It's a New Year, welcoming Advent...

Today marks the beginning of the "New Year" to Christians around the globe; it is the first Sunday in Advent. 

Here in sunny Kettering, Ohio, it is nearly 55 degrees  and the lady across the street is actually mowing her yard as I write this. Mowing, in December, in OHIO. 

My goal here is to jot down a few words on the matter. But first, I'll place a drop of Palo Santo on my hands, rub them together briskly to release the sequiterpenes and monoterpenes within the essential oil, and then I'll breathe in the richness of this lovely "Holy Wood" (literally, that's the translation, I'm not even trying to be poetic...) 

My mind clears, the droning of my neighbor's mower fades into the sounds of football dancing up the stairs from the living room. It all disappears and I am able to hear only my own breathing. My eyes closed I now imagine myself on a path in a forest. Here in this imaginary place, I breathe in the scent of Palo Santo again, and I ask God, 'What is Your plan for me?" I sense that I need to listen. I hear the stones crunch beneath my feet, I hear the rustle of the few lone leaves above me. Shadows are long and thin, the sun is warm on my face, but cautions me not to look directly overhead. I squint a bit when the sunbeams come to close to my eyes. I hear a cardinal's song, I smile and remember that a cardinal brings word from the Other Side. 

I open my eyes, I'm sitting at my computer and writing this blog. I am mindful, that every moment has a time limit, nothing lasts forever. Determined to finish my draft before my neighbor finishes her yard, I push through. Breathing, staying present, I feel the percussive beat of my own heart.

Today is the first day of the rest of all of the days. It is officially, the beginning to our Church "New Year," meaning, we will change up the version of the Gospel. Last week had been St. Matthew, today we heard from St. Mark. The message was simple, "Stay awake, be ready". It is easy to get caught up in all that needs to be done this season. For a split second in church today, when Father Tom said "This is a short Advent season this year, the shortest it can ever be," I panicked! I did the math in my head, and I may have even slipped my phone out of my purse so I could check the month of December on my Google calendar....

Christmas Eve is also the 4th Sunday in Advent! What does this mean? One week "less" to shop! to decorate! to get things done! My heart raced a moment, then I heard him remind us to be mindful, to stop at the same time each day during Advent and just breathe. In....Out.....In..... Out.... 

I can do that! I can do that every day at 5:55 AM. I'm up at 5:45 anyway, and that will give me time to attend to necessities at the start of the day. .. TMI, I know.... I know...

But at 5:55 each morning, I'll be awake, and  I will be thinking only about the time it is at that moment. And I will breathe in...and out... and reflect on nothing past or future, but will be in the present. My mind quiet. Perhaps with another drop of Palo Santo, this will be my present. 

And, since I'm letting God know now, that I promise to tune in and be quiet at that time, who knows what journey the day will take. Have a blessed day. Thanks for reading.