Dear Avalon family,
As another unprecedented year winds down, I find myself reflecting upon 2021.
I take this time every year to acknowledge what I am grateful for. Here are only a few things, in no particular order.
I am grateful for…
- My health
- Being with my Mom in Canada twice this year despite the challenges of COVID
- All the groups that I belong to and participate in
- My relationship with a LOVELY man
- Christopher, my son, getting engaged to a wonderful, young woman, Shannon
- Vacationing with my 3 plus 1 sisters in Kauai
- Little white lights (on my Christmas tree, in Nevada City, etc.)
- Clementine oranges
- Being able to provide the gift of hope and hearing to people in our community through our 12 Days of Christmas Hearing Mission
- Technology: telephones, computers, and smart hearing aids!!!
- The Avalon Family!!!!!
- The one red rose sitting on my kitchen table as I write Take Heart
What are you grateful for?
If it feels right, share what you are feeling grateful for with me. I’d love to know.
The other thing I reflect on is how MY GIFT FOR THIS YEAR showed up in my life.
My Daybreak Group (five of us who have been meeting monthly for over 25 years) created a ritual for our December meeting. Each year, we bring a gift for ourselves to the meeting. That gift is usually a ‘context’ or ‘intention’ for the upcoming year. My gift for 2021 was to give myself the GIFT OF TIME. I bought two, half-hour glasses as a reminder of the GIFT OF TIME. Many of you have commented on the half-hour glass in my test room at the Fulton office.
Here’s what I used to say (or the Ladies in the Attic said) about time:
There’s not enough time.
I’m always running late at work when seeing clients. 🙁
I’m running out of time.
I wish I had more time.
That was a waste of time.
When I would catch myself saying a negative thing about time, I would stop the thought and replace it with a more empowering thought, such as:
I have all the time in the world.
There’s more than enough time.
Often, this practice would shift the downward spiral of disempowering thoughts about time. But the most important thing I discovered is that instead of living in the constraint of minutes and hours, I can live in the moment.
Being in the moment changes my relationship with time.
It has me be present to what I am doing whether that’s washing dishes, opening the mail, or serving a client. And this, in turn, has me enjoy time. Life works when I’m being in the moment, and not worrying about the minutes and hours.
When I would catch myself saying a negative thing about time, I would stop the thought and replace it with a more empowering thought, such as:
I have all the time in the world.
There’s more than enough time.
Often, this practice would shift the downward spiral of disempowering thoughts about time. But the most important thing I discovered is that instead of living in the constraint of minutes and hours, I can live in the moment.
Being in the moment changes my relationship with time.
It has me be present to what I am doing whether that’s washing dishes, opening the mail, or serving a client. And this, in turn, has me enjoy time. Life works when I’m being in the moment, and not worrying about the minutes and hours.
Will you join me and give yourself a gift for 2022?
In 2022, I am giving myself the gift of YES. I just started reading the book, Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes and plan on doing the journal every day to see what opens up in a year of yes. I’ll keep you posted! Truthfully, I’m feeling a little nervous but am willing to see what transpires.
If this idea of giving yourself a gift for 2022 resonates for you, would you please join me? Again, please share what your gift is to yourself for this new year!
In the meantime, I am sending you positive thoughts of health, peace, and miracles in 2022. YES!
Yours for CONNECTED Hearing & Living,
Betty Vosters-Kemp, BC-HIS
Owner, Avalon Hearing Aid Centers, Inc.
Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialist
PS: Please say YES to taking good care of your precious sense of hearing in 2022! We are here to help you on this important journey of good hearing healthcare.