Before we begin: please sign on immediately for free wireless amber alerts - you may just save the life of a child. Now, the (necessary) chaos that was 2008 is over, and a fresh year full of promise is unfolding. (Remember: downsizing, if you do it right, can be both creative and the best adventure you've ever had.) After all, why would you want to be anyone else when you can be yourself? Who could be more promising, or full of life-affirming curiosity?
This month, we address the need to laugh. Begin reading here, then mosey on along to this page, and then take this on board. Make 2009 the year in which you laugh more, and in which you allow yourself to see the world as the great and wonderful illusion that it is. In short, make this the year that you gift yourself with a little bit more love and take yourself a little more lightly. Scroll down for more!
And whatever you do, don't forget to print a number of these up, fill them out to yourself or one you love to whatever sum you like, and let the universe do the rest! You don't have to worry about how, when, or why ... if your intention is loving, the money will follow. We tried it and - unbelievably enough - it works! So thank you to the lovely Rhonda Byrne for The Secret.
In addition to which, the very wonderful Allison DuBois (bestselling author, and inspiration for the hit TV series Medium) dropped us a line: "I have recently been drawn to a charity that helps young girls in need. The Florence Crittenton Foundation is dedicated to enriching the lives of young people. One of the ways they do this is by aquiring formal dresses that well deserving young girls can wear to Prom to feel like the belle of the ball on that special night.
"Since these girls don't have the means to achieve prom night without your generosity, I'm asking anyone with a pretty dress or retired bridesmaids dress to donate it to the Florence Crittenton Foundation. I am donating my dress from the Golden Globe Awards, my friend Adrianne Curry is also donating a dress so the girls can feel like the stars that we know they will be. So if you'd like to make a difference in a young girl's life and help create a memory to let them know they matter, you can send your dress donation to:
"Thank you for taking the time to touch the lives of wonderful girls who appreciate it more than you will ever know. Allison"
Marcus Aurelius, immortalized in Ridley Scott's film Gladiator, once said: "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts; therefore guard accordingly." In The Deeper Wound, Deepak Chopra writes: "Suffering can be defined as the pain that makes life seem meaningless … Don't be afraid to ask for contact. Reach out." If you are feeling suicidal, please click here. Otherwise, browse the site at your leisure. Send relevant links to those you think would benefit. Bookmark the site. And, most importantly, enjoy. (There are also Yahoo! groups relevant to just about every circumstance.)
You may want to donate five dollars to Children of the Night, an organization that saves abused children from prostitution. To read more about these wonderful people, please click here; to donate, please click here.
And to Elif: remember to BELIEVE IN THE INHERENT GOODNESS OF THE UNIVERSE.
N.B. We are absolutely over the moon to announce that The Eclipse, written by one of our most treasured contributors and a memoir the American Association of Suicidology described as "brilliant", is now available as a podcast through Lifestyle Pod Network, meaning that you can listen to it on itunes, your podcast player, or your computer. Receive five chapters without obligation by clicking here. Antonella describes it as "a book for those who want to die in the absence of love, and for those who have survived the death of a beloved." Take it from us: it's just beautiful, and everyone who works here has a copy.
* We are not affiliated with any religion, nor do we seek donations. All we want is this: readers interested in intelligent writing. *
