Today is Yom Kippur, my
favorite holiday, which is known as the day of atonement. I like to look at
today as not only a time to make amends to those we may have hurt, but to also
look inward and begin a new chapter with ourselves. I choose to let go of what
is no longer serving me, set goals for the person I strive to be in this
upcoming new year and to begin to create new neural pathways (new patterns).
As it has become a
tradition…here are some life lessons from the past year.
“Life
is happening now. Enjoy the present.”
If there’s one thing we
can count on, it’s change. A motto of mine since I was barely a teenager, is
that the one constant in life is change. So many of us, are waiting…to go to
the beach when we lose ten more pounds. Waiting to travel until we are done
with college or until the kids are grown. Waiting for life to happen.
The right and perfect
moment may never come.
Often, we are not present
in our daily lives, because we are worrying about our future or preoccupied
with thoughts of our past.
It’s time to follow our
heart, chase our goals, and make the best of what we have. Get rid of ‘what
isn’t’ and move towards ‘what can be’. And remember that happiness is
made up of a collection of small moments.
“How
people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.”
We have a choice in how we
respond in any situation. We can’t control the words that come out of
another person’s mouth, but we can control our reaction. There’s that survival
instinct, that when our brains sense danger, get triggered, and we
automatically go into fight or flight mode. But we can choose to respond
instead of react. Think before we act. A quote by Viktor E. Frankl, that is
fitting for this life lesson is: “Between
stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose
our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
“There
is no glory in a grind that literally grinds you down to dust.”
Our society pushes a fast
pace life. It can overstimulate and exhaust us. When we complete one task,
there’s another one to begin. As we race against the clock, we reach our
destination quicker, but lose the experience of the journey itself. We
praise people who keep pushing and pushing themselves, even when it can be to
their own detriment. The hardest thing about prioritizing self care, is not
feeling guilty about it. It’s ok to slow down….to set boundaries with others,
but also with ourselves.
Here are my goals for the
year 5784:
Make time for self-care
Learn something new as
often as possible
Work towards moving 10,000
steps a day
Try and read ten books
this year
Connect more to my faith
and G-d
In the coming year, I
strive to be the best I can be, love myself unconditionally, and always count
my blessings.
I pray for peace,
understanding and lots of love for one another, as we move forward…
Gmar Chatimah Tova! May
you be inscribed in the book of life!
As always, if you have any
questions, leave a comment below or feel free to email me at
TheZenFashionista@Gmail.Com
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Until next time,
XOXOTheZenFashionista
