The Biggest Raise in the World
The past few months have been abnormal to say the least. I've gone from working a big career at a major company to being without a job, without my own car, and without a little home of our own in NC. This time since September has been one grand adventure after another. We are particularly blessed by the car we are sharing and the job Gus got back in November. Our home is an ever changing mosaic of time with dear friends and close family.
And here I am today, just after Christmas, feeling like I have so many times since we left Los Angeles - like I've gotten the biggest raise in the world. So, how, without having found a new job yet, do I feel this way? Because moving here, though it was a decision that took time and risk, gave me immeasurably more than I could have ever imagined. It has fulfilled a promise of what it would mean to not have to step on a plane and spend thousands of dollars to see dear family and friends. It has shown me what a life lived with intention can be.
After spending four days taking on grocery stores and prepping an "Oy to the World" Jewish/Catholic Christmas Eve Dinner this week, I found myself looking at my amazing family that day and seeing that promise come to life. All the scary things that led us there are still there, but the promise of what it gave us is there too.
There are many adventures ahead in 2014 - I can already tell - but I am so incredibly grateful for what I have now and what we have now. Life is a gift. Life is enough. I used to spend (and still do sometimes) so much time looking to the next dream, the next goal, the next job, etc. Right now, I want to spend as much time as possible in the headspace that what I have is enough. When I look at this table that I helped create and or see my 83 year old grandmother posing in a photo booth we cobbled together in a living room, I know life does not get much better than this.
I'd like to think one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is that peace and that gratitude to all life and God has given you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! May your 2014 be filled with 365 days that feel like enough.
