Just a few of us gathering in the living room to celebrate family and the New Year -I am Blessed to have such a large and supportive net to help me with the saying,
"Leap and the net will appear."
For those of you with family that you can count on one hand, email me and I will share.....
SHINE IN '09!!! (My personal mantra that I hope everyone adopts)
So my blogging voice has been quiet since New Year's Eve 2008.....
2009 greeting us all with full calendars, responsibilities, anxiety, love, loss, hope, fear, rain, snow, but always with the promise of sunshine; a sunshine that we don't always believe will warm our hearts, but instead, burn.....hopefully you're getting you're three hugs per day, feel loved, and take at least one hour per day to celebrate yourself!!
I was tired, were you?
I replaced my New Year's resolution before the confetti was picked up, and was seemingly okay with, "I'll get to it tomorrow..." So I didn't drink more water than coffee.....and I didn't get more sleep.......and I didn't want to trust the new adventures that lay ahead of me.....I was determined to be stuck in 2008 - waiting for those things I left undone to resolve themselves......nervously letting my inner fire be a flicker instead of an inferno; insisting that my soul sleep, instead of wake up with eyes wide open to see....SEE MORE than what I was allowing myself to see.....
BE MORE than what I was allowing myself to be....
It is February and it has well been advertised and marketed as the month of LOVE......hearts everywhere as a symbol.....
The strongest muscle in our body is the heart.
The leading cause of death for women is heart disease.
The heart represents many things; love, joy, family, St. Valentine's Day, and life itself.
Our hearts never attack us, we attack our hearts.
When we shut our hearts we are basically shutting off the flow of life to our hearts.
Let us drop the judgements and rejoice in love when we see it.
During this New Year I have definitely seen it and have been lucky enough to receive it.
I would like to thank the senior class of Pomona Catholic Girls High School, both of 2008 (The Angelics) and of 2009 (The Believers) who helped me to dream big dreams once again and to love even when it is difficult.
I would like to thank my Beautiful And Talented Sista's of the Boys And Girls Club of the San Gorgonio Pass Area......my gorgeous and gifted girls at Nicolet Middle School - YOU ROCK! and the world is blessed to have you shining and radiating your creative and energetic brilliance to make us all better!
To the Beaumont Woman's Club who will be celebrating their GRAND RE-OPENING this Saturday at their newly renovated clubhouse with a PINK TEA PARTY and BAKE SALE - I am in awe of you!! Your love and friendship is comforting, rewarding and timeless!
The thank yous can go on and on......for some reason I feel very much like I've been given an Oscar or some sort of prestigious award for which a thank you speech is necessary.....
But then again, aren't we all????
Aren't we all given a great, shining, coveted award every day????
The gift of life!
The gift of being able to live each day.....to make a difference in the lives of others.....to research and discover who we are and what we are born for.....the fabulous gift of being able to become worthy of a story.....
Our feelings die with us, but our choices live on for all eternity!!!
February gave me hearts. Thank you Valentine.
February gave me snow. Thank you Pomona Catholic High School and Big Bear, Ca.!
February gave me life. Thank you Momma and Papa.......so very much......
Tomorrow I will be 29 years old, and as my Papa said when I called him from Big Bear last week while gazing at the 15 feet of newly fallen magical-mystical-MACmakeuplooking-sparkling snow for the first time in my life,
"Wow - you've seen things! Now tell the girls what you've seen!"
So girls -
I have seen women, real women, living as examples of strength....living, loving, laughing, dreaming and BEING.....
BELIEVING in ourselves......
BELIEVING in our dreams.....
BELIEVING in our power to positively change the world......
I HAVE SEEN......AND I BELIEVE!!!
I will go fill up my water bottle now.......with water......=)
Big Hugs,
Natalie
