A HOIDAY MESSAGE

Season’s Greetings, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Celebrate Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays, Solstice Salutations, Feliz Navidad.

 

However you celebrate it, I wish you a wonderful Season of Light.

 

 

And for me, for several years I have sent out this message and it
never fails to to remind me of what is important. And in this time of
national loss and for many, including me, personal loss, I feel joined with
people around the world who  remember to cherish each other   

and all the gifts of love & light we have all been given.
 We are connected in all the ways

that count.
**************

                            MORE LIGHT TO SEE WHAT IS IMPORTANT  

  

In every tradition, we commemorate the end of the darkest & longest days and the beginning of a time of more sunlight. On fact, the root word for “Christ ” is the same as for crystal or clear and of course, “mas ” means celebration. In olden times, people celebrated having more sunlight  in their days and so we  do the same. We light candles and have sparkly things  that glitter and glow. Throughout the world, this time is part  of  many different traditions but they all include celebrating  more light in our lives. 

But most important, it is a time for moving into a “lighter” space and joyously renewing our connections to each other and the earth. 

A NEW YEAR AND A NEW VIEW

For many people, it is also a New Year and a time for new beginnings. A time to reflect on what is meaningful and to pay more attention to what is valuable  to us …. and to vow to remember those things more. In that spirit, I want to share what has become my tradition, this excerpt from ”A Christmas Story ” by Truman Capote*.

 

CELEBRATING WHAT WE HAVE

The speaker is Sook, Truman’s elderly and disabled aunt who teaches us about life in her simple and profound way. Whatever your holiday or religious tradition, I think we can all learn from her words to remember what is really important and appreciate the gifts in  the everyday  we  have.

On a cold and empty Christmas afternoon Sook exclaims to young Truman:

” ‘My, how foolish I am!’ she cries, suddenly alert, like a woman remembering too late she has biscuits in the oven. “You know what I’ve always thought?” she asks in a tone of discovery, and not smiling at me but a point beyond.
“I’ve always thought a body would have to be sick and dying before they saw the Lord. And I imagined that when He came it would be like looking at the church window…pretty as colored glass with the sun shining through, such a shine you don’t know it’s getting dark. And it’s been a comfort, to think of that shine takes away all the spooky feeling. But I’ll wager it never happens. I’ll wager at the very end a body realizes he has already shown Himself.”
Her hand circled in a gesture that gathered clouds and kites and grass and Queenie, our dog, pawing earth over her bone. 

 ”That things as they are, just what they’ve always been, was seeing Him. As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes. “    

So in this special season, let us see  our own world  with Sook’s eyes.
I hope this season brings you much light and love.

Jeannie   

                   (*Truman Capote, A Christmas Memory, Modern Library, 1996)

 

 

December 31, 2012 | Filed Under Journal, Lifelearnings, Transitions | Comments Off 

LET FREEDOM RING! Celebrate the Sparkles….

 

Free at last! I’m sure that is what I thought when I ran away from school in the first grade. I didn’t like all the rules and the kids were mean .So I just got my coat and started to walk toward home even though I had never walked that route before. One of my neighbors picked me up and took me home but it was several days before I went reluctantly back.And that was after the school  principal came to my house to talk with me.

So you can see that the need for freedom has been with me a long time and why celebration of it makes the 4th of July a favorite holiday.

Founders of Freedom

I really identify with our country’s founders who wanted to have a say in how they lived their lives and were willing to fight for it. And like them, my need for that has often gotten me in trouble. But not trying to be free seems much worse.

And I also love how this holiday is celebrated with the simple joys of eating food outside, watching parades, and being dazzled by fireworks. It is all just relaxed fun even though the struggles we are honoring are often not.

Celebration and Fun

And so this newsletter is just for celebration and fun. I ‘ve  had a good time coming up with my “Declarations of Independence”  and  “Freedoms”. I hope you will make up your own and share them with me.

Jeannie’s Declarations of Independence

* I hereby declare myself free from Social Media Madness. I’d rather have  a real strawberry than a plastic blackberry; a hug from a real person is more  valuable than a thousand “likes” from people who don’t know me, much less like me.

* I hereby declare myself free from the “Health Numbers Boogey Man”. All the scare statistics about calories, cholesterol, weight, etc. try to make me fit into an “average”. So I’m not average and I’d rather treat my body as the amazing gift that it is instead of squashing it into someone’s need for numbers.

• I declare myself free form the “Doom & Gloom” Crowd: I can be depressed on my own, thank you, and don’t need to hear “Aint’t It Awful” again. Spending time & energy paying attention to that keeps me from appreciating what is good and from doing what I can to change things. And besides, it is boring.

 

And being free of all this gives me time to delight in the simple, corny things (yep, that’s me) that the makes life so good and worth celebrating:

 

-Freedom to eat what I want when I want it, like ice cream at 2:00 am

-Freedom to read sleazy novels with no socially redeeming plot at all

-Freedom to turn up the music and loudly sing off key

-Freedom to say silly, goofy things to the people & pets I love

 

And most of all, freedom to write this newsletter just like I want it and to say what is in my head and in my heart. And know you will receive it in the same way. And you will join me in celebrating this amazing country that, in spite of all the challenges, was founded freedom for all.

And as we celebrate this, be sure to enjoy the delicious, beautiful sparkly fireworks inside all of us, just yearning to be set free.

Please pass the watermelon!

 

 

 

 

J

 

July 6, 2011 | Filed Under Journal, Lifelearnings, Lifelines Newsletter Articles, Transitions | Comments Off 

Thank You for Being in My Life

” If the only prayer you ever say is Thank You , that is enough.”   Meister Eckhart

Dear Friends,

This is just to say thank you for being in my life….as friends,clients. or maybe someone I have never met.I do consider everyone on my address list as a friend…even if you are people I have not met face to face.
I am grateful to have you in my life.
This year, I have had the privilege of working with many people going thru major life transitions and their courage and resilience has been an inspiration to me.I think one the great gifts of living a while is to realize that we do have the strength to get thru tough times.. we have done it before.
We are all going thru times of change but remember we all come from hardy stock.I am reminded of our relatives who certainly went thru many times of difficulty and passed their strength on to us.I think of my grandmother & my mother who both found themselves having to make a living for themselves & their children when they had never done so before.They did what they had to do with grace and lots of sweat!  And were always grateful for the life and love that they had  and shared  with others.
How can we not do the same?
I’m sure you there are people you know who are like that too.
Surely,we all have a heritage that has both survived and thrived & so can we.I am grateful  to remember that.
Sometimes the gifts I get from a “growing experience ” are the ones that really last,
although I usually can’t see it at the time!

I have always really liked the idea of Thanksgiving.It is special to me not only because I  love to eat but because it seems very wonderful for a nation to set aside a special day each year to give thanks.So wherever we come from, we can take a few minutes to be grateful  for all we have and all those who touch our lives.

And so I want to let you know that I am grateful to you for staying on my list,for reading what I send to you and for giving me feedback.I am also very grateful that you ask me to support you by becoming a client,a workshop participant or taking the time to write a comment to me.

So, just know that you are appreciated and valued.
Thank you for enriching my life…and pass the turkey!

Jeannie

December 13, 2010 | Filed Under Lifelearnings, Lifelines Newsletter Articles | Comments Off 

Bringing in the Light

Season’s Greetings, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Celebrate Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays, Solstice Salutations, Feliz Navidad. However you celebrate it, I wish you a wonderful Season of Light.

In every tradition, we commemorate the end of the darkest & longest days and the beginning of a time of more sunlight. We light candles and have “sparkly things” that reflect the lights and represent more sun. Throughout the world, this time is acknowledged in many different traditions but they all include special food, lights and gifts.

But most important, it is a time for moving into a “lighter” space and joyously celebrating our connections to each other and the earth.

A NEW YEAR With New Traditions

For many people, it is also a New Year and a time for new beginnings. A time to reflect on what is meaningful and to pay attention to what is important to us …. and to vow to remember those things more. In that spirit, I want to share this excerpt from “A Christmas Story “ by Truman Capote*.

Remember What is Important

The speaker is Sook, Truman’s elderly and disabled aunt who teaches us about life in her simple and profound way. Whatever your holiday or religious tradition, I think we can all learn from her words to remember what is really important and appreciate the gifts we already have.

On a cold and empty Christmas afternoon Sook exclaims to young Truman:

” ‘My, how foolish I am!’ she cries, suddenly alert, like a woman remembering too late she has biscuits in the oven. “You know what I’ve always thought?” she asks in a tone of discovery, and not smiling at me but a point beyond. “I’ve always thought a body would have to be sick and dying before they saw the Lord. And I imagined that when He came it would be like looking at the church window…pretty as colored glass with the sun shining through, such a shine you don’t know it’s getting dark. And it’s been a comfort, to think of that shine takes away all the spooky feeling. But I’ll wager it never happens. I’ll wager at the very end a body realizes he has already shown Himself.” Her hand circled in a gesture that gathered clouds and kites and grass and Queenie, our dog, pawing earth over her bone, ” “That things as they are, just what they’ve always been, was seeing Him. As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes. “

So in this special season, let us see it all with Sook’s eyes. I hope this season brings you much light and love.

(*Truman Capote, A Christmas Memory, Modern Library, 1996)

December 21, 2009 | Filed Under Journal, Lifelines Newsletter Articles | Comments Off 

  • Dr. Jeannie Fennell

    Jeannie is a psychologist & life coach who helps you identify what’s right with you and gives practical, positive tools & skills to create a life that works. “My clients are bright competent people who just need a new perspective, new tools and support as they go through life transitions.” Clients facing changes in career, finances, relationships and health consult with Jeannie during individual sessions or through workshops and presentations. Contact Jeannie for a free 30-minute consultation to determine whether she's a good fit for your circumstances.