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Blessed with a Star on the Forehead

Tag Archives: Holiday Season

Looking back – January 2022

29 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by A Star on the Forehead in Daily Life, Daily Message, Finding Me

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Christmas, experiences, Holiday Season, January 2022, life lessons, looking back, looking back to go forward, New Year, New Year 2023, past lessons, year 2022

At the office – still in the Christmas mood

Before I look to the future and talk about my plans for 2023, I want to take a look back.  Is 2022 really over?  Didn’t it just start?

I am going to look back month by month, otherwise it would be a very long post.

THIS HAPPENED IN JANUARY 2022

It was a busy month, even though I spent most of it struggling with Covid. Some of the symptoms stayed around for 3 months.  Actually, the mental fogginess and anxiety still visit every now and then.

Feeling sick, as it often does, highlights the joys of a time when one is healthy.  At that moment nothing else matters. Health is indeed our most sacred commodity!

A co-worker that I have had issues with in the past got mad at me, for no real reason, and blocked me on our internal communication chat.  I think he felt he had to have the last word.  Weeks later he unblocked me because he needed something.  I then blocked him, not as revenge but as a protection of the peace of not having to chat with him had afforded me.  We now communicate only via email when it is absolutely necessary.

I learned that no matter how much I try, some people will not like me.  I learned that sometimes the best communication is no communication at all. I also learned that forgiving is a virtue, but forgetting can be dangerous.  We have to set up and enforce boundaries to protect our emotional being.

After canceling a date with the Greek because of Covid, we eventually met for the 4th date.  I was really not feeling any chemistry, but since I said I would treat him for his birthday I felt I needed to go.  I was hoping we could be friends.  That night we disagreed on a couple of topics, but as we ended the night, I thought he understood and accepted friendship.

After that, he diminished the number of texts, so I assumed he had gotten the message.  More about him in March.

People will sometimes assume things about me. It is not on me; it is on them.  I cannot force anyone to understand me. I know who I am.  That is enough.

The infamous EX-boyfriend (the cause for the start of this blog 10 years ago) reached out with a weird text about the sauna in his house.  I did what I always do.  I ignored him.  And blocked him.

He no longer has any effect on me. It took me years to put my heart back together after him.  It all passes and I grow stronger and stronger.

I reconnected with an older woman, my mom and I had met in Israel.  It is good to reconnect with people that brings us good memories.  It brightened her day and mine.

I just called her today.  She is now 90 years old.  She was so happy to hear from me. She is such a kind soul.  

I need to remember the good souls from my past and do more of an effort of reaching out. Human connections are important, specially the ones that make my heart sing!

I finally got my floors finished and, and in the process the noise disturbed my neighbors.  I had notified the building management, but they had failed to notify the neighbors.  Instead of getting mad, I knocked on the neighbor’s door with a bottle of wine and a smile as an apology.  They were surprised.

We are now great friends. My sister and I are now included in their get-togethers.

It is often better to take the high road.  It definitely better to be happy than to be right!  It is hard to fight the instinct to fight, not to be perceived as weak and a doormat. But I choose to pick my battles.  Not everything requires a fight. Sometimes is better to solve issues with a bottle of wine and a smile.

That was a summary of January 2022. February coming next.

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Holiday Season Anxiety: feeling the pressure to give the perfect gift

20 Tuesday Dec 2022

Posted by A Star on the Forehead in Daily Life, Daily Message

≈ 54 Comments

Tags

Christmas shopping, gift giving, Holiday Season, holiday shopping rush, holiday tipping, lack of ideas, mosaic studio, pressure to please, The Alchemist, The Four Agreements, The Prophet

“A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer.” ― Seneca

The holiday season gets me very anxious.  My source of anxiety is gift giving and tipping.  I think I have mentioned here before that I hate shopping.  I will do some online but I rather just put cash in an envelope.

But, how much?  For the personnel at my apartment building(8 people) and my office building (9 people) I have an excel spreadsheet that I keep track of how much I have given in the past.  I just update it.  Some people are gone, some new people have been hired.  Still, I obsess over it.

Do I give the same amount?  Do I adjust for inflation? Or do I adjust by how much they have helped me throughout the year?  If that is the case then I would give nothing to some.  In the end everyone gets at least what they got last year.  I have the feeling that I overtip, but I guess that is better than undertip.

What do I do about some people, such as my friends, that I cannot just put cash in an envelope?  My second go-to gift is a gift card.  But to where?  Starbucks?  Amazon? Or is that just lame?

I am one of those people that have good intentions.  Every year I plan on paying attention to people, to their conversation, likes and dislikes, so that on their birthday and at Christmas I will know what to give.  Big failure, I never put those plans in motion.  Pay attention to conversation?  That is so foreign to me.  I am too busy talking or thinking of what to say next.

“Thanks to my mother, not a single cardboard box has found its way back into society. We receive gifts in boxes from stores that went out of business twenty years ago.” ― Erma Bombeck

Tonight is my last night at the mosaic studio before Christmas, and I still don’t have a gift for the owner/teacher.  She is such an amazing person.  She is so thoughtful and giving. Throughout the year she has given me little things here and there just because.  She already gave me a couple of things for Christmas.  I need to find the perfect gift for her, not only because of those gifts but because of the joy she gives me by having the mosaic studio. Her guidance and joy is priceless.

The clock is ticking… I can probably buy myself some time and announce that I have something coming, but its arrival is late.  Yes, I am considering lying and blaming the mailman.  I will probably just come clean and tell the truth: I don’t know what to give, so I freeze.

I am always hoping that people don’t give me anything, because the pressure to retribute is immense.  The more thoughtful their gift is, the more anxious I get.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love to give.  The moment I know someone needs something I am the first one to give/donate.  I struggle with coming up with ideas for people that have everything.  My problem is feeling the pressure to find the perfect gift.

For some new acquaintances I like to give a bag with 3 of my favorite books: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, and The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.  I also bring soaps and lotions with natural ingredients from Brazil as gifts.  Perhaps there is a bit of thoughtfulness in me after all.

Happy gift giving and receiving to you all! I have some more obsessing to do.

“Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them. And it’s much cheaper to buy somebody a book than it is to buy them the whole world!” ― Neil Gaiman

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Happy Holidays!!

24 Thursday Dec 2020

Posted by A Star on the Forehead in Daily Life, Daily Message

≈ 42 Comments

Tags

Be Merry, Happy Holidays, Holiday Season, Merry Christmas

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” – ― Hamilton Wright Mabie

This is another opportunity for me to thank everyone here for their continued love and support.  I have been blogging here since 2012 and it wouldn’t be the same without you.  Your visits mean the world to me!

May the joy of the holiday season invade our hearts and homes! 

May we look at others with eyes of compassion and love!

May we always remember to be grateful for our blessings!

Peace, Light and Love to All! ♥♥♥

 

 

“Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and desires of little children; to remember the weaknesses and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and to ask yourself if you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open? Are you willing to do these things for a day? Then you are ready to keep Christmas!” ― Henry Van Dyke

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"Mudanças acontecem na vida de cada pessoa. Você pode reagir a ela ou pode participar dela.” - Steve Harvey
Meet Wednesday. She is my friend's dog. #pitbull #dog #pet #friend
"A medida da inteligência é a capacidade de mudar." - Albert Einstein
Last breakfast of 2022. We had it all: Challah bread, bagels, biscuits, scones and pound cake. Carb, carb and more carb! Yummy!
"O progresso é impossível sem mudança; e aqueles que não conseguem mudar as suas mentes não conseguem mudar nada." George Bernard Shaw
Merry Christmas! Wishing peace, light and love to all!
"Se você só lê os livros que todo mundo está lendo, você só vai pensar o que todo mundo está pensando." - Haruki Murakami
My money tree is out of control.
"Para cada minuto que você se aborrece você perde sessenta segundos de felicidade." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
About last night: Delicious dinner at Harvest on Hudson in Hastings, NY
"Mude seus pensamentos e você mudará seu mundo" - #normanvincentpeale
About last night: Dinner at Sergio's.
"Quem nunca cometeu um erro, nunca tentou algo novo"
"O Amor é o objetivo, a vida é a jornada."
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Eu vivo na possibilidade..."
New Rochelle Building boom! Progress or illusion?
"Às vezes você ganha, às vezes você aprende."- John C. Maxwell
Another beautiful day in New Rochelle!

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