St. Nicholas Day Kindness

My grandson's first St. Nicholas Day, last year!

Today is St. Nicholas Day. My theme for this week of Advent is "Striving to find unity and peace with all the people of the world". One way I do that is to try to be in harmony with the people I interact with (especially those who irritate me), and one way I do that is to work at being a kinder person. 

Kindness is simple, honest, peaceful, and joyful, and it leads to generosity, patience, integrity, and unity. When I commit to being kind, I give my life greater meaning and depth. This week I intend to-

• Practice holding my tongue (including inside-my-head-talk); less snapping at people!
• Try to follow through with any strong, generous impulse that comes into my heart - if it is mostly reasonable.
• When I am impatient, cruel, or clumsy, just take a breathe, accept myself as I am, apologize, and gather my resolve to begin again.

Agenda Today:
1. Advent Prayer
2. Kindness meditation
3. Random Acts of Kindness
4. Make little scrap birds

2nd Week of Advent and St. Nicholas Eve

Today starts the second week of advent. Advent is a time of vigilant waiting; I wait for something mysterious and unscheduled, with quiet excitement, and expectation. If I fall asleep to this awareness I risk missing the moment of joy, courage, or insight; the gift of grace that has the potential to feed me in ways I need.

And tonight is the eve of St. Nicholas Day. Nicholas was born in Lycia, which is now part of Turkey. Legend says he was a kind and generous man, who protected the poor and did many great deeds.

Agenda today:

1. Joy of Giving meditation

2. Journal queries

3. Donate to Toys for Tots
4. Make pfeffernüsse

5. Advent wreath ceremony

6. Plan activities for unity and peace

7. Fill shoes, deliver gifts

A Natural Christmas

My theme for this week of Advent has been "cherish and care for the earth". Each year about now I bring nature indoors, by collecting greens, pine cones, straw, and other natural materials to use for decorations, and for making gifts. 

Greens are the first decorations I put up around the house, along with a few candles, to open the door to a little light, and to connect with the earth.

Agenda:

1. Make golden pine cone decorations

2. Tree cookie ornaments (tips for painting with toddlers)

3. Deck the halls

New White Moon

Tonight is the new moon. The Chinese call the eleventh new moon the White Moon, perhaps because it brings the snow, or perhaps because it's a yin time of year. This season puts limits on our lives. Chinese philosophy says the winter season is a time of conservation and storage; the night, the feminine, water, and cold is dominant. We slow down, go inward, and spend more time on quiet, yin activities.

Luckily, advent is four weeks long, allowing us to grow slowly and steadily towards the light. This is the darkest night of the month: Let yourself go inward now - be like the bear in her cave, saving your strength and relishing the darkness. Don't celebrate Christmas too soon; allow yourself to experience the darkness of winter, against which it shines.

The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, a time of high energy and clear thinking. Historically, the new moon is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, set intentions, and initiate something new.

Agenda Today:

1. New moon journal brainstorm

2. Prayer for the Light

3. Pick a theme

4. Goals and intentions

5. New moon altar and meditation

6. Creativity retreat

Advent Land Acknowledgement

My theme for this first week of Advent is to "Cherish and care for the earth", and I do that most often with my own little patch of earth: I garden organically, and create habitat for native plants, insects, and birds. I honor the seasons. I live as sustainably as possible, and I work against climate change.

I've thought a lot about this valley, it's history, and what brought my family here. My nuclear family's heritage is English, French, Dutch, German, Swiss, Norwegian, and Slavic. Some of my family came to North America with the first pilgrim ships. We moved west steadily, and came to Oregon as early as 1888. My mother's family were mostly farmers and loggers here in the Willamette Valley, and my father's family settled further north.

My home is on the traditional land of the Kalapuya people, from whom it was forcibly taken. I need to know more about the indigenous people to whom this land rightly belongs, and find ways to offer reparations.

Agenda: 

1. Research the Kalapuya

2. Write an Indigenous land acknowledgement letter

3. Thank you letter

4. Pay rent

Advent Simplicity

My theme for this first week of Advent is to "Cherish and care for the earth". I aim to celebrate simply, and consume less, so that I have a gentle impact on the planet.

The modern way of observing the winter holidays supports an increase in waste; one statistic says that Americans throw away 25% more trash – an additional 5 million tons – between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. A fun holiday season doesn't have to be a wasteful one!

Agenda Today:
1. Journal queries
2. Make fabric bags
3. Bubblebath