Celebration.Lately, I’ve been completely stressed due to financial worries, new job, and health concerns for both my husband and myself, as well as worrying about my parent’s health. It’s like this big cloud of worry descended, and I’m stuck thinking what the f*ck, Universe.
Today the word Celebrate came up, and I wondered what exactly I had to celebrate when so many worries seem to overwhelm me. The Upanishads have this saying, “Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become character.” By choosing to focus on the things I’m concerned about, I’m actually bringing them into fruition and not seeing the good things, the things worth paying attention to.
Last year, I was terribly ill and during that time I was forced to slow down and think of what was important in my life. It forced me to cut out unessential things and let go of people who had no respect for my illness. It gave me a break, like a pause button on life, which I hadn’t known I’d desperately needed. Even more miraculously, the Universe gave me financial means to take that break.
This year, I’m back to working out and doing things I love and feeling nearly 100%. Cause for Celebration! I finished the fourth edit of a story and got encouraging feedback from a publisher on a previous one. Celebration! I applied for and got a new job, even if it isn’t as many hours as I’d like, it certainly helps my financial concerns. Celebration!
If we can change our perspective, we can find little things to celebrate everyday even when something we view as terrible has happened. I’m not trying to sugarcoat a shit situation. There are dark elements in this world and in our lives, chronic illness, terrorism, environmental disaster, etc., where a reason for celebrating may seem impossible. But there are others worth celebrating, and it’s important to pay attention to those.
A Queen song comes to mind, and though it speaks of miracles, it is a reminder of things we should celebrate, to not take for granted. And I’ll leave you with this…
THE MIRACLE
by Queen
Every drop of rain that falls in Sahara Desert says it all,
It's a miracle,
All God's creations great and small, the Golden Gate and the Taj Mahal,
That's a miracle,
Test tube babies being born, mothers, fathers dead and gone,
It's a miracle,
We're having a miracle on earth, mother nature does it all for us,
The wonders of this world go on, the hanging Gardens of Babylon,
Captain Cook and Cain and Able, Jimi Hendrix to the Tower of Babel
It's a miracle, it's a miracle, it's a miracle, it's a miracle,
The one thing we're all waiting for, is peace on earth - an end to war,
It's a miracle we need - the miracle, the miracle we're all waiting for today,
If every leaf on every tree, could tell a story that would be a miracle,
If every child on every street, had clothes to wear and food to eat,
That's a miracle,
If all God's people could be free, to live in perfect harmony,
It's a miracle, we're having a miracle on earth,
Mother nature does it all for us
Open hearts and surgery, Sunday mornings with a cup of tea,
Super powers always fighting,
But Mona Lisa just keeps on smiling,
The wonders of this world go on,
It's a miracle, it's a miracle, it's a miracle, it's a miracle,
The one thing we're all waiting for, is peace on earth and an end to war,
It's a miracle we need, the miracle, the miracle,
Peace on earth and end to war today,
That time will come one day you'll see when we can all be friends,
