Three Wishes

With pure delight I declare that this month on "Awake is Good" will be one of generosity, hospitality, and life-affirming, gift-giving energy!

Four full weeks of spiritual luminaries and distributing the gifts they've created. I hope you're ready for some fun!

Today, YOU are the luminary. WE are luminaries. When we are able to be calm, clear, and wise our true light shines forth and blesses everyone around us.

Today, in honor of us, I'd like to share with you my "holiday" column for Women's LifeStyle, the print magazine I have written a monthly column for for the past 12 years.

I'm sharing my 3 wishes (for myself) so I can shine ever more brightly—and I invite you to do the same! Read on ... Oh, and there's another Giveaway, so be sure to leave a comment.

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“When you wish upon a star …” Do you remember these lovely lyrics, sung by the character Jiminy Cricket in the Disney film “Pinocchio”? They assure us that if our “heart is in a dream, no request is too extreme,” all of our dreams will come true.

When we were children, it seemed like anything was possible. Wishes could be granted with the wave of a wand or a sprinkle of fairy dust. As adults we may hold a more mature, realistic view, understanding (from life experience) that wishing does not always make it so.

And, yet, there is something to be said about intentions, wishes of sorts, and holding a clear vision for one’s life. The ability to intend in this way—with passion and purpose—may lead us to the place where dreams are born, Jiminy Cricket style. The alternative—feeling hopeless or embittered—leads us nowhere.

This holiday season, as you find yourself making choices about gift giving, consider what gifts you might like to intend and consciously create for yourself this year. What treasures of the Spirit would you like to bring into your life? Here are three of mine. I invite you to pull up a chair, pour a cup of tea, and write down three of your own. Wishing may not make it so, but wholehearted intention will.

Inner Freedom

One of the very best gifts I can give myself is to be fully aware of my thoughts and feelings. When I am awake and alert, I can choose how to respond to what is happening around me with grace—instead of reacting to others with sloppy words, impatience, or temper. React or respond: this is the key to inner freedom. We do have the power to choose our words and actions. This is an incredibly powerful gift! If we intend to stop, look, and listen before we do anything, it ensures peace of mind and harmonious relations with others—two more shining stars of the season!

Health and Longevity

I want to be healthy and strong. I’d like to live for a very long time. I love this life! It is a precious thing to be born a human being. But wishing for my body to be healthy is not good enough. Each year many of us intend to eat healthier, organic, and lower on the food chain. We intend to get more exercise to build muscle and stamina. And simply thinking about this by sitting on the couch eating fast food we purchased at a drive-through restaurant does not support that intention. Choice by choice, we give our body a healthful gift or a booby prize. We must make choices every single day to give it what it needs to be strong, fight off disease, and maintain energy.

Love

Did I save the best wish for last? Perhaps. The older I get the more I realize that not much in life matters if I don’t have love. Love of my partner, of family and friends. Love of work and creative expression. Love of the Earth and her bounty. Love of growth and the opportunity to be all that I can be. But in order to receive this love, I must have an open heart. I must be able to fully give love, too. So my third and final wish would be for me to live with a wide-open heart as best I can; to not shut down or close off to others; to not judge or discriminate or neglect. I wish to be kind; to extend myself to others as best I can; to live with unconditional friendliness toward all beings—both animal and human. This is a life worth living, one rooted in love.

“Fate is kind,” sang Jiminy, “She brings to those who love the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing.” These are my secret longings this holiday season— inner freedom, health, and love—and because I do love, I hope they will be granted.


What are yours? Perhaps we can meet under the tree and share our gifts. What bounty we would have!

Leave your answer here and you'll be entered into our next Giveaway:

a copy of my book, Awakening the Spirit Within: 10 Keys for Sacred Living

My 3 Wishes for Myself Are ...

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Congratulations to last week's lucky Giveaway winners!

Chris ("Beyond the Loop") is the winner of SARK's new book: Glad No Matter What. 

Ang ("Barefoot Aquarius") is the winner of the Pema Chodron CD set, "The Three Commitments."

Woo-hoo! I hope you two lucky ladies love your gifts! Please contact me for mailing info.