New Year's Resolutions

Here's a message I received in my DailyOM Newsletter (www.dailyom.com). Some days I read them in their entirety and other days I delete them without even opening them. I'm glad I read today's message. I hope you enjoy it as well!

December 31, 2008
New Year’s Resolutions: The Two Lists
A Message from DailyOM Co-Founder Scott Blum

I was fortunate to spend time with an enigmatic man named Robert during a very special period of my life. Robert taught me many things during our days together, and this time of year reminds me of one particular interaction we had.

“Now that you are becoming more aware,” Robert said, “you need to begin to set goals for yourself so you don’t lose the momentum you have built.”

“Like New Year’s resolutions?” I asked.

“That’s an interesting idea,” he smirked. “Let’s do that.”

By then I was used to his cryptic responses, so I knew something was up because of the way his eyes sparkled as he let out an impish laugh.

“Tonight’s assignment is to make two lists,” Robert continued. “The first is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you WANT to keep, and the second is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you WILL keep. Write the WANT List first, and when you have exhausted all of your ideas, then write the second list on another sheet of paper.”

That night I went home and spent several hours working on the two lists. The WANT List felt overwhelming at first, but after a while I got into writing all the things I had always wanted to do if the burdens of life hadn’t gotten in the way. After nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life. The second list was much easier, and I was able to quickly commit ten practical resolutions that I felt would be both realistic and helpful.

The next day, I met Robert in front of the local food Co-op, where we seemed to have most of our enlightening conversations. “Tell me about your two lists,” Robert said as the familiar smirk crept onto his face.

“The first list contains all the things I SHOULD do if I completely changed my life to be the person I always wanted to be. And the second list contains all the things I COULD do by accepting my current life, and taking realistic steps towards the life I want to lead.”

“Let me see the second list,” he said.

I handed him the second list, and without even looking at it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces and threw it in the nearby garbage can. His disregard for the effort I had put into the list annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down I began to think about the first list in a different light. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cop out, and the first list was the only one that really mattered.

“And now, the first list.” Robert bowed his head and held out both of his hands.

I purposefully handed him the first list and held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for him to begin reading the page. After an unusually long silence, he began to crumple the paper into a ball and once again tossed it into the can without looking at it.

“What did you do that for?!” I couldn’t hide my anger any longer.

Robert began to speak in a quiet and assured voice. “What you SHOULD or COULD do with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, from this day forward, is what you MUST do.”

He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to me.

I opened it carefully, and found a single word floating in the middle of the white page:

“Love.”

The Joy of Christmas

Christmas has always been a very special time for me and my family. My mom always created the most anticipated and wonderful Christmases that it's hard to live up to her being a mom now myself! However, this year I had high hopes for it to be one that the kids remember forever (or for at least a few years). And I think we may have done it - thanks to help from my Grammy and my mom for babysitting so I could shop, thanks to my sister and mom for staying late Christmas Eve wrapping the presents, thanks to my brothers for helping unload the biggest box from the car and a HUGE thanks to Trent for putting the trampoline together in the rain so that the kids could run right out and jump on it as soon as they discovered it Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas to everyone and here's to a New Year full of hope, joy and fun times!

Here are a few pictures from our exciting day yesterday:

Putting the FUN in Funk

I've been in a funk the past few days. I probably just need sleep, but aside from sleep, what are some of your favorite ways to pull out of feeling icky, yucky and generally depressed all over?

Happy Bodhi Day!

As many of you know, the name Bodhi has special meaning. It is the name of the tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment, and today happens to be Bodhi Day. I found a great article that explains the significance of today and ways that people celebrate. It may be from a "do it yourself" website, but the information is good nonetheless.

How To Celebrate Bodhi Day

by Alden Smith
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/bodhi-day

In the world of Buddhism, an important day of celebration is December 8th. This is the day that many Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day. It was on this day in 596 BC that the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Buddhism has the ability to adapt to any culture where it becomes a presence. It picks up the customs and bits of the culture around it. The Buddha expounded that we should, as Buddhists, fit into the neighborhood in which we live, not make a spectacle of ourselves or do anything that draws undue attention.

The Buddha Attains Enlightenment

Siddhartha Gautama, who would later become the Buddha, was a prince who left his home in Nepal at the age of 29 to search for the meaning of life. His family had protected him from the cares of the world, but as Siddhartha was an inquisitive sort, he traveled about. He saw the misery of old age, sickness and suffering. Because this profoundly affected him, he chose to leave his comfortable surroundings and seek meaning.

Siddhartha, after spending six years living the life of an ascetic for six years and serving under six teachers, still did not find what he was searching for. He tried many different disciplines, such as surviving by eating only one grain of rice per day, but soon realized that this was not the answer. Because he could not find the answers to his questions he vowed that he would sit under the Bodhi tree (sometimes called Pipal tree, Peepul tree, Pippul tree, or Bo tree in certain texts) until he had his answers. Siddhartha fasted and meditated under this tree for a week, and on the morning of the eighth day came to several realizations which were to become the principles of modern Buddhism. It was here, as Siddhartha meditated and gazed upon Venus rising, that the basis of The Noble Eightfold Path and Four Noble Truths were born.

From this point forward he was referred to as the Buddha -- The Enlightened One. He was also known as Shakyamuni (the sage of the Shakya clan) Buddha.

Celebrating Bodhi Day

Bodhi Day, the day of enlightenment, can be celebrated in many ways. To the Buddhist, it is a day of remembrance and meditation, much like the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus on December 25th.

To the layman, a good way of recognizing this important event in Buddhism is to dwell on its meaning and place reminders in the home of this event. Often, colored lights are strung about the home to recognize the day of enlightenment. They are multi-colored to symbolize the many pathways to enlightenment. The lights are turned on each evening beginning on December 8th and for 30 days thereafter. A candle is also lit for these thirty days to symbolize enlightenment.

In Buddhist homes, you will sometimes see a fiscus tree of the genus ficus religiousa. Beginning on Bodhi Day, these trees are decorated with multi-colored lights, strung with beads to symbolize the way all things are united, and hung with three shiny ornaments to represent the Three Jewels - The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

A meal of rice and milk is significant on this holiday. According to Buddhist legend, Sujata offered this to the Buddha upon his awakening to help him regain strength.

To get children involved in this holiday, make cookies in the shape of a tree to symbolize the Bodhi Tree, or make leaf shaped cookies. The leaves of the Bodhi tree are heart shaped, so a Valentine's Day cookie cutter would be appropriate.

Bodhi Day is of importance to Buddhists. Especially celebrated by Buddhists of the Pure Land, it is a noteworthy experience for anyone of any culture.

Polar Express

This week, my Mom and Grammy accompanied Mia, Bodhi and me to a special viewing of the Polar Express movie at the IMAX theater in Tempe. It was really neat - The Grand Canyon Railway sponsored the event and there were cookies and hot chocolate for everyone as well as Santa and other characters from the movie. It was a lot of fun spending the time with everyone and seeing how Mia reacted to Santa this year after her terrifying ordeal last year (see below for proof!) And although she didn't scream when she approached Santa this year, she wouldn't let go of my mom and refused to stand next to him to take a picture.

Tumbleweed Tree in Chandler

We just got home from the ceremonial lighting of the tumbleweed tree in downtown Chandler (it's literally a tree made out of tumbleweeds!). We had a great time with Nana and Pappy at this annual event and Bemish tradition. Here are a few pics from the evening:

Baby Blues

Bodhi is battling a nasty virus and yesterday he broke out into a terrible rash with hives all over his little body as a result (an allergic reaction to the virus apparently). Needless to say, both Trent and I are not used to seeing our son like this and wish we could take it all away . . .