- Weathered Yucca In Tonto National Forest
“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.”~John F. Kennedy
The holiday season is upon us. Christmas was yesterday, the 12 Days of Christmas start today as we count down towards the Epiphany, Hanukkah (Chanukah) is still being celebrated this week, Kwanza starts today, in many countries it is Boxing Day today or at some point this week and we are working our way toward a New Year. So I have been thinking about all the celebrations, and what is most important to me during this special time of the year. I believe the message for me is PEACE; in particular inner peace or inner strength.
I have been working on that inner strength on my way towards more peace in my life this year. It is not an easy journey. It takes courage and strength to lay yourself open and expose the good, the bad and the ugly. It is all there… but it has not been a bad journey looking in at things I did not want to see. It actually has been quite refreshing although tiring at times.
But as I have learned, I cannot see the beauty around me unless I am willing to go within and find my inner beauty. It would seem at first glance easy to do. Who wouldn’t want to do that, but in order to see the beautiful you have to look at it all; shine a light on all of it and then accept it, love it and move on. But really I knew what I would find. Someone who can be judgmental at times, impatient, a procrastinator, sometimes a down-right whiner.
In seeing all these perceived shortcomings, I learned a lot about others as well. I learned we all have traits we are working to improve and why not. As we improve, as we see our inner beauty, we find peace with ourselves and acceptance of others. This quote from Robert Fulghum is so meaningful for me.
“Peace is not something you wish for; It’s something you make, Something you do, Something you are, And something you give away.” ~Robert Fulghum
More times than not I have been humbled, I have been rocked to my core in pain and despair. It could be anything. The 
perceived betrayal of a friend or loved one, the harsh words of a boss or co-worker, a fine or ticket, the loss of a job and the ultimate loss of a loved one. But every one of these moments has taught me so much; has prepared me for that humility for without it I would not be able to rise up and the find strength to heal.
When I saw that the Word for Wednesday@Garden Walk Garden Talk for December 28th was weathered, it conjured up so many images especially of my garden this time of year. But then I saw it on a deeper level, of a life that has become quite weathered recently. On the surface the word means to wear away by long exposure to the atmosphere; altered. But I think I relate most to the synonyms for weathered:
bear up against, become toughened, brave, come through, grow strong, rise above, survive, toughen, withstand
While I feel a bit weathered and worn these days, I also feel renewed. I have survived some tough times and come through them stronger, more beautiful inside; full of light and love. Am I perfect? Never! Will tough times come again? Absolutely, but now I feel stronger, and I realize these times are here to help us find that inner strength and to use it when we most need it. All these thoughts give me peace; make me a better person and help me to give peace to others through my acceptance.
I hope you enjoyed some weathered pictures from my garden. My wish for us this holiday season is to find Peace in hopes we can become it and in turn give it away.
“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”~Peace Pilgrim quotes
Coming up on Wednesday I will be joining Diana@Elephants Eye for her 12 Days of Christmas meme. I’ll be joining in on The Third Day of Christmas for a recap of my magical gift of 3 robin fledglings. Join Diana this week. I’ll be back on January 2nd for another Gardens Eye Verse, and in January I’ll start my second 30-Day Challenge, explore colors and have a seed starting update. Over at Beautiful Wildlife Gardens I’ll be posting Part 2 of my Favorite Fall Natives.
Special Note: As I have been musing during the holidays, I thought of a wonderful meme I would like to start. It would be quarterly
as the seasons change. Beth@PlantPostings also does a seasonal meme about Lessons Learned. While her meme focuses on what lessons you have learned during the season, this new one would focus on the celebrations, traditions and holidays of the season. The seasons are such magical times of the year with so many wonderful traditions and celebrations. Of course the seasons change on different dates in other parts of the world so this would be be open to all celebrations. For instance at the Winter (N Hemisphere)/Summer (S Hemisphere) seasonal change around December 21st, there is lots going on with just holidays. I think this could be fun because we can be imaginative, and I love to learn about other traditions and cultures. And what gardener doesn’t love the changing of the seasons!!
My thoughts are to start the post when the season changes, and then keep the post open for links for a few weeks. I think I will also make a page out of this to highlight all the Seasonal Celebrations. And isn’t that a great name for the meme. I hope to even come up with a logo. As Beth and I were corresponding, we thought it would be great to coordinate the two memes. So we will be getting together to let you know more in the future. The next seasonal change is in March. It will be here before we know it… look for more updates in February about the meme. Until then……
Happiest of Holidays to all and here’s to a wonderful New Year!!!!
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