I can see why the Celts chose this as the time of year for new beginnings. The night comes on so quickly now…cold enough to turn thoughts inward, leaving them unexpected and sometimes dark. Things I have been dreaming of, wanting, are coming to the surface, leaving me a bit frightened as well as excited. It’s good to have those feelings. I am learning to run towards them rather than turning away.

The Northern Lights have shocked the sky over my house the past couple of nights. The first night, we lost power just as they started. A balmy south wind ushered them in and I sat in a lawn chair, my two-year-old nestled in my arms, our faces turned with awe to the heavens above. The second night was more spectacular than the first, long, stretching fingers of red and pink undulating between the stars, reaching above our heads, telling me to never abandon this place I call home.

I recently finished reading “Making a Literary Life” by Carolyn See. A wonderful book that reaffirmed my passion for writing ‘charming notes’ and sending them out into the world. They really do work. Just the week before, I had sent a letter to Pamela Wallin, Consul General to New York City, thanking her for her courage in sharing her battle with colorectal cancer with the rest of the world. Thursday morning the phone rang and Ms. Wallin was on the other end of the line, calling to say that my words, my charming little note, had ‘made her day, her week, her year.’ And if you were wondering…yes, she is kind and gracious and wonderful sounding over the phone!

We ended the conversation by agreeing that people need to do this sort of thing more often. Take a chance and let someone know you appreciate who they are.

What we do, what we say, our WORDS do indeed make a difference.