for another year. I have done everything possible to take care of every detail to show how much I care. Now its time to relax and wind down, and think about The New Year. Or can we just sit and relax and read a good book, and let thoughts drift off into no predictable pattern? Ah, yes thats the ticket!

New Year Dawns; Clearing out the clutter
Piles of papers sit atop every surface in my living space. It is that time of the year again, when we long for organization. The need to find everything, and find a good home for all those papers that seem to get mixed up with everything else. You are never too old to change things up a bit, start a new system or try something new. What in your world could use a bit of shaking up, and shaking loose. Louise Hay advices to keep things moving in your home. If you no longer have a use for it, get it out of the house. In the spirit of giving, and keeping a flow moving in your life, I have found it very useful to donate used clothing and shoes to those who might have a need for them. I recycle batteries and old cell phones, donate old glasses to The Lions Club, and sell books online. I have found that the more movement of things in my home, and in my life, the more open I become to having space for the new that comes in.

Happy New Year 2009