As I type this letter as we truly enter “the season.” The air is cold, and the wind is so loud it is rattling my windows. The root veggies are being picked up by the bushel in my local green grocer, and children in the Long Island community are running in with red cheeks and red noses looking for hot cocoa to warm their little bodies.
This time of year, I become nostalgic. As I watch March of the Wooden Soldiers, Miracle on 34th Street and, of course, A Christmas Story, I am reminded of a more innocent time. An Internet-free time. A time when you set out to be with family. Whether by plane, by car or by foot, you made sure to be with them. Truly with them. No distractions, like cell phones and hand-held games. You were together with your family, and you spoke to one another. And sometimes when the conversations ceased, you simply sat peacefully in silence.
This issue, we have a poignant piece on the beauty of silence. “Surrender to Silence,” on page 28, illustrates its importance, especially this time of year. You will also find a very special letter I wrote to Santa on page 29. It was a fun exercise
at my age to sit down and write to that wonderful magic man of my childhood. I highly recommend you write your own letter in a free-form writing style. I think you will be surprised to learn what you really want. Honestly, I was tickled to discover what I truly desired was not a winter wetsuit to continue my wave-catching pursuit but something I already had.
Christmas Day and Hanukkah nights (among other seasonal holidays) are filled with so much joy, excitement and love that they seem to be over before they even start. We are left with dishes to clean, items to put away, family to deal with, and items to return. You busy yourself with the tasks, and before you know it, 2015 has rolled in. What makes it a “new” year besides a number? You do! You can make 2015 a “new” year. Maybe find a new tradition and a way to shed mistakes (and pounds) of the year past.
There is a fun article in this issue’s Fit Body section that may help you figure out once and for all what exercise is best for you. Lane Vail, author of “Happy Feasting,” on page 44, offers a wonderful New Year’s Day tea idea. She recommends inviting friends over and writing on a piece of paper a regret or a bad event that happened to you in 2014 and placing it in a bowl. When everyone is done writing, toss the papers into a roaring fire. Then write down a goal or a prayer for 2015, and tuck it away somewhere safe. Another tradition I recently read about is the blessings jar. When something wonderful happens in 2015, write it on a piece of paper and place it in the jar. When 2015 comes to a close, sit together and read back all of the wonderful blessings that have come your way.
I love traditions, both new and old; family time, both functional and dysfunctional; and the holiday spirit and holiday mayhem. I love it all, and I wish everyone reading this letter a healthy, happy, love-filled holiday season.
Malama Pono!
Kelly Martinsen
