comfort during a difficult time
Nature is true to its internal structure throughout all its seasons. For us, that structure is family and friends, work and purpose, and hope and resilience.
By Wanda Wen
It's hard to write about the New Year with a sense of optimism when only 23 days into it so many people here in Los Angeles County have lost so much due to multiple wildfires. The world I used to know in Pacific Palisades is gone and many friends lost their homes. My family and I immediately donated to the Californa Fire Foundation and then turned our thoughts to how to help even more. In times like these, for me, there is one constant I turn to and that is family.
When I think back of the past year, through the highs and lows, family has been there to offer their unconditional love. And to me, family extends to my friends as well, even those that ebb and flow as life jostles us about. We come back to one another with no questions asked in times like these.
Our planet is fragile, as we are witnessing yet again. On it, we walk our own small paths, coming together haphazardly sometimes. As I walked my path this week with intention and purpose, the following question was on my mind. "How can I be of service to so many in need?" I realized that what is most important is the time we can find with another soul -- whether it's a text, a phone call, or best yet a handwritten card or letter, letting them know they are in your thoughts. And it doesn't matter how long we've walked together. Each relationship is a gift.
As we go forward, which is of course the only direction we can go, may I offer these thoughts . . .
1. Live with curiousity, not judgement.
2. Practice gratitude for what you have.
3. Always be learning something new. Take a class, a workshop. Nurture something you learned as a child.
4. Don’t harm others, physically of course, but also in speech. There is no need to put down others only to feel better about yourself.
5. Live your truth. And if it’s foggy, take pen to paper and journal. Meditate. Take walks in nature by yourself, in silence. Your truth is there.
6. Move your body. Park furthest away in the parking lot so you get to walk. If you drop something, consider this an opportunity to do a squat, intentionally using your core. Practice yoga.
7. Keep your living environment clean and in order so you have this to spring from, allowing your innate creativity to express wildly.
8. Smile. Simply pick up the corners of your mouth. The rest of you will follow.
9. Sit down with a favorite drink and write a card or letter to someone, once a month. It will make their day.
10. Do your best to see the beauty and the divine in all beings. And I reiterate, ALL beings. Therein lies immense joy.
As the smoke clears and we all see our paths clearly again, I look forward to finding and celebrating small joys.