America/New Zealand

Thanksgiving Thoughts

November 23, 2018

The holidays are here ......  It’s what should be Thanksgiving day, but we are in New Zealand, and they don’t “do” Thanksgiving here.


I know, I know, it's been like two years since I've last written a blog post and I should really address that ... but I don't feel like it right now and if I don't keep writing, this post will never happen either. Sorry!

 Back to Thanksgiving. When I first moved here, I was the token American in my husband’s family (who were familiar with the holiday having lived in the US for several years), so hosting Thanksgiving fell to me. I made valiant attempts in the beginning, but after a few years the enthusiasm waned. Thanksgiving day always sneaked up on me, causing a panic of last minute effort. After all, it’s not like the whole country reminds me all month long, everywhere I go, like it does in America. 

 I would go back and forth in my head whether it was worth the stress or not ... and would anyone even be able to make it? Being a Thursday, Thanksgiving is always a work day here, so most expats will hold it on the weekend, if the calendar is free. If it isn’t free, it’s likely not going to happen. Put it off another week, and you may as well turn it into a Christmas party!

Which brings us to Christmas. In summer. It’s weird. I've talked about it already in my last post (yes, two years ago ... I said I was sorry!). I’m feeling a little down about it right now. I almost feel robbed of my American holiday traditions. I feel homesick for the comfort of the holidays … but, I suppose in a way it is a good nudge for me to remember the true meaning of the holidays. 


Yes, it’s nice to have traditions - the sights, the sounds, the smells that remind you of special times. But without those triggers, you have to make a little extra effort to think about what it is that makes the holidays “holy days". What more is there to Thanksgiving besides an excuse to gorge on food?


What is “thankfulness" anyway, and why is it important? I have felt it’s absence in my own life during certain years in the past. There have been Thanksgivings where I was not very thankful at all. It is an ugly place to be. A selfish place. It is thinking that I am not getting what I want. I am not getting enough. I am not being treated how I want to be treated. I, I, I … that’s what it’s about. 

 Maybe this is one of those years. Hopefully not as bad as that … but thinking about it now gives me to opportunity to reexamine my attitude; to give up whining about being “deprived” of the familiar comforts of the holidays; to meditate on what is truly important in my life, and what I truly appreciate. 
…
So, today, I am thankful for so much, but right now especially, I am thankful for the ever-present protection and guidance of the lord in my heart: Paramatma, or the Holy Spirit as some are known to call it. When I look back, every event in my life - the good, the bad, the difficult ... even the unthankful Thanksgivings - all of it contains lessons that I have needed to learn. All of it holds lesson that have brought me to a greater understanding of the truth, of my identity, of my purpose, of my function. 

 Some of the lessons have yet to sink in. Maybe I need to go through them still. Maybe the meaning will dawn upon me tomorrow. But, all of them have been guided by the gentle hands of the Lord, who knows exactly what it is that I need to learn, and when, and who knows what will bring me peace, happiness, love …. in short, Him. 


  That is what I am thankful for today. What are you thankful for?



Life

Four Burners

June 13, 2016



When looking for blogs as inspiration, I came across jamesclear.com, which is a blog about productivity and instilling good habits. It has a lot of good tips that are worth checking out, but I thought I'd talk about a recent topic I received from his mailing list - the Four Burners Theory.

From his website:

Imagine that your life is represented by a stove with four burners on it. Each burner symbolizes one major quadrant of your life.

 1. The first burner represents your family.
2. The second burner is your friends.
3. The third burner is your health.
4. The fourth burner is your work.
The Four Burners Theory says that “in order to be successful you have to cut off one of your burners. And in order to be really successful you have to cut off two.”
He goes on to describe three ways to attempt to "bypass" the Four Burners Theory (read his entire blog post here) and I think my module of doing things has mostly fallen into the third category, having seasons in your life where you focus on different burners in each season.
In my early years of being an adult I began working and building my career skills set and had a close group of friends. I moved out of my parent's house so the family burner was put on low, and I was young enough to be able to afford to ignore my health.  
Family: dim glimmer;  Friends: high heat; Health: off; Work: high heat
After I got married and had a family of my own I found it nearly impossible to have a job on top of that, so the work burner was snuffed out, the friends burner was pretty near extinguished, and I had no time for my health. All three of those burners have been off or weakly flickering on and off for the past decade. 
Family: rolling boil;  Friends: very dim glimmer; Health: off; Work: off
Only after I turned 30 have I been able to face those other three burners and experiment turning the heat up on them a little bit. I have been studying to become a yoga teacher and doing more yoga, I started blogging, I have become more involved assisting and helping teach meditation classes, and I have been forced to address my health. 
Family: steady boil;  Friends: off; Health: turning the heat on; Work: warming up on very low

 What burners do you have going right now?

 Have you sacrificed any areas of your life to succeed in others? and if so, do you regret doing so? 

 Do you hope to one day be able to turn the heat up on a neglected burner in your life?

 Let me know in the comments.