Happy Monday Everybody!
This weekend I got to be a part of celebrating my niece’s 9th birthday. Aside from the usual family craziness that is normal for us when all the cuzzies get together (nine of them ranging from 2-15yrs), we had a beautiful moment that I’d like to tell you about. It was a moment of creation.
My Brother and Sister-in-Law have made this brilliant tradition that whenever we celebrate a family birthday, we sit the person (whose special day it is) in the middle of the family group and we speak good words over them. We tell them what we love about them, encourage them, praise them, build them up; honour them. It is truly wonderful. The child or adult might feel a little uncomfortable at first, but is always an incredible time.
I believe this is a powerful moment of creation. Where we get to pause, acknowledge and call out the good in an individual. We get to push against the tide of our busy lives to mark a moment and pour life into an individual’s identity. We have used our words to purposefully help create wholeness and strength in a person. All in the middle of a crazy family Sunday evening!
I know that a birthday only comes up once in a year; and that that was a special moment. However, I think we can all have these special moments of creating joy in our lives EACH DAY. I watched a great movie last night that had the following theme to it: We all have the capacity to be happy. But it is more than our right – it is our obligation. The world needs us to be happy. Not a delusional, unrealistic happy; but a grounded, deep sense of joy despite the circumstances' type of happy.
Many of us fall into the trap of rushing through life. We move too fast. Our lives are cluttered or distracted by all the ‘stuff’ we have to do. I’m learning to slow down and notice the details. Enjoy the moments that only I might see. That flower that was in bloom just when I walked past. That cheeky smile on my daughters face that no-one else was there to witness. Our little puppy bouncing around in crazy doggy madness. Beauty. All around us. That we miss ALL the time.
I can learn to be a witness and participant in this beauty; and I can let it create in me a joy that sticks regardless of the circumstances. OR I can rush along and miss it all. Get caught up in the speed of modern life. Get stuck up in my head thinking about all the stuff I should be doing. Stuck in negative thinking or anxious thinking. This thinking is destructive to everything. Myself, others and my environment.
So today I invite you to look out for those moments of beauty. Pause and celebrate them. Contemplate them until the wonder creates space in your day. Or take a moment to intentionally speak life to somebody. Maybe it’s another person. Maybe it’s yourself.
Let’s all create a bit of beauty in our lives this week and see what happens. I’d love to hear your stories!
Lexi