Inner Remodeling

One of the New Years traditions I experienced in Italy that left an incredible mark on me - almost literally, and you'll soon understand why I say that - was that of getting rid of old "stuff" all during the day and night of New Years Eve. This tradition is especially visible and dramatic in Naples, where I had the great fortune to experience one such heralding of the New Year, which is actually renowned in all of Italy for how wildly dramatic the Neapolitans are on this holiday. They take it very seriously indeed, with literally everyone doing some fireworks themselves, to the point where the whole city is a-crackle with everything from sparklers to bombs for hours on end. It is quite a sight to see, and the smog that is created afterward from the smoke of so many pyrotechnics can linger in the hills of the city and over the bay well into the morning! The national papers also carry the news the next day on how many people were injured during the festivities - the tally is usually quite high - but that never seems to deter anyone!

But one of their most unique traditions is that of how they actually get rid of the old. 

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The Greatest Gift

I have been thinking a lot these last few weeks about what I would like the Holiday Season to feel like this year.

In the past, it has always brought me a mixture of pleasure and stress, the pleasure being in entering into the spirit of giving and the time spent with family and friends, and the stress being in figuring out how to spread out my time, energy and money in ways that feel right for me and don't leave me too depleted.

I have been pondering a lot about how to keep the stress levels at a minimum this year, because I feel that I am at a place where this is very important to me. For anyone who has ever worked with me or had any kind of contact with what I truly believe to be most important in our lives, the phrase "the most important thing is to love yourself" is familiar .... but what does that really mean? And how does that apply during these particular holidays, when giving to others is central to the festivities?

I know the first shock for anyone that hears the words "you must love yourself before anyone else" has to do with the fact that it's a complete turnaround from what we've always heard (perhaps especially women, but I know men get this message too, although in different ways), that we must learn to love others and put ourselves in second place. And there is no question that this kind of message is important as well, because it is human nature for us to be rather egotistical and want everything in our lives to be "all about us".... so it's good to be encouraged to look at how we affect other people with our words and deeds, and become more sensitive to that, and more truly caring about not only those others who are closest to us, our family and friends, but also "all" others. This type of sensitivity and "goodness" is a basic requirement for any healthy kind of human community, and it is something that we all are challenged to work on for all of our lives.

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