Santa Hat Chronicles has MOVED to http://www.sirenatales.wordpress.com

Sirena Tales

Scene: Suburban neighborhood, northeastern U.S., Christmastime 2012, dreary, wet, cold day.

Enter stage left, (i.e. from my driveway): Middle-aged woman dancer wearing ski jacket and ruby red Santa Hat.

She sets off on her usual route.  The penetrating damp spurs her to move at a good clip.  She quickly gets into her rhythm.  As always, after only a few minutes, the act of walking in the fresh air casts its spell and eases her into a meditative state.

The ideas and inspiration start to flow.  She suddenly has an idea for a delicious, comforting dinner for tonight and a solution to a family issue and a kernel for her new dance piece. They all just form and appear out of the initially unpromising mist.

This is what walking can do.  Or any anything meditative.  Although it makes sense that MOVEment can move you and your mind and soul, along with…

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Sirena Tales

How can I make things better with the onslaught of the terrible and the tragic that threatens to paralyze me?  How do I live a life committed to creativity, compassion, beauty and joy in the face of an endless stream of suffering?

I’m not completely sure.  But I am becoming clearer on how I answer that question for my own life.

You see, on Friday I had planned to make the long drive to take a dance class, spread some joy  by wearing my Santa Hat while running errands, and deliver cookies to firefighters in a nearby city.  But once I read the “Newsweek” article about the tragic plight of women and girls in Yemen, I could barely tear myself away from feverishly researching on the computer aid organizations working in that deeply troubled, faraway place.

Later in the day came the dreadful news about the massacre at an elementary…

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Santa Hat Chronicles has MOVED to http://www.sirenatales.wordpress.com. Hope to see you there!

Sirena Tales

We give something away because we can.

Even if it’s simply a smile.  Especially if it’s simply a smile.

We give something away because it will give a boost to someone or something or someplace or just the Universe in general.

We give something away because we’ve been given something(s) and we know how grand it feels and how it warms our hearts to receive.

We give something away because we know how grand it feels and how it warms our hearts to give.  It makes US better. And, ironically, bigger, without whatever it was that we generously gave away.

We give something away because the world desperately needs us to offer ourselves and our unique gifts up to it.  Whether it’s our humor or the flowers we grow in our front garden or the meals we cook or the music we make or the mittens we don’t need and…

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I’ve moved all Santa Hat posts like this one to http://www.sirenatales.wordpress.com. Hope to see you there.xo

Sirena Tales

Note to self: just follow those 3 simple, but not so easy, steps and life will gleam more.  That’s what a few weeks of intense dancing and baking have taught me.

For the life lessons that both passions have provided me again and again are, remarkably, the same.  And pivotal. ( If only I’d figured this out sooner….)

Sure,  the “respectable” tenets that I’ve lashed myself to for the past half century may have their place, guideposts like conscientiousness, responsibility, discipline and self-motivation.

But it’s these other, lighter but invaluable notions that make life, and me, sparkle.  Notions like flexibility, flow and joy.

Countless other experiences can offer the same radiant teachings.  But since the metaphors of dancing and baking are my touchstones, I’m running with those.  (Your metaphors go here__________ :)).

1. Loosen up. See also, open up and lighten up.  Julia Child said it perfectly: “The only real…

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Santa Hat Chronicles now lives at http://www.sirenatales.wordpress.com–come on by….

Sirena Tales

And baking for as many as I can.  Yessirree, it’s time to fire up that temperamental, “vintage” oven of mine and crank up the BAKING, y’all.

I just checked, and the local project (East Hartford, CT) for donating and packing some love and cookies for troops overseas is ON for this Sunday morning, 12/2 (cookies accepted until 2 p.m. at South Congregational Church, 1301 Forbes Street, East Hartford; for more info, email Frank Forrest at vfwglastonbury@aol.com).

So, my clan will be making cards and mixing a positive vibe into recipes old and new for those generous, brave folks so far from home.   I’ll toss on my Santa Hat to bring cookies for that project and then to some firehouses and a nearby soup kitchen.  Hoping to spread  goodwill through homemade cookies.

Ahhhhhh, baking!  I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating.  It’s magical. The alchemical blending of some powders…

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Santa Hat Chronicles Is Moving!

I’m consolidating my two sets of writing onto my Sirena Tales site at http://www.sirenatales.wordpress.com.  I hope this will make things simpler and easier for reading what I’ve got to offer.

My writing experience reminds me of that quotation “[s]ometimes on the way to a dream you get lost and find a better one” (thanks, Lisa Hammond). When I started writing about my Santa Hat experiences a year ago, I thought my writing would end with that holiday season.

But, no! I was bitten–or smitten– by the writing bug, and I have loved ever since writing about cultivating a sense of passion and enchantment throughout the year.  So much so that the expanded quest for everyday enchantment has subsumed the wonderful, but finite, magic of the holiday season.

Soooooo, to integrate all I’m discovering on this broader journey and to avoid confusion, I’ll be housing all of my posts on that Sirena Tales site.  I will continue to focus on the magic of the arts, beauty, kindness, humor, creativity, cooking, generosity that make every day life shimmer.  (That’s the plan right now, anyway–but see above re: “[s]ometimes on the way to a dream….”)

My Santa Hat moments from here on in will be posted there as part of the overall tapestry, amidst the other threads of enchantment.  I hope you’ll visit!

Does Santa ever get sad?

And if he does, how does he handle it?  I’ve been wondering this over the past several days when I’ve been feeling pretty blue sailing through some rough seas.

Trying for cheery posts for the blog, I’ve come up dry.  It didn’t seem fitting to write something really sad, so that as much as I wanted to craft a post, I couldn’t.

I’ve even been struggling with getting that Hat on.   Or I’ve had to swipe tears away hastily when I’ve been out in public. Should I take the Santa Hat off if I’m crying, the way I did a few days ago?  It feels wrong to be teary while wearing the hat of a “jolly old elf.”  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crying Santa and didn’t feel like blazing that trail then.

Yesterday, I decided not to wear my Santa Hat to a challenging event.  Just couldn’t put on the show.   Plus, I thought that maybe if I gave it a break, I’d come back strong today.   I decided that instead of staying silent, I’d pose my question to the Universe about Santa and sadness.  I have to say that writing has once again worked its magic in shifting things so that they feel better, clearer.

I did wear my Hat today, and loved a few delightful encounters.   I’m hoping that I may still be able to get back in the game.  I remind myself of my post about how it can be tough to be joyful–I’m feeling it.  I’m wondering if I just need to keep showing up, with my Santa Hat and my good intentions.

Wishing you joy….

Got kindness?

Sure, as human types, we’ve all got a massive capacity for kindness.  Having been blessed to receive and witness countless kindnesses over my lifetime, I’m constantly blown away by how kind people can be.  Want to be.

Sometimes where I stumble is by not knowing where to begin in the face of the gaping wide need that there is for kindness.  Yesterday, I could only get through a few moving newspaper articles before being consumed by a sense of worthlessness since I couldn’t head off immediately to Brooklyn to help the hurricane victims and I couldn’t volunteer all day at the local food pantry.

How could I make my contribution to add the sparkle of kindness to this splendid and careworn world as I also needed to attend to a family emergency and prepare for Thanksgiving after going to the grocery store?  Initially paralyzed by my own powerlessness, I suddenly thought, START ANYWHERE.

Oh, right.  If I can be kind to anyone anywhere, even a little, it could help.  Better yet, if I’m kind to many most of the time, it may matter.  To someone.  Because I do believe very deeply in the wise words of Plato (or whoever actually said): “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

So, after I made a donation to some hurricane relief efforts and the food pantry,  I tossed on my Santa Hat to head out on my errands.  It may seem small, even inconsequential at times, my wearing this Hat.  But as I navigated the grocery store crowded with hurrying, tense shoppers and staff, I saw the many smiles and I heard the joy in people’s comments. I felt the warmth of human connection.

The deli staff person teased me.  The lovely cashier was tickled that I’m not with an organization, that I just wear the Hat to spread whimsy.  She had so many pointed questions about my Santa experiences, I wondered if I’ll soon see her wearing a Santa Hat.

When I tried to buy the stranger behind me a coffee, he was so flustered, he couldn’t remember his order.  Why would I want to do that, buy him a coffee?  Just because.  Happy Thanksgiving.  The little girl next to me tugged on her mom’s sleeve and gleefully cried “Santa!”  People shouted “ho ho ho” at me and called out “love your Hat” in the parking lot.

Yes, they’re just moments, gone in a flash of a smile or a twinkle of an eye.  But maybe they give someone a teeny tiny lift.  The ride is a whole lot more easeful and joyful with those little boosts.  And maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to contribute more.

In the meantime,  Wordsworth’s sage observation resonates. “[T]hat best portion of a good man’s life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love….” (thanks, Angie, http://www.amagicd.blogspot.com).  Happy Thanksgiving….

Thank you

I’ll make this brief.

When I started writing exactly one year ago, I sought to provide a bit of shine to the world for a few weeks over the holidays by sharing some heartwarming stories that mattered to me.  I’d hoped I would create a record of some of my adventures in my Santa Hat. I had wondered what writing would be like and figured it was worth a go for the brief holiday season.

Who would have thought I’d discover a fresh and exciting passion!   No, I never anticipated the deep fulfillment and thrilling rollercoaster ride of writing that had previously been offered only by my dancing. I never expected to hear back from readers from all over the world and from right next door.  I never dreamed that I would find in writing this blog and her daughter blog, Sirena Tales, an outlet to express creativity and a vehicle to explore what’s enchanting and deeply meaningful to me.

Writing is a new friend that helps me focus my lens on the world, and fine tune how I wish to experience and make my contribution to it.

Funny. I didn’t expect magic, but I got it.

So, if you’re reading this or if you’ve ever read any of my posts, and especially if you’ve ever given me any feedback, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.  This writing thing has been transformative and wondrous.  I can’t wait to keep at it, as lonely and uncertain as it may feel sometimes. Because it’s enchanting.  And I’m grateful.

You wear your Santa Hat for the kids…in all of us

You’re not sure you’ll start wearing the Hat today.  You’re just going for a short walk around the block and then to an open art studio.  There won’t be many people about and the sunshine provided by Mother Nature seems to be offering lots of sparkle.  Maybe the world doesn’t need yours.

Plus, you feel vulnerable to possible critics who may tell you you’re too early.  Which makes you wonder again just how much joy is too much?  Your joy quota, as it were.   Hmmmmm.  Why is it that we often seem to accept, and even feed, a spate of negativity but dole out the joy vouchers pretty stingily?  You’ll never ever understand that.

You put on your Santa Hat.

Within minutes, you’re reminded of why.  Why do you ever doubt it? Same thing, year after year after year after spangly year.  Nine or ten years, actually, of wearing your Santa Hat as you go about your life.  In big cities and farm country, at the seashore and in your suburban neighborhood.  With good friends and complete strangers, the same lovely, heartwarming experience of people seeking to laugh, be playful, connect.

Passersby volunteer that they like your Hat or call out “Ho ho ho” with a knowing smile.  Total strangers tell you they’ve been good this year.  A neighbor you’ve passed so many times with no contact whatsoever now chuckles over your chapeau and exchanges best wishes with you for Thanksgiving and the holidays.  A woman at the gallery offers that “we should all be wearing one of those.” OK!

And then the piece de resistance. You don’t even see it coming because you’re crossing the street, momentarily blinded by the sun’s radiance.  But as you’re regaining your vision and the sidewalk, a young voice a few feet away attests gleefully “I LOVE your Santa Hat!”  You turn to see 2 little girls, standing with their mom, shining smiles a bit wonderingly up at you. Emboldened to call out to you by the Santa Hat.

Those twinkling, slightly quizzical smiles.  You’ve seen them before.  These wee ones are not sure whether you’re actually part of the Santa band or just a grownup who wants to spread the joy.  But as you and they all know, either way, it’s magic.