Author: purposejoyandpositives

Sunday, December 17th, was the third week of Advent and we light the third candle, the rose/pink candle which is the often referred to as the Shepherd’s candle. It is also Gaudete (derived from the Latin word (gaudium) Sunday, which means JOY. We are nearing the end of Advent and we reflect this week on REJOICING because we are closing in on the day of the birth of Jesus.

Of course, we are all looking forward to our family and friend’s Christmas celebrations and all the traditions we hold dear. There is also great JOY in recalling the birth of Jesus on the first Christmas. We must be patient for the next few days in anticipation of this great day.

I recently listened to a podcast by Matthew Kelly, Dynamic Catholic, who defined being patient like this: “ It is the knowing what to do while we are waiting for God to answer our prayers”. I like this definition as it truly is about what we do while we wait. Do we become impatient and give up the cause or do we stay the course and wait with patience until God sends the answer our prayers? Patience indeed is not easy, especially in today’s culture which pushes for immediate gratification in all arenas of life. However, I submit to you that patience in continuing to pray is a better answer to the waiting. (I say this as a reminder to myself as well).

The next Sunday will be the fourth Sunday of Advent and it is also Christmas Eve. We will indeed Rejoice on this final day of our Advent season.

Blessings,

PJP

The second purple candle is lit on the second Sunday of Advent, December 10. This candle is symbolic for Peace: the Bethlehem Candle. This represents the “fulfillment of the Davidic Line of the House of David, in which the Messiah would be born and rule in Peace” (Fr. Ray Guthrie, St. Francis de Sales bulletin).

In the Gospel this week, we find the story of John the Baptist who comes to prepare the way of the Lord. He is the forerunner of Jesus, who is coming to us soon. This was John’s mission, to evangelize, call for repentance and to prepare us. His call is urgent to pay close attention and await prayerfully for His coming.

The angels declared “Peace on earth” at the time of Jesus birth. That peace can be with us every minute of everyday; we have only to pray and accept it. Take a moment each day to slow your thoughts and your doing and find ‘peace’. For this season is really about ‘being rather than doing’.

Peace to you,

PJP

BY PJP

MORE GRATITUDE BEGETS GOOD ATTITUDE:

This such an important part of starting a day that will leave you feeling satisfied and content at the end of that day. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines gratitude as simply, yet as complex, as ”the state of being grateful”. Okay, is that an emotion? no. Is it a feeling? not really. I think of it as a ‘way of being’ that is a conscious choice each day as we put our feet to the floor.

Some mantras to encourage gratitude:

I choose to remember the blessing of waking up to a new day filled with opportunities to create a better-version- of myself (Matthew Kelly’s original term).

I choose to live in the moment of today and nurture it as if it was my first and my last.

I choose to pay attention to those around me and provide encouragement and compassion.

I choose to forgive and to be humble.

I choose to appreciate my family and friends and to serve where needed with a smile.

I choose to honor this day, myself, my past, present and open my heart to the future.

Developing a strong gratitude awareness practice can take time and like any other new habit you wish to acquire, you have to CHOSE it and do it everyday, until it becomes a natural part of you. The benefits of more gratitude are stated in many different articles and they include physical, psychological and social benefits. I will end with a quote from Harvard Health Publishing:

“Expressing gratitude helps people feel positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

With gratitude to my readers,

PJP

OPTIMISM:

If you are an optimistic person, you most likely look at the glass as ‘half full’, tend to find the silver lining of events that may be less than great, are engaged positively in life, and are in general a positive joyful person. There is a fair amount of research that indicates our health is impacted significantly when our emotions are positive which is closely linked to a lowered stress hormone cortisol, thereby, supporting greater immune response and reduced times of illness.

Dr. Andrew Weil offers proactive suggestions to incorporating a more optimistic way of being: (www.drweil.com)

”Eat a more healthy diet; exercise and get adequate deep sleep; write in a gratitude journal; breathing exercises to calm ourselves during stressful events; confide in someone or even seek professional help; let go of the small stuff; find humor in difficulties (finding the silver lining are my words); and relinquish control and go with the flow.”

There are also some essential oils that you can use that support a sense of calm, especially if you put a small drop and rub it into the middle of each foot. The two I use most are from Young Living called Peace/Calming and Joy. ( I am not a distributor so no plug here for a product, just sharing info). There are many companies that carry similar products.

Have a joyful day and think POSITIVE!

PJP

I believe that this is an appropriate post for the upcoming event of Valentine’s Day.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy; It does not boast; It is not proud. It does not dishonor others; It is not self-seeking; It is not easily angered; It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS.”

1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8

After this quote from the Bible, my favorite quote is from Leo Buscaglia:

“What love we’ve given, we’ll have forever. What love we fail to give, will be lost for all eternity.”

May you each have not only a loved filled day, but a love filled life with PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES.

PJP

WORD FOR THE YEAR:

Welcome to the New Year of 2021!!

Three years ago I transitioned from selecting resolutions for a New Year to choosing a word for the year. The first year it was TRUST and last year it was GRACE. As usual, I have sifted through my brain since the last few days of 2020 to pick a word that has meaning to me. Last year it took me until January 9; this year about the same! Slow process. Drum roll………my word for 2021 is ‘NOWNESS’.

I came across NOWNESS in something I was reading and it spoke to me for these reasons. First, my life like many of yours, I am sure has been filled with many transitions during the last year. For me, it has been a couple of years with one transition after another………..some I chose and others were not by choice. Nevertheless, transition came and I find myself in yet another transition period. I have also found myself over the last few months with unwelcome thoughts about so many future things……..will I maintain health, will my family be safe, will my finances hold up, will I work next year, will I be able to finish the major house projects I envision. And on and on and on it went every few days. I would have to add that this type of thinking has not really ever been an issue for me. I am positive; I have great faith. Why then this new train of thought? I have no clue as to ‘why’ , but I do know that I am putting a halt to this mindless chatter in my brain. It starts with my NOWNESS spirit for 2021.

• I have pledged that I will stay in the moment of today, each day
• I will not give traction to the ‘will I….’ thought
• I will think instead of the JOY that this moment in this day brings
• I will breathe deep and enjoy what is here now

Here is a poem, by Claire Boot, writer, that expresses the word well:

hereness and nowness:

hold the hereness

know the nowness

not the thereness thenness

nor the ifness whenness

let go of whatness whereness whyness

leave off the howness whoness whichness

hereness and nowness

sense the Presence that presents as present in the present

take it

it’s a present

Thank you from,

PJP

BABY BOY:

December twenty-fourth, the eve upon which we await the promise of the Baby Boy’s birth;

The shepherds journeyed far, following the Bethlehem Star, looking for the inn door, only to find a tiny Baby Boy in a manger, on a stable floor.

For us all, rich or poor, strong or weak, the weary, the helpless, the challenged and the meek;

The Baby Boy came quietly, after the journey, in unfamiliar surroundings, amidst the shepherds, yet He is Deity.

The Baby Boy, newly born, quietly brought peace, love, joy and hope to our world in many a form.

Reach for His tiny hand to lead you, protect you, and carry you when you you fall. Hold Him close to your heart; the reason for this night may you often recall.

Note: This is my original Christmas 2020 poem. Merry Christmas to all.

PJP