I Know You've All Been Very Naughty This Year

It is the time of the year known as Christmas, or Chanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Solstice, or Saturnalia.  It's a time for feasting, drinking, and enjoying the company of loved ones.

It's a time then for me to wish all of the readers of my blog, my humble audience, whether in Australia, the USA, England, Germany, India, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, or even New Zealand (apparently) a most joyous time.  If you have family and friends around you, enjoy the precious gift of their companionship.  Some cannot make it home for various reasons, whether because of work, distance, financial circumstances or health.  Some have no family at all.  It shouldn't matter, we keep those we love and care about in our hearts, no matter the distance.

So then, whatever your beliefs, where ever you are, what ever you do, remember there are more important things than money, position, power, status or your ambition.  Turn yourself instead to family, remember why you love them, and lose yourself in simple acts of generosity and kindness.

Aum, blessings upon you all.

Not Quite Christmas Yet.

It is however the day of the Solstice.  Here in this part of the world the longest day of the year, and for people in the northern hemisphere the longest night of the year, and the time of the ancient pagan celebrations.  A time of bonfires and mid-winter darkness, of druids and dancing and drinking and feasting together to keep the cold at bay.  A time to celebrate the end of an old year and the soon to commence year to come.  Naturally then like Janus we look both backwards and forwards, to see where we have come from, the things we have left behind us in the last year, those parts of our life that had to fall away, like dead branches being pruned, so that new life and growth can come forth when the springtime returns.

Conversely we look forward, our dreams and desires for the year ahead laid out before us, and we offer them up to the universe.  Some fall by the wayside, others become real and concrete and are fulfilled.

All this is reflection for me of course.  It has been a long year, and it has taken many twists and turns for me to get to where I am.  12 months ago I was preparing to spend the holiday with my partner and her daughter, I was buying presents and baking a chocolate mud cake with enough chocolate to kill a large donkey.  How things change in the course of a year.  First dealing with a miscarriage, then I found myself single again, and then in another relationship, I turned 40 and felt age starting to catch up with me a bit.  And yet I feel more positive and optimistic about the holiday season than I have in many years.  Life is getting better. 

So what do I have in store for me in 2012?

I wish for all the things that we all wish for, good health, happiness, prosperity, being with family and friends and the chance to enjoy life and love.  I would like a new and better paying job, the chance to upgrade to a slightly newer car, and the chance for my current relationship to continue to grow and evolve.

I do indeed wish that everyone could know happiness and joy and good things.  Often though it is not always the case.  Some people hold themselves back through stubborn attitudes, through lack of compassion, or being trapped in a paradigm that has outlived its usefulness.  How we choose to live now determines how we shall be forced to live in the future.  Time to open our hearts and to be compassionate to all, and especially to ourselves.

A Busy Few Weeks

Been a busy time at work the last month.  My employers bought themselves a new house and very graciously gave me a lot of extra hours helping to renovate.  Thus I spent my days pulling out a 40 year old kitchen and bathroom and enjoying breaking things very muchly.

This meant of course I didn't have as much time to spend on a few little things I need to get done.  I still have to go and see about my prostate and find out whether it is worth panicking, I still have to attempt to do some Christmas shopping.  And I finally commenced my test run for Christmas lunch by throwing some pork on the BBQ to slow cook.  I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while, after sampling pulled pork in a restaurant several months back and enjoying it immensely.

This weekend then has seen me pickling my piece of meat in brine, liquid smoke, and bbq rub for a day or so, and this morning adding extra rub and putting it in the BBQ to slow cook for 5 or 6 hours, encrusted with smoky smells and bbq spices. 

I cannot wait to try this recipe for myself.  It is time intensive, and certainly not a quick snack, but it means taking time, and preparing, and savouring and anticipating.  Thus the opposite of instant gratification.  It's the same when cooking soups and stews and casseroles.  The act of preparing ingredients, of pre-heating the oven, of allowing things to slowly cook for hours on end.  It forces us to be patient.

Life then happens while you are busy making other plans, and a good feed cooks slowly while we patiently drool over the outcome and busy ourselves with other duties in the meantime.  Good things come to those who wait.