Aloha,
I'm Reverend Cindy Palos and as I reflect over the last year,
Maybe two years,
And look ahead to the coming year,
I thought I'd go down a list of 10 things and 10 lessons that I have learned over this last year or two and reflect on them with you and some might be similar to what you also found is true.
And as we reflect on those lessons and things,
Hopefully we can learn enough so that the coming years will be easier and we'll be more prepared to deal with things we have to deal with.
Now I would have to say always meditation,
Number one how important meditation is.
I already knew how important meditation is,
I meditate every day.
But through this tumultuous rollercoaster ride we've been going through,
It's been such a lifesaver to be able to go within and start the day and be present and connect and be strong and set my inner compass to do what I wish to do and to have that focus from meditation.
I have to always say meditation is so powerful but through these last couple of years especially,
It's been so helpful to overcome stress and worry and to also get inspiration that can be the gift that comes when you're going through hard times.
So yes meditation,
Number one so important.
Meditate every day,
So that's number one.
Number two I would say life is precious.
Make the most out of every day.
Now I don't know about you but I have had quite a few friends who have passed away over the last two years and some very dear loved ones as well that were part of the family.
So we know that we all die and we have to always reevaluate our way we think about death.
But I think one of the best lessons that death can give us is to make us appreciate life more.
Every day is precious.
Every day is an opportunity to do something that makes you feel that you're glad to be alive.
So take the time to always remember when you start your day how precious this life really is how amazing and miraculous every single breath you take is.
Don't take your life for granted.
Life is just too very precious to let it slip away without being grateful for every single day.
The next one I would say is an important one.
Number three love more.
Love more.
Love yourself more.
Love God more.
Love your neighbor more.
Love your family more.
And tell everyone you know that you love them more.
This is something almost everyone who faces death has been aware of.
I mean almost anyone that is going through that dying process always realizes how important expressing that love is.
That love is something that we all crave that we all need.
We all need love.
And so it's so such a great lesson to remember to tell people.
And yourself that you love yourself and you love them.
Just love more.
And of course I have to include in these reflections and lessons.
Stay healthy.
We never ever realized how.
We were thinking we'd all be fine until COVID hit.
And then all of a sudden,
My gosh,
You realize how important your health is.
And so many people who got COVID still have issues they have to deal with.
So many people thought they were healthy and then they got COVID and some died from it.
Our health is so very important.
It's hard to do what we need to do if we have health issues.
And many people,
I think more than ever of course,
I haven't read the statistics,
But I'm sure there have been more health issues in these last couple of years than ever before.
So we have to really be disciplined and dedicated towards making ourselves as healthy as possible.
Next one I'd say would be,
And it's kind of long health,
Exercise,
Exercise,
Exercise every day.
But don't just exercise.
I mean,
All exercise is great.
So yes,
Exercise is great.
But I would say take walks.
Take walks in nature.
Take walks in parks.
Take walks where you can allow yourself to experience the healing power of nature.
The beauty of all of nature is so restorative and so important.
So take walks.
I walk every day.
It's one of my favorite times of the day.
I usually walk in the afternoon.
I try to walk in the park and I'm so blessed to be here on Maui.
And I have these beautiful pictures I can take and it's such a blessing.
So walk every day.
I would also add another one to this list.
Trying,
No I'm going to take that out and not say try.
Be aware that the country has lots,
And not just the country,
The world has lots of different beliefs right now.
And this came very much in our face over COVID and vaccinations.
People are very split in their beliefs.
So I would say do your best to be aware that many people don't believe as you do and try to find a common ground.
And don't push buttons by saying things you know that might get people angry.
That common ground is so important I think more than ever we've found we have to try to not go into conflicts and to try to find that common ground.
And we can,
Especially in communications,
There are skills you can learn in finding a common ground that will actually bring bonds and understanding rather than anger and fights.
And that common ground is something that I think we need to learn more and more of as a skill.
I wish it was taught in school.
Wouldn't that be wonderful if they taught children in school to not do things that got people's buttons pushed to get them angry but instead trying to find things that we can communicate with that bring us together?
So on that list that would be find a common ground.
The next one would be watch out for fear.
Fear works in very insidious ways.
Fear over the last few years of COVID,
Fear of losing jobs,
Fear of needing money,
Fear of maybe losing your home because there's been so many home prices that have gone up,
Fear of being able to afford to live the way you want to live.
Fear has been one of the most challenging things that we've had to face and sometimes daily in our lives.
And fear is not always clear.
I wish fear was clear but instead fear works in kind of hidden ways that we don't necessarily see or understand.
Fear takes us by surprise and all of a sudden we're doing certain things we're not even aware we're doing because of fear.
So that fear can paralyze us and fear can eliminate the love that we have and fear can cause anger.
Fear can cause many awful things including disease and worry and things that are really bad for you.
Fear is a thing you have to have a very careful watch over.
You need to watch out for fear and so when you sense that fear,
When you notice and monitor yourself and realize you're acting out of fear,
Try to stomp it out and completely eliminate it when it happens.
Because you don't want it to become a habit,
You don't want it to be able to live in you so you need to send some love and deal with it when you encounter it.
Another one I'd include in this list would be stay in the present.
Be here now.
This is a really good antidote to worry because when you're worrying you're actually very concerned about what's going to be happening in the future.
Sometimes they say when you're depressed you're thinking about what may have happened in the past but if you stay here now in the present,
Almost 100% of the time,
In the present,
Right now,
Right here,
You can deal with what's happening.
If you start to think what am I going to do if and you start to think ahead,
It is so easy to get overwhelmed and most of the time it doesn't take much to actually realize that you don't know what's going to happen in the future anyway.
You can only be here now and if you take it to the next level of being here now,
Every moment is now and as you get skillful at being here now you can deal with everything when you are here now.
So be here now.
That I've learned lessons I've learned and things I wish to put to work for you in the coming year would be being thankful.
Just be aware of your blessings.
Be aware of how lucky you are.
There are so many people who would just love to have some of the gifts you have.
You have so many gifts compared to so many people in the world.
You have so many blessings you've been giving.
You have so much to be grateful for and when you're grateful you flip on a light switch and that light switch brings light into your mind and brain and your whole being.
It literally makes you feel better and it can actually cure depression.
So it's such a wonderful simple thing to do but just be grateful.
And I really have to share how important the lesson of Aloha and kindness is.
I really feel kindness is very interchangeable with Aloha with one twist on it.
Kindness is such a wonderful act because it takes us out of our own conscious individuated state of mind and makes us aware of how we can share a little good act,
Goodwill towards another.
And I do consider goodwill and kindness to be interchangeable and it's so important to have that goodwill and kindness.
However with Aloha,
Which is a magic word,
Aloha is breath,
A-L-O of the Aloha is presence.
So it's the presence which holds spirit.
So you have spirit and breath together and when you share Aloha you're sharing that wonderful living presence of your life with someone else,
Of your life intent breath with someone else.
So it includes anything from,
As you would include in kindness,
A smile,
Opening a door for someone,
Doing something kind for a neighbor.
It's a certain way of feeling as well and it's not because you have to do it because you realize the value and the love in doing it.
And it is truly in a way,
A very important way,
Love in action.
And that love in action is such,
Well that's again going back to loving your neighbor,
Being in love.
And through COVID and everything we've gone through with COVID,
We were so starved for some kindness and definitely more Aloha because fear was more present.
And so this Aloha,
This kindness,
Doing simple wonderful acts of something nice for someone else with love,
With your spirit,
Your presence,
Being there is truly an amazing gift that I found more important than ever and more valuable to share in the future.
So living a little Aloha can go a long,
Long way.
That's actually a poem I wrote that was made into a song and an album.
But it is so true and it's such a simple thing and easy to remember.
So rather than fear or reacting without thinking in a negative way,
When we instill that practice of Aloha and share that Aloha,
We can change our own lives and we can change the lives of others around us.
And if we all do it,
We can change the world.
And on that note,
I just want to say how important that lesson of Aloha is.
So with these 10 lessons that have been learned,
Our 10 wonderful tools that you can use for the coming year that will also make your life better.
And I know that we all have gone through so,
So much.
And what we have to realize is sometimes when it's the times that are tough,
The times that are really hard,
Is when we really learn the most.
And we are here on this planet to live and learn.
So now we know that we've learned a lot because we had to.
And now that we've learned a lot with these wonderful lessons,
We can be grateful for that as well and use these as tools to make our life a better life.
So here's to a wonderful,
Wonderful new year and here's to a wonderful chance to put all these lessons that we've learned to work in our life so we can enjoy life more and make our life the life we wish to live.
God bless you on your journey always and thank you so much for being here.
