Picking Traditions

What a great weekend!! There is nothing better than a holiday weekend that is focused on time with my favourite people and sharing good food, except a SUNNY holiday weekend that is focused on time with my favourite people and sharing good food. At my parent's house a family gathering always includes the mixing of everyone's favourite things. That's tradition. That and board games. 

At my parents house there were mushrooms cooked just the way my sister loves them. deviled eggs made two different ways, one way for my brother and his eldest son and the other for the two newest members to our crazy crew. There was pumpkin pie - my Dad, and squash - my Mom. My Grandmother's magic marshmallow salad is my youngest nephew's holiday treat, maple/BBQ salmon for my sister-in-law, and nanaimo bars for my niece  WOW what a feast. We are so truly blessed. 

There is SO much more than great food and great weather to be thankful for. This year I was included in two family's festive feasts. Having been so grateful for the wonderful people that I have in my life has brought me a whole other group of people to love.  Spending time with Dave's family and learning their traditions has been fun (looking forward to Christmas traditions next).

Having multiple family schedules to juggle means that we get to be a bit creative with the calendar. Even though the official holiday day was Monday, our two families got together on Saturday and Sunday. We don't need to wait for any specific day to share time and show gratitude. It feels SO great when we do just that. I get a combination of a cozy feeling, like a big hug from the Universe, and a real rush of energy being in this kind of loving space. 

Q: Why not feed those feeling every day?

A: There is NO reason not to and every reason to do.  

Happy Thanksgiving !

As Canadians we have so much to be grateful for. In southern Ontario this year we are enjoying spectacular weather and brightly coloured trees. We are safe, far from Cyclone Phailin which made landfall as the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane in India this weekend. We are able to walk into any grocery store and shop as we choose, there is a bountiful selection for all. And for those who are not able to experience that at this point in their journey, there were food bank donation baskets over flowing by the exit of our local grocery store and churches providing a feast and a family to anyone who desires. 

But just because something is traditional is no reasons to do it, of course. I prefer to choose which traditions to keep and which to let go. Keeping focused on the things that feel good and that move us forward is of course what will help to grow our collections of those kinds of experiences in life (that's the Law of Attraction in action). Maybe even adding a new something that is in line with the great stuff that you are already doing will become tradition in future. 


The same theory applies to your daily traditions. You can pick and choose a lot of what you keep and what you release. You may have some regular activities that you can't quite figure out how to let go of, but you can definitely choose what feelings about those activities will stay and what can go.  I mean, maybe you would like to release the activity of going to work, and you can't quite figure that one out just yet, but what you can do is go to work and release the stress and tension that has been there in the past. Do that job with as much love and ease as you can while at the same time, focusing on what is there that doesn't suck.  Like maybe the coffee is tasty. Or maybe there is a photo on your desk that you love, a page day calendar that you look forward to, or a person who is always happy to see you. 

There is no reason to wait for any specific day to enjoy the little things or to show your gratitude and to feel good. You can teach yourself to notice the moments each day that feel good. Let those moments feed that cozy feeling or that energetic rush, and grow your collection of good stuff.

What kind of holiday traditions do you have that you look forward to every year? Are there any daily traditions that you have that excite and energize you? I am always looking for new ideas and fun stuff to add to my collection of good stuff. I'd love to hear what you've got going on and growing in your collection. 

PS. Are we running in the same Google+ Circles?? Let's connect there and share ideas.