The winter holidays arrived and with them ask us to slow down, settle in and hang tight. Yesterday, I did just that, and enjoyed my first Thanksgiving in my home in my own company with the boys. I honestly had a lovely time. Delicious too! :)

 

As you can see here, the Cornish hen is resting on the oven (untented for picture purposes), the gougéres were just pulled out of the oven and their cheesy scent hard to resist, the sticky rice with hazelnut and sausage stuffing (something I tried for the first time) is ready to be paired with its fowl, and the green beans are the final side to be cooked before I sit down. 

 

Ah! The dessert! Don't worry, I did not forget one of the best parts of Thanksgiving. :) You can see what I came up with in my Thanksgiving post shared below - "11 Thanksgiving Ponderings . . ." . 

 

 

The holidays this year and for nearly the entire year of 2020 have asked us to adapt, change, edit, and take a step off the often completely-to-the-floor gas pedal of our daily lives. Such a change of pace, especially when instructed by someone other than ourselves can be met with resistance; however, consciously we know we must listen to help not only ourselves and our loved ones, but countless unknown others. Contained within such unwanted requirements exists good gems to find. Gems of wisdom about ourselves, about our life journey, and how we want to travel in it. 

 

When we have to "unbusy" our lives, we are often forced to feel our lives for what they fully are - fulfilling or lacking, longing or loving, at the beck and call of the world or in full control of our mind. As written about often on the blog, busy is often a band-aid applied to stop ourselves from understanding what truly is missing if only we would apply the right medicine. Ignoring the injury or lack or longing does not make it go away and likely will leave a life-lasting scar. However, so long as we are alive, the scar is not inevitable, and we can heal ourselves fully to elevate the quality of our lives. 

 

I shared in this post yesterday a book I am reading which along with another book I will talk about in December's A Cuppa Moments (Tuesday December 1st) has helped deepen my awareness of what true contentment actually is and how to usher it into our lives every single day. 

 

I know this year has not been wanted, even by me, but the more I venture into 2020, the more I am realizing it has gifts to reveal to each of us if only we will look, explore, be patient and unbusy our lives without resistance. Wishing you peace, calm and a path which leads you to an even better life than you might have imagined possible.

 

"Pain and emptiness are wonderful doorways for awakening true happiness if we allow ourselves to really feel them rather than reaching for the nearest distraction. Within the pain and emptiness lie the seeds of true joy."  —Richard Paterson, Awaken the Happy You

 

This month's newsletter again is full, offering inspiration, motivation, recipes, cosying-in ideas, gardening ideas, style inspiration and so much more. 

 

To explore every post you wish to read, be sure to become a subscriber to one of the two tiers - BASIC OR TOP as non-subscribers can only read five posts a month (it will reset on December 1st). 

 

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season full of many celebratory as well as restful, peace-filled moments. Thank you for subscribing to TSLL's monthly newsletter, and now to explore what TSLL has been up to this month. :) 

Until Friday December 25th, I will see you on the blog. 

 

—Shannon

 

~If you are missing knowing what is going on throughout the month, sign up for the free Daily Newsletter which will send you an email whenever a new post goes live on the blog. It is entirely free, and you just simply click the post to read it in full on TSLL.~