Every year I go on a one-day-escape.
I look forward this quiet time nearly the whole month of December when I am drained by parties, presents and people. I am ‘one of those moms’…who bake for the whole neighborhood, who buys presents for every teacher, employee, NEM leader, family, friend, and carehome resident, who have two (soon to be three) kinds of Christmas trees and mail hundreds of Christmas cards.
I am an overachiever through and through.
I remember saving my money when I was 9 years old so I can buy something for my parents, gifted from ‘all the children’. At 11, I remember coloring dots in red and green and sticking them onto our cupboards so we’d have a more a decorative house. At 14 I started my annual baking tradition, to gift people we loved. Even as an adult, at 24, I remember writing words of gratitude and Christmas blessings in a cheap Dollar tree Christmas card and gifting my home-baked cookies, to top executives at my corporate job.
I started giving when I didn’t have much. As I was given more, I continued to give…. more.
As I reflect on 2019 and set goals for 2020, my biggest hope is to be able to GIVE more.
This year was a fast-moving year as I attended 5 expos, 3 conferences, hosted 2 retreats, marketed 3 fitness challenges, and traveled to 11 states and 3 countries. I filmed my first Belly Ball infomercial. We bought our 5th property. My stepdaughter came to live with us. We spent Christmas in Lake Tahoe.
Midway through the year, I decided to remove my breast implants, which resulted in an emergency surgery for internal bleeding. When I was able to move again, I took up running in the mornings and finally started meditating more effortlessly.
Throughout the craziness, I found myself constantly trying to capture THE present moment. Whether it was driving through the quiet mountains in Utah on my way to a speaking gig. Sipping wine and eating pasta with my husband after filming the infomercial. Kneeling on hard rock while praying on top of Apparition Hill in Medjugorje, Bosnia. Or reciting the prayer of St. Francis as I sat in a small courtroom in Mississippi awaiting to hear good news about his parental rights.
It’s incredible to think about all the moments that quickly pass, all the months that swiftly move and all the holidays that are done, in a blink of an eye.
And here I am again. After now three years of intentional solitary confinement, I’m reflecting on this past year and seeking more fulfillment in the upcoming year.
And yet, I am fulfilled. I am happy. I am so thankful for my life. And yet…
I intuitively know that by utilizing my abilities/talents/gifts to get more, I can continue to give more to all the things I know needs positive energy while I exist here on this earth.
Wealth is not in the getting, but in the giving. It isn’t in the accumulation of stuff, but the distribution of it. My goal in 2020 is to get more, so I can give more.
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