Serenity & Thanksgiving - ENJOY!

So tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a time for family, feasting, football and feeling content.

I am lucky that I don't have to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, instead I do Friday night with my family and my extended family.  In the past these large family get togethers have sometimes made me nuts, according to my daughter I go into "bitch" status, but this year I choose not to make myself nuts.

I know that my children do not believe this is possible but I am fairly sure that I can maintain calmness thanks to my ability to locate serenity in crazy situations.

I have taken this attitude with all things in my life including my marriage, my family, my friends, colleagues and the search for employment.  It has brought me contentment and sometimes happiness.

I find that if I can't fix the problem, it's better to let it go, perhaps the solution will come at a later time, if at all, some problems just can't be solved.  Up to the last few months I had a hard time believing that all problems can't be solved, but now I see that somethings are just not worth the time or effort and I just put them aside.  It has helped me find the happy place in life.

So here's to Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Family, Friends and Food.

Enjoy, be happy and find serenity in all that surrounds you.

Finding Serenity in Every Day Mistakes

Okay, so I know that it's been quite a while since I last posted to the blog but I haven't lost my search for every day serenity - it just got a little caught up in the every day issues of life.

For this I am very sorry.  As some of you may know I have made a choice to begin a new chapter in my life.  I have started to work on the concept of a new nonprofit - we are calling it - First Light Project.   Most of my career has been spent in helping already established nonprofits find funds, do an event, run walks/runs, etc, now I am taking all of that knowledge along with lessons learned to format this new enterprise.

I am very very lucky because I already had colleagues, friends and some family who believe in what can be accomplished in this new endeavor.  I am also a little frightened and exceptionally honored to have people believe in me, it helps me to believe in myself and probably for the first time in my life I truly believe that I can accomplish this feat to head up an enterprise from the start.

As I begin the new year (yes I am Jewish), I look forward to many new challenges, new projects, new journeys and continuing to move only in a forward direction.

Each step forward should offer insight, be filled with questions, look for answers and the opportunity to breath deeply and savior each moment of each day.

The title of of this blog - Finding Serenity in Every Day Mistakes has a purpose.  Mistakes we make should never be overlooked we should keep them in mind and keep them the reason to go onto our new challenges.  If we never made a mistake then we would never learn and never move forward.  This past week that this brought home by a very insightful local small business owner, who had made a mistake in an invoice which he rectified by giving a refund that was more than the mistake.  When I tried to give him back some of the money he replied:  "If by paying you this refund I keep in mind that mistake I originally made then I will learn from that mistake and not make it again."  I left that place of business not only feeling incredibly happy with the world, but also thinking about his comment.  In our every day life we make mistakes but how we react to them is what this time of year is all about - forgiveness, finding serenity and peace in our every day lives and in our mistakes.

Learn from the mistakes, live each day to fullest, ask for forgiveness whenever it's necessary and each and every day of your life you will locate your serenity.

Serenity and Upcoming Valentine's Day

Each year I await the Valentine's Day holiday with trepidation and the knowledge that I have no romance in my life (other than what I do for myself).

31 years ago my father told my husband that he didn't need a set day of the year to tell my mother that he loves her and that they never really celebrated the holiday.  So since then - nothing.  Ever so often he remembers that it's Valentine's Day and gets a card and once he gave me a small Dove chocolate in my lunch (he was unemployed at the time and consequently home), but other than that, romance doesn't seem to be a factor in our lives.

And that's what I love about the holiday - it forces us to put some romance into our everyday lives.  I know that some people go over the top with the day, but there is a little piece of me that always hopes that even if it's not that actual day I will be surprised by romance.

My son and husband like to make fun of me because lately I have taken to reading romance novels on my Kindle, I do also read literature and the daily New York Times, but the romance novels give me a chance to believe that some day romance will find a way back into my life.

The question is what exactly is romance?  I can only say that for romance would be a gentle surprise that would make me feel completely special in the eyes of others.  I know that I have a wonderful soul, that I am caring and loving person (probably sometimes to a fault) but I also know that there are times when I feel that I am the only person that knows this about myself, sometimes the romantic surprise could make a real difference to the psyche of a person.

So for all of you out there who have romance in your lives, share with me what makes romance real to you and for all of those who find themselves in a similar boat to me - I say, have a piece of dark chocolate, a wonderful glass deep red wine, light some candles, fill the tub with hot water and bubbles and enjoy the peace that will surround you.  It's not romance but it will give the end of your day beauty.

Peace & Serenity!