On This Planet: Unlikely Teachers and Hidden Gifts
The game of “Let’s Pretend” is a game we probably all played as children. I think we continue to play as adults—we just forget we’re playing.
Support for life’s “key” moments.
The game of “Let’s Pretend” is a game we probably all played as children. I think we continue to play as adults—we just forget we’re playing.
When I begin something new—like a new project, a new creation, or a new year—I think about these things. What am I doing here? Why am I doing it? What impulse drives me forward? How will I find my way when (inevitably) I get lost, lose energy, or run up against a worthy obstacle?
In the coming weeks, as you seek to find the perfect gifts for those you love, consider that what they might really want from you are not presents, but Presence—the true gift of Christmas.
You sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with the best of intentions. You want to savor the stuffing and delight in the pumpkin pie. You know you have a long list of blessings to count. But then it happens . . . your mom treats you like a child, your uncle insults your political beliefs, and your brother, whom you haven’t seen in months, asks if you’ve put on a few pounds.
What is your dream? What gives you energy just thinking about it?
In this month of giving, getting, and gathering, when we all do more and push harder, ever mindful of the next task, we may miss being present to this one.
Will I choose to persist in patterns that come easy but are no longer purposeful? Could I practice new ways of being?
My wish for you (and me) is that we remember it’s not how much we do but who we are, and that we are. Your presence is the greatest gift.
The more we choose and practice our mindsets, the better we get at them, and the brain reshapes itself to emphasize these qualities even more. We can consciously create happiness.
True happiness connects us with what’s meaningful in life. We learn to develop gratitude, awe and wonder, central characteristics of happy people.