Howdy Peeps!!

Today's blog is inspired by Archangel Raziel. As I was meditating this morning, I was reminded of tradition, as the Fiddler on the Roof song came into my head, and how I have newer traditions that truly bring joy to me and have released some traditions I grew up with.

Traditions!! Traditions are good to have – if you enjoy them. Just because it was a family tradition, doesn’t mean you have to keep it going as an adult – if you don’t find joy in it anymore (or maybe you never did).

Think of it this way, if you are doing something you don’t like, or going somewhere you don’t like, just because it was ‘tradition’ when you were a child, what is the energy you are bringing into that situation? 

If you look at your energy surrounding this ‘tradition’, when doing something that was tradition, that you really don’t like to do, is it light, or heavy?

Sometimes we do tradition for someone else’s sake. I still ask the question – what is the energy you are bringing to the tradition if you don’t want to do it?

Look at the tradition from another angle. If you have a tradition you are doing for another (but you don’t like to do it), can you bring the love you feel for that person into the energy? Does the energy get lighter or does it remain heavy?

If it feels lighter, great. Keep your focus on the love you feel for the other person. The caution I have is ‘don’t be a martyr’. Look at the energy that brings in – that’s very heavy.

If it remains heavy, I would really look at why you are doing the tradition and what it is taking away from you. If you have 5 traditions you are doing over the holiday season, and you feel heavy about all 5 of them, what does that take away from you?

Look at the traditions and see if there are some that you are doing that you can easily change. This reminds me of a story. This story has been told many times, many different versions, so of course, this is my version: 

A woman is making her first ‘traditional’ meal and wants to do it like her mother did it (and her mother before her). So she cuts off the ends of the meat and places it in the roaster.

She’s asked why she cuts off the ends of the meat since that’s the best part. She isn’t sure but she knows her mother had always cut off the ends.

The next day she calls her mother to ask, ‘why do you cut the ends off the meat?’. Her mother answers, ‘because Mother always did’.

So let’s call Grandma. 

She gets Grandma on the phone (3-way calls are great!). ‘Grandma, why did you always cut off the ends of the meat?‘ Now of course she’s expecting an answer like, it makes the meat juicier, or the meat always tastes better that way.

Well, the answer she got was ‘because the roaster was too small to cook in one piece’.

Sometimes there are fine lines, almost a tightrope we must walk, with the traditions and family during the holidays. 

But here’s the bottom line – if it’s taking away from your energy, is it something you really want to do? Maybe there’s a new tradition that can be started where everyone is happy. The happier the energy, the lighter the energy. And the lighter the energy, the happier we feel. And the happier we feel, the more fun we are to be around.

What traditions are you still doing because Grandma’s roaster was too small?

How about starting a new roaster – I’m sure everyone will enjoy :). You may already do this and many of you will want to start. Look at the true meaning of Thanksgiving…giving thanks!

When everyone is gathered round for the meal, take turns and give thanks. Give thanks for WHO you have in your life, and for WHAT you have in your life. 

Give thanks for WHERE you are in your life and give thanks for WHEN you are in your life…

WHO: Thank you for giving me wonderful friends and family I am a part of, those that are still here in the physical and those who surround me from other dimensions. Thank you for the guidance you send me, in people, in nature and in Spirit, just when I need it.

WHAT: Thank you for showing me the beauty of nature in each day as it unfolds. And thank you for the encouragement given from others when I need it most.

WHERE: Thank you for where I am on my journey in life. I know I am where I am meant to be and my life experiences have all helped to get me here.

WHEN: Thank you for this very moment. Thank you for the lessons from my past, the excitement for my future and this present moment that is such a gift.

Do you have to wait until Thanksgiving to give thanks? Absolutely not. Start today. 

I wrote about starting a Gratitude Journal in an earlier blog. You can wake up in the morning giving gratitude and go to sleep giving gratitude. It helps keep you in the ‘gratitude groove’.

However you get yourself in the ‘gratitude groove’, is the right thing for you. It’s catchy – so once you start, others will want to do it as well.

Happy Thanksgiving and have fun with Gratitude Groovin’!!

Angel Blessings