Happy Winter Solstice!
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| OUT OF THE DARK AND INTO THE LIGHT |
Short on time?
Take Your Pick!1. Update from my world.
2. Games to play in dark times (both this dark time of year and this dark time on the planet).
3. MY VIDEO WITH A SWEET LITTLE MIRACLE STORY.
1. Update from my world.
Here is why it's been quiet in my little blog world recently.
In this quiet time, I have had a delicious Sparks & Leaps concoction enticingly simmering and sometimes wildly bubbling. It has required sloooow brewing on a back burner rather than the quick formulation I was hoping for. I am doing my best to be patient and trust that will come together in perfect timing.
As I've been stirring that pot and adding pinches of this and that, I have been refreshing important life skills such as playing games, creating exciting adventures, reading and telling stories, exploring trails and secret playgrounds, singing, dancing, climbing trees and giant rocks and playground equipment, designing art projects, practicing photography, swinging and sliding, cuddling, and perfecting the art of blissful silliness.
The young masters (4 and 6), with whom I have been studying are excellent teachers.
I furiously resisted taking a nanny job to supplement my income while Sparks & Leaps was doing it's maddeningly slow thing.
I thought it was a step backward and would detract from my true mission in life.
Fortunately, it has turned out to be a source of incredible joy and delight. I decided when I took this job that I would be the best damn Nanny I could be, and I have truly been at the top of my game.
Although it's not a sustainable long term career for me at this point in my life, it is clearly the right thing for me to be doing right now. It is a wonder -full job that pays me to play!
I have also been volunteering in my community, and doing my very best to take good care of myself while offering kindness and compassion as much as I can to all I encounter in my world.
I am richly blessed and truly grateful.
And yet, with all this evidence that all is well and knowing I am doing my very best, I spend many hours in the middle of dark nights, reviewing all that seems wrong --in my world and the world at large. SO much rich shadow material!
I know I'm not the only one who experiences these kind of ruminations. So I've been also using my dark nights to play with ways for all of us to discover what is good about this kind of experience and how to use it for our evolution.
In between trying to get enough sleep (despite insomnia) so that I can frolic with my little charges and keep up with the rest of my life, I have also been researching the astonishing benefits of playing games and am exploring how to turn in Sparks & Leaps into a game.
2. Games to play in dark times (both this dark time of year and this dark time on the planet).
I highly recommend watching the video about the astonishing benefits of playing games, and taking some time to have some fun in the dark.
When things are dark and difficult, one surprisingly effective strategy (backed by tons of scientific as well as personal on the job research) is to celebrate the dark and have a little LIGHT hearted enJOYment.
Hopefully you can come up with your own inspirations, even if just practicing lurking in the dark with flashlights or playing your favorite boardgames by candlelight. But if not, here are some fun ideas. I can't wait to play the "Monsters" game. NOT just for kiddos!
Hopefully you can come up with your own inspirations, even if just practicing lurking in the dark with flashlights or playing your favorite boardgames by candlelight. But if not, here are some fun ideas. I can't wait to play the "Monsters" game. NOT just for kiddos!
3. My Video with sweet little miracle story.
Wishing all of you peace, joy and many blessings during this holiday season. May your celebrations bring brightness to the long dark nights and may you have faith in the returning light. And remember it is in the dark where the most luminous miracles occur!
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| Photo by budding 4 year old photographer. |
