This morning I woke up to a waning crescent moon.  In my family, this is known as the “Rodsie” moon, which is the phase that the moon was in the evening that my grandfather (aka Rodsie) passed away.  His smiling face (the crescent) made me so happy and fueled my soul with a sense of wonder, safety, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude this morning.  As I got ready for work, which involved putting on my workout clothes to head down into my home studio for a client session; rather than focus on how some my clothes are starting to feel a bit snug (see former post about the challenges of working at home and having constant access to food), instead I felt pure joy as I skipped down the stairs to begin the session.

The day went on and I headed out to a local dance studio where I teach a Barre class to a fabulous group of women.  Even though the temperature hovered below 30 degrees, my soul felt warm and bright.  While playing around before people arrived, I practiced a few moves while blasting Pearl Jam.  (I know, sounds like a strange combo, but in my world, Pearl Jam is appropriate in all situations.)  My friend, who always arrives early (girl after my own heart), popped in and caught me mid-leap as Eddie belted out:

But the strangest thing to date

So far away

And yet you feel so close

And I’m not gonna question it any other way

We will be revisiting these lyrics in a second*, but we both burst out laughing as she found me in this moment of total happiness and unabashed bliss.  Later as I was driving back home, I was smiling so wide that my cheeks ached as I felt so grateful that I am able to do what I do and that I can share it with others.  I have a hunch that my friend spent the rest of the afternoon smiling as well.

So to my point… It is so easy to get weighed down (quite literally) by the holidays as we focus on challenging family dynamics (that everyone has), what we are/aren’t going to eat, and all the stress that seems to take a sleigh ride in this time of year.  Sure, that is one way to look at it and I guarantee if you choose this perspective, you will return to work on Monday feeling tired, bloated, and worn out…OR you could look to the heavens and thank your lucky stars for everything good in your life.  Give thanks for the family that you DO have, give thanks for your friends, give thanks for the food that you have the *option* of consuming, and unabashedly share your bliss.  I promise you will feel light as a feather and you just might even avoid overeating on November 27….

*After reading the lyrics to this song, I’d say it is pretty clear they came from our angel smiling through the crescent moon this morning…  And I’m not gonna question it any other way.