Serenity is Mine to Keep: Maintaining Serenity in the midst of Holiday Chaos...

Serenity is Mine to Keep: Maintaining Serenity in the midst of Holiday Chaos...: Well Thanksgiving is over and now we rush headlong into what has become "The Holiday Season". Can someone please explain to me how we as a ...

Maintaining Serenity in the midst of Holiday Chaos

Well Thanksgiving is over and now we rush headlong into what has become "The Holiday Season".  Can someone please explain to me how we as a society have lost all control over our ability to be nice.  Maybe it's because I don't celebrate Christmas (I am Jewish), I really don't have a concept of the need to be rude and mean to the employees and other customers in the store or driving or in the parking lot.

This is supposed to be a season of giving, giving from the heart and giving from the soul.  I thought it was about sharing and showing people how we feel about them.  If you are rude and mean in order to get that "special gift or toy or perfume or clothing" does it really feel good inside to be rude in order to get what you want.

I have a new job working to raise funds to put solar panels on a remote hospital in The Gambia.  All my life I have taken electricity for granted even when we have power failures for a few days we just find someplace nearby that has power, but in The Gambia hospitals do not have power unless they have installed solar panels and have training on how to maintain them.  The solar panels allow the hospitals to refrigerate vaccines and plug in the incubators.  Do we even think about what our lives would be like without our local hospital having electricity?

As I walked through a parking lot at a local shopping center this evening watching people yelling at their kids, trying to outrun someone for a parking spot that's 2 feet closer to the store, I couldn't help but wonder what their lives would be like without electricity and also do they have any ability to find serenity and joy in their daily lives.

I have a novel idea - let's bring joy, peace, sharing, giving from the heart and love back to our lives.  Not just for this season but for each and every day.

I truly believe that finding a little joy each day will bring serenity into your life.  It has brought it into mine.  And joy can be as simple as a small piece of dark chocolate or snuggling with the cats or a kiss from my husband - this is joy and this is serenity.

Serenity in the Past

As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches I have started thinking about the recent need to find my serenity.

As I spent the day yesterday running errands and discussing upcoming tasks with my spouse who is now semi-permanently residing in our home while searching for the next consulting position I realized that I never really lost my serenity - I don't think I ever had it.

Don't get me wrong I had a good childhood-I had playmates, I walked to school, I was in Brownies and loved to sing in chorus,  but will I was happy I don't really think I was serene, especially in high school and college.  Even as I look back on my life post undergrad and early marriage I don't think serenity was part of my life.

The birth of my children were fabulous days even with lack of sleep, crying and temper tantrums, but still I don't think I found serenity, by the way my children are now young adults with lives and challenges of their own and I hope they can locate their serenity each day.

Now as each day passes I believe that serenity is something you have to discover within yourself each and every day.

It is absolutely necessary to find a piece of serenity within your daily life in order to maintain balance and maintain sanity.

Each day as the day begins to wind down, I breathe deep, take a sip of wine, pet the cats and let go of whatever happened to knock me of my balance and as I listen to Echos on XPN and drift off to sleep I know that tomorrow will be another step and another challenge to maintain the daily serenity.

I suggest that you try it.

Serenity is Mine to Keep: New Blog for a New Job and a New Path

Serenity is Mine to Keep: New Blog for a New Job and a New Path: Well to everyone who has followed my blog about the upside of unemployment I happily have had to change the blog since I am now employed. I...

New Blog for a New Job and a New Path

Well to everyone who has followed my blog about the upside of unemployment I happily have had to change the blog since I am now employed.  I am working as the Director of Development for an organization that provides solar panels to hospitals in The Gambia.  Power Up Gambia is a relatively young but very focused and very dedicated organization to help hospitals and clinics provide the much needed medical care to the people by providing the hospital with electricity.  Something we never really think about in our own day to day lives.

I am very lucky.  I was able to work on my own terms and have chosen to be apart of this organization.  When asked why I wanted this job my answer was - this is out of my comfort zone.  I have realized that I am very good at my career path, in-spite of set-backs, I have always committed myself 110% to the organization I am employed by, but for the most part I have come into a position after some else left or was fired, now at Power Up Gambia, the development program is mine to take to the next levels.  I am the first professional development person they have.  I also have to admit that I had no idea where The Gambia actually was and had to Wiki it.  If you do you will find a link to Power Up Gambia on the Wiki page for The Gambia.

I am happy and each night I evoke my serenity by believing that I can make a difference in people's lives and that my internal serenity will continue to enhance my life on a daily basis.

Now it's time to enjoy the evening, enjoy my glass of wine and figure out what to eat for dinner.

My you find serenity throughout your day.