Hi friends,

 

Yesterday, I had the last magical Saturday of the year.

What is that, you ask?

 

Magical Saturdays are those when I make progress in my goals while my kids are safely at school.

 

I'm not sad that I'm losing my magical Saturdays as the winter break starts later this week because this means one of my favorite months of the year is around the corner.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love December, and I loudly say Ho Ho Ho to anyone who asks this week. Like I did in this Instagram Live a couple of years ago. I'm so ready to enjoy the last two weeks of the year and wrap up my work for a nice vacation.

However, the month I can't get enough of is January; I can't wait for it to get here.

 

I don't take January for granted because I remember this slow mode was not my life a few years ago and might not be so in the few years ahead. It just is my current season.

 

I imagine your January would go differently than mine, depending on your season. What is yours? 

 

Anticipation is key to happiness, so share with me; what are you anticipating? What are you, a tiny bit, dreading? More importantly, how can you plan for it to make it more manageable?

 

If you choose to share with me by email, I'm here for you, my friend.

I will read every word you write and reply to you.

 

Enjoy the season.

Here is your weekly dose of The Sunday Spark ⚡️ a newsletter listing 5 inspiring things I thought were worth starting your week with: 

 

1. 🦸‍♂️ How to change your self-limiting beliefs. Dedicate 15 minutes to reading this brilliant article to learn more about finding and overcoming your limiting beliefs. Favorite parts in the article: (Beliefs that hold you back can be like people who hold you back. Once they're gone from your life, new perspectives open up). (Just for fun, ask yourself how the choices you make might be different if your fundamental beliefs were different). Studying limiting beliefs is a crucial topic in my goal-setting workshops, and I encourage you to question yours.

 

 

2. 🤯Have you created your Lensa magic avatars? It was so much fun for me until I read this. We have a long way to go.

 

 

3. 💗 You did a good job this year. (I love ResuceTime blog, I have been using RescueTime for years to monitor my productivity).

 

 

4. ☀️ Happy Winter Solstice! This year, it's on Thursday, Dec 22nd 

(in the Northern Hemisphere).

 

 

5. I love this quote that taught me about rituals some cultures do to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Why not plan to witness the extra special sunrise this Thursday to welcome the light?

 

“ “Druids follow the eightfold Wheel of the Year,” Philip Carr-Gomm says, “which means that we have something to do every six weeks. It’s a useful period of time—you always have the next moment in sight. It creates a pattern through the year.” 

As he describes in his book Druid Mysteries, the year is reborn again at the winter solstice. Druids hold a ceremony in which they “cast away whatever impedes the appearance of light” and throw scraps of fabric on the ground in darkness to signify the things that have been holding them back. Then a single lamp is lit with a flint and raised in the east to welcome a new cycle, which will reach its peak at the summer solstice....           

Is this an invented religion, cobbling together borrowed rituals and harking back to an imagined past where mysticism reigned? Probably. Maybe. But I don’t think it matters. It expresses a craving that so many of us will recognise. 

If our current society lacks a way to offer us the meanings we seek, then it’s entirely reasonable to reimagine the old ways of doing it or to create new ones.”

― Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

 

See you soon 😊 First name / my dear friend

 

 

 

 

🎄 It's the season, support local small businesses:

 

🎁 Thinking about a unique gift for your sister or your bestie? Consider ordering a piece of wearable eco-friendly art made with love by my sister @Soma.By.Raz from her old engineering books. She creates unique pieces of brooches, earrings, and wall art. Order your gift now to get it on time for Christmas. 

 

🎁 Thinking about a special piece to decorate your home or as a gift? Check this elegant Macrame and art  products shop where you can find wall hangings, cushions, mirrors, and more. Don't forget to follow the artist behind all this, my friend Mirna Tarazi.

 

Some cool resources I personally use, love and recommend, with discounts just for you: