BALANCE AND HAPPINESS: KEY COMPONENTS OF THE SWEET SPOT

I've been doing a lot of writing for work these days. Lately that's included some work around balance and "rightness". In the writing I've been doing I speak of a "sweet spot" where everything in your life comes together.

The sweet spot in life is an interesting place, in that it's not A place. There's not one sweet spot where, when the stars are aligned everyone congregates. If you were able to map people's sweet spots and tell them to go stand in their sweet spot so that we can get a lay of the land, you'd see people all over the place.

Sure there'd be enclaves of collectives, but probably not as many as we might expect, and they'd have to be moving all the time in order to stay in their sweet spot. The pattern we'd gaze out over would be almost unrecognizable and nothing repeatable.

That's the way happiness is. It's unique and changing and doesn't always make a lot of sense to others. Yet happiness is something that we pursue with a passion. There's a line from a Sarah Teasdale poem that comes to mind when I think of happiness and the sweet spot and that is:

For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

Why then do so many people "save" their sweet spot time for after work, or for weekends, or for "when I retire?" Why is it that so many people have come to feel that the sweet spot has to be earned, or is a privilege, or that you can have too much of it, or that too much isn't good? We are on this earth for such a short while. It would seem to me that as brief as our time is, wouldn't it be great to be happy?

Coming full circle I come back to balance and rightness and the very personal nature of how that plays out. I realize that I have patterns of balance in my life that invite happiness in and allow it to take hold and be a real part of my day to day life. As I investigate the nature of my personal sweet spot, I see balance as an important component.

Wishing you balance and happiness in the pursuit of your very personal sweet spot.

Hugs,

Betsy

CHICKEN LITTLE IS ALIVE AND WELL IN MY HEAD

"THE SKY IS FALLING!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!"

Where does that internal voice come from that is always whispering in my ear, telling me that the car may die at any point, that my job can go away instantly, that those who love me will leave me, that...?

The legacy of worrying and the sense of pending disaster is with me always. I used to say that the fruit didn't fall far from the tree. My Mom was a worrier and I'm a worrier - I have inherited the "W" gene as well.

There is good news! Where, at one point in my life worrying spun me away from anchors and solid ground. Now it occupies a small corner where it is isolated and where it mostly spins on itself. Where, at one point, worry used to own me and drive me with pain, and fear, and a sense of pending disaster, it no longer has that power over me. Except for it's little corner where it lives. My life is full to overflowing with sunshine, and brilliance and beauty, and peace, and power, and prosperity, and love... all good stuff thank you!

How did I accomplish this transformation? Nope, not with drugs or medication. Nope not with alcohol, although that would have been the vehicle of choice had I gone in that direction. Worry in my life was defeated by meditation and gratitude.

You see I have a ritual, every morning of sitting quietly and doing energy work with my body, mind, and spirit. I journal every morning about the things that I'm grateful for in my life. You know, I can fill pages with gratitude! 

I have also come to terms with my personal Chicken Little as I have tremendous compassion for that part of me that, for whatever reason, feels that it can protect me by helping me to pre-live all of the possible disasters that might befall me - just so I'm ready. Yes, I can honestly say I love my Chicken Little, but I no longer give this "Lizard Brain" part of me the authority that it used to have. 

My meditation is pretty simple, my goal is to develop mindfulness around my breathing, and around the present moment. In that end, for Chicken Little and I, the present moment is all I really have.

Hugs,
Betsy

LIFE AS A HOUSE OF CARDS

When I was a child I used to go and stay with my grandparents in the summers at their cottage on a lake in Connecticut. It was a warm and inviting place lovingly built by my grandfather. On rainy days, when my brother's and I couldn't go out and play we'd stay inside and oftentimes play card games like canasta or hearts. Sometimes we'd just simply use the cards to build things, carefully stacking cards. We'd create precarious structures of whole decks, only to have a slight breeze or a wobble of the card table bring them all down. I tell this story because I am seeing some parallels lately in the world around me.

Recently I "retired" though I use that word with tremendous reserve as I have yet to set foot on a golf course or go and travel in Europe. Neither have I had time to go and participate in the activities at the senior center, or even take as much time off as I'd like for my photography. When I left my 8 tho 5 job at the factory, I took on a much more daunting role and that is as an entrepreneur. 

I recently read an article that said that with longer life expectancy it is not out of the question to have more than one career in one's life. I suppose I am a living example of what that article is talking about. I have been working at this for three years now and I've come to some understandings around my 8 to 5 job that I don't think I really appreciated while I was actually living it. 

I recently had a conversation with my daughter who lives with me and it was clearly one that I had never had to have before. In this entrepreneurial life that I have built for myself I have a couple of hard and fast rules that I don't waiver from. One of those is that I am, at any given time completely liquid - I maintain very little debt and my goal is to have no debt. this means that buying anything becomes a conversation around current needs, future needs, and reserves.

These are very different conversations than ones around a paycheck where I'd simply say, "not till Friday when I get paid." 

In my new life as an entrepreneur I have come to better appreciate the tenuous connectivity that binds products and service to value and that does or doesn't generate income and pay bills. In my new role I better understand the importance of expectations and results. In a sense, I have come to better understand the house of cards that we live in as we navigate a commercial existence based on a government regulated infrastructure.

This life is certainly an interesting and different mix of controls than my other life. What I do love about it, despite the tenuousness of it, is the FREEDOM. I have never known such Freedom in the work that I do, and neither have I worked with such dedication. 

I get now, better than ever, that we live in a world of uncertainties. So most important for me is to be truly grateful for this house of cards that forms the infrastructure of my current life.

Hugs,
Betsy

OUR LIVES ARE FULL OF SHORTCUTS AND CAMEO APPEARANCES

LOL... BFF... LMAO... Our lives are full of shortcuts and cameo appearances. There is so much that we have to process in any given day, at any given moment, that our brain is forced to resort to shortcuts and abbreviated definitions and categorizations. 

Those faces that we see but don't really SEE; those conversations that we have, but don't really ENGAGE in - it seems the faster life goes the shallower the depth that we operate at. What would happen if we slowed our lives down? What would happen if we took the time to FEEL and EXPERIENCE our lives in deeper and more profound ways?

Are we so afraid that we might miss something in our doing and being that we end up missing most of it as we merely sample, touch upon, and give things a cursory pass? Are we so driven to taste everything that we don't savor anything?

What does it mean to live deeply and to connect with what we do have the opportunity to experience in a rooted and familiar way? Perhaps it's time to engage in a way that provides an opportunity to really connect us to our world and to move with it, not over it.

Words - Just wind over vocal chords?

I have been away from my writing for awhile and the internal urging is to get back to it.

Language fascinates me. It is loaded with innuendo and emotion and meaning and it is simply wind over vocal chords. That bears repeating: it is SIMPLY wind over vocal chords. Language has started wars, ended lives, broken hearts. It has rallied nations, inspired change and moved people in a myriad of ways both emotionally and physically.

As I think about language and words I believe that they are worth being mindful of. What words do I use most frequently? How do I talk to people? Do I talk differently to different people and why?

There is a resonance in words that belies the simplicity of wind over vocal chords and dives deeply into the human psyche. The word resonance comes to mind when I think of meaningful use of words. If I were to create a visual around words, words are like an oscilloscope. They create resonance or wave lengths that are then tuned in to other wave lengths in order to make connections. Communication is a vibratory thing and words are the vehicle that is used to change the levels of vibration.

These thoughts lead me to music... but those thoughts are for another day.

Hugs,
Betsy

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

International Women's Day, today. Way to go ladies! So how far have I really come? To frame it in a time capsule I'll put it in the context of my life.

I've had a little of 60 years to "experience" life as a woman. And I have to say that, whether I like it or not my gender has majorly shaped my life and continues to do so. That being said. I am also very clear that despite the parameters life hands me, I WRITE THE STORY.

I am reminded of that quote by Mahatma Gandhi, "You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind." I have always taken great care to ensure that my mind always had the opportunity to know and experience FREEDOM, even if my body did not.

I have lived with societal pressures and dictates and mores for many, many years. In that time I have managed to break free of these societal bonds at various times and really know the delight and exuberance and pure empowerment of total acceptance and expressive freedom. 

The moments of pure freedom I have known? They have been a sustaining torch, a light, that has kept me moving  during those other times when all I really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and quit. Is this just a "women's thing"? I don't believe so. The human struggle for acceptance and equality is universal.

The journey from birth to death is about figuring out what works and doing it. It's about honoring all the other journeys that you come up against along the way and celebrating each other's wins, each brilliant spot in each other's path, knowing that there will also be dark moments, and long nights that these moments of brilliance will help us each move through.

After 60 years, for myself, Love has become the common denominator. When I peel away the layers, the behaviors the mores and dictates and look at the brilliance and the FREEDOM I see only LOVE.

Wishing you Love on the most auspicious International Women's Day.

Hugs,
Betsy

IT IS A GOOD DAY

It is a lovely morning in Florida. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the air is warm. I am so very grateful for the conditions that allow me to live here. This last week has been an interesting one, as it has held a lot of emotion for me with not a lot provoking that emotion, which I find pretty interesting.

I have come out the other side of it, it seems, no worse for the wear. There were some delightful highs and some darker lows. It caused me to wonder if my body isn't kind of stuck in the winter doldrums of Wisconsin even though I'm away from all of that cold and gray and snow, snow, snow. I suppose that a body doesn't necessarily adapt in one season.

Battling winter depression has been such a saga for me, when I lived in Wisconsin. Then I add to that conditioning the stress of relocation and rebuilding my life, yet again. And I can understand how this week came about.

The last two years have been a bit challenging... no, a lot challenging. The wonderful news is that there are so many people who have made it all so much more bearable and enjoyable, even with the challenges. That's really it then isn't it? That the people in our lives hug us and hold us up to the light even when we don't have the energy or inclination to do it for ourselves. 

I have a great Tribe... an amazing Tribe. All good, kind, generous souls who network with me regularly to bring out the best in me, the best in them, and the best in the world. I am so very fortunate.

Today holds tremendous potential for completion, and generous endings and brilliant beginnings. Right now is the quiet in the morning, when most are still sleeping. The birds are singing and the leaves on the trees are just coming out. It is springtime here. There's a red headed woodpecker creating a drum beat on the hollow branch outside my open door. Although it's still too cool for the lizards to be active, I anticipate the scurying of anoles and chameleons as the day warms up.

Hugs,
Betsy

THE WOMAN WHO WORRIED

There was a woman who had a tendency to worry, but she also had developed the habit of letting go of worry. Every time she'd find herself picking up worry, she'd also purposefully set it down.

There were times in her day when she'd realize that she was getting tired and then she'd self reflect and see that she had picked up a load of worry. So she'd set it down.

Worry is like road dust. As you travel through life you can pick it up along the way. Some people never seem to pick up much worry, while others seem to attract it like iron filings to a magnet. It's like when some people wear white clothing and they can wear white clothing for an entire day and at the end of the day it is still white. There are others who will put on white clothing and guaranteed, within a short period of time, it becomes soiled, stained, or marked.

This woman found that she could put down worry by being very still. By being physically still, and by being mentally still. She found that unlike dust, worry falls away if you are still. The more still you are, your mind is, the less of a hold worry has until it slips off and falls away.

This woman knew, from life experience what a heavy burden worry can be and how it can deaden you to your life and the world around you, So she decided to choose to regularly make time to be still, to let worry fall away, because she never wanted to forgot how wonderful and miraculous life really was. She never wanted to lose touch with what it feels like NOT to worry.

She accepted that she may never completely escape worry, because it seemed to be a part of her nature, but she has chosen to be mindful of it and to become its master rather than it becoming hers. That is her victory.

Here is her prescription for worry:

• First, know your personal indicators or signs of worry. Like the symptoms of disease, worry is recognizable by its symptoms. For the woman it was the absence of joy in her life.
• Sit quietly, as needed. Quiet your mind and focus on your breath. In... Out... In... Out... If your mind engages in thought, gently go back to the simplicity of your breath.
• Thoughts should disappear like clouds in the sky.
• Immerse yourself in your breathing. Be in the moment. Feel the present moment, sense the present moment. Relax into the present moment.
• Do this for an extended period of time. Pay attention to your state of mind. If it wanders away from quiet, peaceful, breathing In... Out... In... Out... gently bring it back, again... and again... and again... and again...
• Your mind should be like nature itself, present, rich but not clinging to anything, or any feelings, or any conditions; just being.
• Breathing In... Out.. In... Out...

Hugs,

Betsy

ON WALKING AND NATURE

Walking and nature - a great combination. Last weekend I truly felt in need of doing something that would touch my soul; that would resonate with my core and bring me back to ground. Sometimes there is a real need in my life to return to base-camp.

Base-camp, for me, is a quiet, contemplative place that is rich with space and grace; with acceptance and love. It is a place that at once feels safe and yet also affords amazing freedom. Nature is that place for me.

My mind and body seem to be stuck in the "winter in Wisconsin" mindset, even as I look out my window, in Florida, at a green expanse of lawn and trees heavy with new foliage and azaleas in bloom. Which really helps me to awake to the importance of mindset in whatever we do.

I have been in a bit of a "blue funk" the last couple of days. Just one of those things. It has been a bit rainy and a bit gray and that might be contributing. So I have been doing more meditation and quiet time, which is tremendously helpful. I will go for a walk today, in the rain and take my camera.

I have been meaning to photograph the road on which we now live. It is absolutely magical in places, like entering into another world. It exists in the city but feels like deep, rural south. A walking photo expedition in the rain, that sounds engaging.

The pictures here are from last weekend's walk through Fort Caroline and the Tumucuan preserve. I discovered it while lost and looking for the bird sanctuary out by Amelia Island. I never did make it to the bird sanctuary, so that's is left to another weekend. But I did discover Fort Caroline and the hiking trails around that area.

There is something lovely about a walk through the woods, the call of birds, the wind in the trees, the sun on my back. Fort Caroline is a delightful marriage of coastal waterway, marsh and rolling wooded hikes. It is a very small part of the 46,000 acre Timucuan preserve - an estuary wetland preserve. 

You know you've been fully immersed in what you are doing when you realize, after arriving home, that you are covered in a fine powdered dirt that has blackened your sneakers and socks and left your face streaked with gray.

I suppose it's like a child coming in from playing and the surprise on their face when their mother exclaims, "Oh! You are filthy!" Funny, but I reluctantly washed the grime away, as I reveled once more in how it felt getting it there.

If I had a day that I could give you
Id give to you a day just like today
If I had a song that I could sing for you

Id sing a song to make you feel this way

Hugs
Betsy

SUNDAY AT THE BEACH

I had a lovely afternoon at the beach yesterday, with my daughter. We walked for several miles watching the surfers out beyond the break. There was a kite surfer who was very entertaining as he would go flying off the tops of waves, lifted by the parachute he was holding onto.

There was quite a mix of outfits out and about the beach. Jess and I were somewhat bundled up as it was heading into late afternoon and we were expecting a drop in temperatures once the sun went down. But there were people out there in bikinis and bathing trunks playing soccer in the sand and even braving the water, though not for very long. 

I love that beach because it is so open to allowing people and dogs to show up and play. People rode by me on their bikes on the beach, and there were runners and joggers. There were couples strolling hand-in-hand and little children writing their names in the sand and building sand castles and forts.

We stopped at Jack's Crab Shack for a snack and a drink while we sat on the outdoor patio and watched the sun go down. The drive back into town was just as glorious as we were headed west and were treated to a vibrant sunset of peach and pink and orange and deep purple. I couldn't have painted a more colorful sky if I'd tried.

Today it is cooler and raining. As I sit here on the patio typing I notice that the leaves are starting to come out on the birches in the quad. Unlike Wisconsin, trees don't really go dormant here as much as they shed their leaves, take a moment to shake off the last years growth and rest a bit, and then come right back to living fully.

Trees in Wisconsin retreat deep into their roots in the ground and to the protected center of their trunks. When they come back to life it's like they are coming out of a season long coma that always seem to have some of us wondering if they survived the winter. Trees in Wisconsin burst to life, in the spring, grabbing every day they can before they are forced to retreat once more.

So today I work and get ahead of the curve because tomorrow is my daughter's birthday and I am dedicating the day to doing some fun and memorable things with her.

Have a great day all and sending you hugs!

Betsy

CHILLING IN FORIDA

Hey there, friends, family, acquaintances and the just curious. I am chilling in Florida. Out on the deck this AM with a cup of Java that tastes like cinnamon buns and soaking up some sun and a beautiful sunny Sunday morning. Coming from Wisconsin, it is such a treat to listen to the birds in the morning and to smell fresh mowed grass in February. I'm in northern Florida so there are some seasons, but not like in the Frozen Tundra. Winter is marked by a little more rain and some fall like temperatures. It seems funny to say, but I believe Winter here is one of my favorite seasons. 

The beaches are lovely this time of year. You can walk for miles and miles with just enough people out there surfing and flying kites and just enjoying the sand and surf to make it interesting, but not so many to be overwhelming. The surfers are bundled up in their wet suites and seem impervious to the chill of the water as they gather out beyond where the waves break chatting each other up and waiting for their next ride.

You see the most interesting things here. Sometimes it feels like the movie Clock Work Orange doing retirement. There was a woman the other day walking the beach with her raccoon on a leash. A couple of weeks ago there was a highland celebration on the beach and so there were people wandering about with bagpipes, in kilts and some dancing in the streets. 

I have a couple of little tea houses that I've found and love to frequent, both for their vegan earth mother atmosphere and for the neighborhoods where they are located. It is so much fun to drive into a neighborhood and watch as the dress and people and way of being totally changes. I am very fond of this one corner of the word where everyone seems to wear black, right down to their black converse high-tops, and they have lots of tattoos, and usually unruly hair, or no hair and they talk about the most interesting things like art, and politics and philosophy. 

Today I get to Skype with my people in Medellin, Columbia. A couple of delightful expats that I've connected with in creating on-line training.  I love the guys, their energy, their ideas and creativity. I sometimes have to pinch myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming as I get to do what I love, with people that I really like and admire, and make a living at it. I tell you what, life after 60 is getting better and better!

Well, time to put my feet up, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the morning. Wishing all of you the same kind of enjoyable day.

Hugs,
Betsy

2014 Year in Review

I have been spending a lot of time lately transcribing some year-in-review material and it's caused me to think about that: what this last year was all about. Reflecting isn't always easy when the year was a challenging one.

The year 2014 started off in the worst possible place for me. I was, for all intents and purposes homeless. I had closed down my life in Wisconsin to move to Florida and live with a friend. Our plan had been to spend our silver years enjoying each other's company and living out our days in the Florida sun, on the beach.

Suffice it to say it didn't work out as planned. The details aren't important. I've accepted that "shit happens" and it certainly happened at the start of the year. So I was reborn, yet again, as a "carpet bagger". It wasn't my physical condition that was dragging me down as much as it was my mental condition. I had slipped into a very dark place.

My daughter, bless her heart, took me under her wing. For being all of 105 pounds, she's fierce when it comes to defending and protecting those she loves. I so appreciate that about her. Even when she was little, a tiny child on a school bus, she stood up to a bully who was taunting her friend and paid the price by getting physically tossed around, and yet she came back just as fierce as ever in her friends defense.

She took me in and made sure I was taking care of myself, and yes, I was that far into the darkness of the hopelessness that I wasn't really paying attention to even some of the basics. She nurtured me, cajoled me, taunted me at times to get my "sorry ass" in gear and get back to living. 

My friends in Wisconsin rallied around as well. They are such great people who have hearts of gold. They ensured I had things to do, people to connect with, places to go. They took me in, like my daughter, and helped to bring light back into the darkness I had fallen into. 

In all honesty, it was nip and tuck for awhile, but slowly, slowly, the light started shining into the corners, the heaviness that weighed on my heart so terribly started to lift and even when it seemed that I was just going through the motions, it felt like I was moving away from the "suck zone" that the depression I was battling had me trapped in.

I was able to do some work for the company that I had retired from. I was able to get more work to do online with people that I enjoyed, and by Spring, early Summer I was doing much better. I am forever grateful to my "ladies" who made sure that we had regular lunches together and just chatted and laughed and shared.

I did break off all contact with my friend in Florida. I had to in order to move on. I have come to the place where I wish her well and hope life holds only good things for her. There is no fault in what happened, just events that spun in bad directions.

My dream of living back by the beach never completely faded. I grew up on the ocean and I wanted to spend my last years by the ocean and in warmer climates (Wisconsin winters are brutal). So I packed up my things, once again, and sight unseen rented a place in Florida on the east coast and headed back down to the Sunshine State. This time my daughter decided to come with me.

I have been in Florida, on the east coast now for three months. We are settled into a small apartment that is just perfect for the two of us. I continue to do my work online and to build my book of business, and Jess has a new boyfriend and is working to build a life for herself down here.

I love getting up in the morning and opening the patio doors to hear the sound of birds singing and to enjoy the warm air. I love to hear the children playing and people going about their lives as I enjoy the indoor/outdoor lifestyle that this region affords. 

I have found and explored every farmers market, and every health-food store. I am over-the-moon pleased that we have a Trader Joe's here. The beach and ocean are a short drive away and the sun shines a lot more than in Wisconsin this time of year. 

I love the spiritual opportunities here: the church I've connected to, the Buddhist monastery that I am a part of. I love the rich culture of the area. The delightful parts of the city that have eclectic coffee shops and tantalizing import bazaars. 

Life is slower here, but that feels right as well. There is an ease of life that doesn't have to be crammed into a few short months before it's driven indoors. There is something satisfying to be able to smell fresh mowed grass year round.

I miss my people in Wisconsin. They are a forever part of my heart-space and my extended family. I still stay in touch and call and correspond and connect whenever possible. I will go back and visit when the leaves are on the trees.

So as I look back on 2014 I am grateful for all of the good that so very much outweighed the not so good. I am grateful for the people who cared about me and for me, I am grateful for my dear daughter and my dear friends, and I am pleased to be in a substantially better place than I was at the start of the year.

The year 2015 is beginning with me in a good place physically and emotionally. I have a lot to work on this year and I am excited to do that work and move towards that future me that I am excited to connect with.

Sending you all hugs and best wishes for the coming year.

Love,
Betsy

Looking Back...Looking Forward

2014 was an interesting year. It was my first full year of not working full time for the company that I retired from. I truly enjoyed the change in pace. One of my goals when I left the company in the fall of 2013 was to honor my body's rhythms regarding the need to take breaks, to rest, to meditate: to create space that supported my highest good and my best work. That effort has been amazingly rewarding.

I don't think most businesses understand the loss in productivity and creativity they experience at the expense of regimented work environments. I am reminded of Covey's book The Speed of Trust when I think about how empowering the freedom to be able to create your work space and time-frames allows. So 2014 was a year where I was able to really immerse myself in developing the self trust necessary to create and live optimally.

2014 was my first full year in living the life of a freelance creative. I give a deep bow to Alexandra Franzen for her amazing guidance and inspiration in pursuing this undertaking. There are a lot of collective fears harbored by Baby Boomers around not being gainfully employed. There is a fear that if income requirements were to suddenly find them adrift from the corporate, single employer world, all would be lost. I personally had similar fears as I undertook this adventure towards my better self. At the end of a year I am pleasingly surprised at how much more productive I am; at the variety of work that I do, working only for people I truly like and admire, doing things that truly make a difference in the world. It has been a rewarding year and I continue to grow my income base, spreading it across multiple projects. The upside... the loss of a project or job doesn't throw me on rocky shores. I have found that resilience in resetting the sails and adjusting course is much easier to work through than being cast adrift. I no longer fear the latter outcome as I have a greater opportunity to control the variables.

The year did start on a very sad note for me, as a friendship that I truly valued and thought was a lasting one came to an end. I am now OK with not knowing what really happened, and I choose to forgive and move on, but the loss is still with me and will be for some time. Sometimes relationships aren't meant to last forever, and the important thing is to hold on to the good and let the rest go. So that is something that I have worked on this last year.

My goal of living close to the ocean and in a warmer climate has been realized. In moving from Wisconsin to Florida, I am now in a much better place for me with regards to weather and location. I found myself a virtual shut-in in Wisconsin as I battled allergies and asthma, but in Florida I am able to go to the beach regularly. There are, available to me here, year round Farmer's Markets and fresh organic produce 365 days a year, allowing me to eat healthier.

Spiritually, the beginning of the year saw me having to move away from a spiritual center that I had been volunteering at and felt strongly connected to and move back to Wisconsin. That was a difficult move for me as I felt a strong connection with this center and a strong bond with it's members. I continued to stay in touch and continued to serve and volunteer from a distance. I am pleased that I was able to end the year having moved back to Florida, and in a Compassion Meditation Retreat at my beloved center. It feels that I finally came full circle through this year's detour and am once again back where I am supposed to be and need to be. It feels good.

Finally, the unchanging commitment that I have to the highest good of all is still the thread that continues to weave itself through my life and has for many, many years, so I close this post with my wish for all for the upcoming year and years beyond:

For all of the peoples and the nations of the earth, may not even the names disease, famine, war, and suffering be heard, but rather, may their moral conduct, merit, wealth and prosperity increase and may supreme good fortune and well being always arise for them.

I send this out into the world to take hold in the hearts and minds of people everywhere, to bring peace and compassion, and to enrich lives. Wishing you a year full of blessings.

With Love,
Betsy