This year, rather than choosing one word to be my guiding light for the year ahead, I’m choosing four.
Or rather they’ve chosen me.
They’ve taken up residence in my heart. And true to their metaphor they’re shining bright.
I’m going to take you on a journey.
A Christmas journey.
Down country roads lined with summer grasses. Through winding valleys where the sun beats down making the whole world smell like summers when you were a kid.
Past the two-classroom school, past where the old shop used to be, there’s a church.
The Church of the Good Shepherd. A stained glass window tells it’s story. Farming families live here. The coast is close by.
Christmas brings me back every couple of years to sing shoulder-to-shoulder with folk I grew up with. To say “Hi” to my childhood mate buried outside.
This Christmas day we learnt about four candles. Four words.
These candles are lit in the month leading up to Christmas. They are the candles of Advent.
HOPE
The first candle is the candle of hope. This candle is lit in the darkest corner of the church. There is always hope. We must never lose this! Express your longing for peace, wellbeing and healing, and keep this candle burning in your darkest places.
Have hope.
PEACE
The second candle is the candle of peace. Take a moment and feel your shoulders soften in the presence of peace. It can seem elusive in a world gone mad. Even when disharmony reigns there is always a way to peace.
Seek peace.
JOY
With hope and peace in our hearts we can make joy. So often joy is stifled under the weight of obligation. The ‘shoulds’ the ‘have tos’. A measure of success is how joyful you feel. Not how clean your house is, or how rich you are. Joy is all around us in the laughter of children, the colours of sunset, music and togetherness. Sometimes it comes easily like a wellspring from deep within us. But it’s also a choice. An attitude. One that needs exercising.
Make joy.
LOVE
The fourth candle is that of love. When in doubt. Love more. When in pain. Love more. By practising love we can make our lives more fulfilling, peaceful and loving.
Learn from love.
With all of mine to you. Have the best year yet.
Love Kate
PS Sprinkle these words on your day … your year.
