A NEW YEARS MESSAGE FROM CANTOR CHABON: Chaverim, Its Thursday, January 8th, 2015, and I find myself feeling reflective today. Were just days passed New Years Eve, a night that is devoted to celebrations of one kind or another, some raucous, some serene, but all infused with hope and excitement about the turning of the year. We make goals and commitments, say goodbye to habits that need to retire, infuse ourselves with renewed energy to start over again. So why do I feel so...melancholy? Its the New Year! Were supposed to be happy, right? I recently read a lovely article called Empty written by a woman named Katrina Kenison. In it, she describes waking up to 2015 feeling a mix of emotions, but primarily she feels empty, rather than full of joy and excitement. Its a brave thing to admit to feeling blue at the start of something new and fresh. Everything in our world tells us to be HAPPY! But for those of us for whom these liminal moments are complex and raw, that message can be very unsettling. Our lives are so demanding, and the holiday season, as wonderful as it is, pushes our ability to give and entertain to the breaking point. By the end, I often find that I have very little left and that my personal resources are very low. Kenison says, ...as we all know, its easier to give to others than to ourselves. Easier to spill our energies than to replenish them. Easier to quench anothers thirst than to acknowledge our own. We take care of others so well that we find that our own cups have just a trickle of water left. As we move into the middle of January, I urge you to offer yourself extra doses of compassion. The New Year will undoubtedly bring incredible joys but many sorrows as well, and we need to be ready to receive both. In these first quiet weeks of 2015, I encourage you to carve out time re-fill your cup in whatever way is meaningful to you. As I write, I have my favorite candle burning and tea in a beloved mug. Sometimes it takes something very small to shift from a feeling of emptiness to a feeling of peace. As Kenison says, Emptiness is also readiness. Emptiness is potential. Emptiness is space swept bare. Emptiness is a willingness to sit here very quietly for as long as it takes, allowing things to be just as they are. One of my goals for 2015: to be truly present at the moments when I am able to say Kosi Revaya, my cup overflows. Happy New Year. Cantor Chabon katrinakenison/2015/01/03/empty/
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 04:52:11 +0000
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