In this podcast, Sze Wing interviews Myola Woods, an erotic coach about her goddess archetypes and her experience with her feminine power.
Aphrodite as a Goddess Archetype is discussed and how she interacts with other people, the true nature of an Aphrodite and why she is such a powerful goddess in our society and in our collective psyche.
To find out more about Goddess Archetypes, come to www.GoddessArchetypes.com and take your Goddess Quiz!
You can also learn more about Erotic Coaching and about Myola’s work via her website www.EroticCoaching.com.au
Margie Hare shows us how to make an easy fruit Christmas cake the organic and healthy way.
Instructions:
- 450g of Fruit in the stove
- 450g pineapple
- 500g of organic flour
- Coconut oil
- 5 free range eggs
- 1 cup of nuts
Mix thoroughly, and then cook for 40 mins in oven at 180 degrees.
More details and videos, visit her website: http://www.naturehealth.com.au or FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/NatureHealth
Another year has passed and our Gratitude community wishes everyone a wonderful time with your friends, family and loved ones.
This season can be a “mixed bag” of emotions: often we get caught up in the hectic rush of expectations, present shopping, food preparation, dressing of the tree and cleaning the home for our guests. How we will experience this time will vary, for some it is the best time of the year and for others it is dreaded and they cant wait for it all to be over!
At this time, you are also given an opportunity to reflect, be grateful for all you have in your life, and to forgive ourselves ( and/or others) for things that may not have happened the way we planned this year. Amongst the celebration heralds a promise of a beginning with the new year just around the corner.
Be whatever your experience will be of Christmas, it can also be a wonderful time to step out of your thoughts and to think of others – a kind word, a loving gesture or to join a group who coordinate activities reminding us all that we are all connected, and part of the one human race.
Here are a few ideas that you could consider including in your Christmas season:
- The #kindnesscrew have created an Advent Calendar to share with your family, workmates or at school. This Advent Calendar remind us of the power of being kind to ourselves and others, within all of our interactions. Check out their details in last month’s article, Nourish Yourself and Others and enjoy the free calendar as a way to bring back the true meaning of Christmas,
- The Newcastle Basket Brigade are open for volunteers to assist with the packing and delivery of their annual basket run for those in need. A warm, supportive and giving way, to reach out to others. Sze Wing’s article, Christmas: When Hope is Needed Most shares a few more ways you can give back to others;
- Take a little time to appreciate YOU. This month, Radhika is offering a 25 Days of Gratitude experience, encouraging you to take a moment to really honour how wonderful you truly are!
As part of taking out time out for yourself, spend a few moments to enjoy some of our previous Christmas articles:
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year shares a wonderful process of reflection and beautiful blessing;
Expanding Gratitude Through Christmas offers some easy ways you can bring more gratitude into the seasonal time of Christmas;
If you are looking for new ways to enjoy Christmas, enjoy 7 Ways to Move Into Christmas or some healthy, vegan options with Christmas Vegan Style and Christmas Drinks; or
Take a moment to read our inspiring Christmas stories The Miracle of Christmas and Christmas Carol
We invite you to take time to celebrate this wonderful season, give yourself permission to appreciate what truly matters in life : love, kindness, compassion and an appreciation of all the blessings we receive each day.
Merry Christmas, and we look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Got Plans for a Christmas Conception?
Conceiving easily and having a beautiful bright happy healthy baby is what all parents want, but how does that fit with the Gratitude Online Christmas theme? Since my recommendations for achieving both outcomes are definitely at odds with the over-consumption of food and alcohol during the festive season and certainly at odds with the stress that Christmas celebrations bring for many, what to do?
Well here’s my best advice – delay your preconception work-up (and your baby’s conception) until well into the New Year! Don’t make things even more stressful (explaining why you’re careful with what you eat and drink), don’t miss out on the good cheer (alcohol has particularly adverse effects around the time of conception) and certainly don’t throw caution to the winds and forget your contraception (as many do, with Christmas a well-known time for an accidental pregnancy).
But what happens when the Christmas party’s over?
Well first up, my preconception recommendations are for both of you, but in this article I want to talk in particular about the critical importance of ensuring optimally healthy sperm. Unfortunately, the father’s role in promoting truly health reproduction is often overlooked! While sperm health is only one of three factors (egg & womb being the other two), sperm are actually more vulnerable than eggs – they are smaller, more exposed and develop entirely within their present environment. Some studies indicate that as much as 75 percent of infertility may be due to the male, while men are at least 50 percent responsible for the health of the baby and the pregnancy.
Sperm abnormalities have a number of causes, with environmental factors high on the list. Australian Research Council’s Centre for Excellence in Bio-technology and Development is conducting research into effect of pollutants such as fertilisers, pesticides, cigarette smoke, medical drugs and organic solvents on declining male fertility rates, and the health of children (and grandchildren). Both toxic exposure and infection have been associated with DNA fragmentation in sperm. Other potentially detrimental factors include exposure to heat and pressure e.g. wetsuits, saunas, spas, tight pants and bike riding.
What prospective Dads need to do in the critical 4-month period before they and their partner start ‘trying’ is pretty simple.
In addition to reducing environmental toxicity, Dad’s part of the bargain includes an organic, wholefood diet, no alcohol, caffeine or cigarettes, regular exercise, reduced stress and sex on a daily basis! While men may sometimes need encouragement to undertake preconception care, the last recommendation usually gets them excited. Listen up prospective Dads – frequent sexual activity improves the genetic quality of your sperm! A study of men revealed that genetic defects in their sperm fell substantially after going on a program that required them to engage in sexual activity daily for a week.
David Greening, a fertility doctor at Sydney IVF presented his findings to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine ‘I’m convinced that ejaculating more frequently, i.e. daily, improves sperm DNA damage in most men by a decent amount – the longer sperm are held in the tube that leads from the testicles, the more genetic damage they accumulate from free radicals circulating in the body.’ Woohoo, so Christmas Holidays are a great time to get lots of practice and start boosting sperm numbers and quality – just remember your contraception until your preconception care is complete.
So there you have it fellas – your sperm are not bullet-proof!
Taking up to four months to form, they’re adversely affected by a host of dietary, lifestyle and environmental factors. And my last word on those environmental influences relates to electromagnetic radiation, unseen but insidious and now thanks to Wi-fi and mobile phones, hard to avoid. But particularly risky habits are mobile phones in pockets and laptops or tablets in laps. You need to put some distance between your mobile phone and your laptop and that sensitive part of your anatomy where sperm are being produced! Find somewhere else to stow that phone, put your laptop or tablet on a desk, particularly in the 4 months before conception. Foresight UK Association for Promotion of Preconceptual Care says ‘Carrying a mobile phone in the trouser pocket has been linked to low sperm count and immotile sperm, so do whatever it takes to stop your husband from this practice.’ The good news is – remove all the bad guys during that four month period and add all the factors that are known to improve sperm health and voilà – much healthier and more robust little swimmers.
So Merry Christmas and may all prospective Mums and Dads come to their 2017 preconception work-up with energy and enthusiasm. If you know someone hoping to conceive in 2017, Jan Roberts’ 10-Module 5-Point Better Babies Program can help instill that energy and enthusiasm. At just $395 for the 10-Module Series it’s the ultimate Christmas Gift – one that will keep on giving for that whole family’s lifetime.
The perfect gift for prospective parents!
So Merry Christmas and may all prospective Mums and Dads come to their 2017 preconception work-up with energy and enthusiasm. If you know someone hoping to conceive in 2017, Jan Roberts’ 10-Module 5-Point Better Babies Program can help instill that energy and enthusiasm.
Click here to view Jan’s Free 30min Introductory Webinar
Jan Roberts is a pharmacist, nutritionist, author and educator, graduated from Sydney University (B. Pharm [Hons] 1967), with further studies (Dip. Clinical Nutrition 1982) leading to an area that has been her passion for thirty five years – encouraging couples to achieve optimal physical and mental health before they conceive as a means of having the healthiest baby possible.
Read samples of Jan’s books and mini e-books at the following links:
Christmas is such a special time of year. Gathering of family and friends, taking the time to share the day with those you love.
Each family has their own Christmas traditions – a special way the presents are opened, a Christmas beverage, who’s house the Christmas meal will be at. Our family also have our own Christmas traditions and one of those traditions only started with my Mum.
Being part of the festivities on Christmas day was so important for my Mum that she ‘broke’ with the family tradition of the baked Christmas lunch. Instead of being in the kitchen all day, preparing for the Christmas lunch and then cleaning up afterwards, Mum decided to have our baked Christmas meal the evening before on Christmas Eve. We then had salads and leftover cold dishes on Christmas day.
Being a mother I now appreciate this ‘new’ tradition on two fronts:
- I also wish to spend Christmas enjoying the day with my partner and children and being part of the excitement, joy and laughter.
- Christmas in Australia is hot and so a Christmas meal of salads and cold dishes makes so much sense.
One of my favourite Christmas dishes is Mum’s Ice Cream Cassata. Growing up in Alice Springs where the summer temperature hits 35 degrees plus, a hot pudding for dessert seemed ridiculous. So instead of baking the dried fruit into a pudding, Mum would soak the dried fruit in orange juice and then blend them through vanilla ice cream. YUM!
Now it is my turn to break with tradition. Having started on a raw food journey over 5 years ago I have been playing in the kitchen ever since. Since we have always had salad and cold dishes on Christmas day I haven’t had to venture too far from that tradition except we now have a number of raw vegan options.
So in keeping with the raw and vegan theme it is time to recreate the Ice Cream Cassata.
Spiced Apple Ice Cream Cassata
Ice Cream
2 cups cashews, soaked over night
2/3 cups sun dried apples, soaked in 1 cup of filtered water over night
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup apple soaking water
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 Tbs honey
3 tsp lemon juice
Dried fruit for cassata
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup goji berries
1/3 sun dried apples, diced
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup sun dried apricots
1 cup of grated raw dark chocolate
Directions:
- Soak over night the goji berries, dried apple, currants and sun dried apricots in the juice of the orange and 1/2 lemon
Ice Cream
- Drain and rinse cashews and put into a high speed blender
- Drain the sun dried apples, keeping the soaking water. Place the sun dried apples into the blender along with 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup apple soaking water, cinnamon, cardamom, honey and lemon juice
- Blend until smooth
- Pour mixture into an ice cream machine and churn following manufacture’s instructions
- Mix in soaked dried fruit and grated dark chocolate, then pour into sealed container and freeze for about 3 hours until firm
- Thaw for about 20 minutes before serving
If you do not have an ice cream maker then pour the ice cream into a bowl. Mix in the soaked dried fruit and grated chocolate. Pour this mixture into a sealed container and place in the freezer. About every hour for about 4 hours, remove from the freezer and stir content. This will keep the ice cream ‘light’.
I hope you have a magical Christmas and if you wish to start your own traditions embrace the opportunity and have fun!
Vicki Cook is a Kinesiologist, Coach and Raw Food Teacher.
She believes that life’s challenges are there to offer us the chance to grow and learn to create a new, more positive and empowered path, and feels truly blessed that though her practice she can provide insights and support that facilitate that growth.
She holds regular RAW food workshops, click here for the details.
Christmas invokes mixed feelings, joy, love, family, togetherness, loneliness, depression, sadness, anxiety and overwhelm just to name a few. It’s important to look after ourselves and our families during this time so that we live and function in this world in a harmonious and mindful way.
What feelings and emotions arise for you during Christmas?
What support would you like during this time for you and your family?
Top 7 Must Have Essential Oils
- Holiday Joy and Gratitude®
Christmas is a time where we come together with friends and family and celebrate togetherness or a religious day. Christmas is an opportune time to reflect and show gratitude for the abundance and blessings in our lives. We begin to reflect on all the wee small things in our lives, the birds who sing their song in the morning, being able to go to the bathroom by ourselves, the sweet smile of a stranger, the farmer who grew our food.
What are the wee small things you grateful for this Christmas?
- White Fir
Don’t you just love the smell of fresh Christmas trees? Well this gorgeous essential oil brings the uplifting scent of fresh Christmas trees right into your home promoting relaxation whilst keeping the mind alert. You can smell it now, can’t you? Also the oil of generational healing, perfect at Christmas time when thoughts of our family, near and far, are foremost in our minds.
- Citrus Bliss® – Invigorating Blend
After lunch slump and you have to keep going, dad and your uncle are asleep on the lounge from eating too much. Diffuse Citrus Bliss, Invigorating Blend to be able to keep a clear head and listen to the 101 conversations going on around you. Pop some on cotton balls and hide them around the house to ward off family arguments, keeping the space harmonious.
- Peppermint
The oil of a Buoyant Heart – this must have pick me up is an absolute gem whether you have one drop in water to support digestion, or when it gets all too stressful and that dreaded headache is just around the corner. Perfect for those who experience depression and loneliness during this time as it may provide the strength to face emotional challenges.
- DigestZen® – Digestive Blend
This is the season to eat too much and fill ourselves up on yummy desserts, puddings and all things scrumptious. This tummy tamer is our BFF when we need to soothe our upset stomachs, reduce bloating and to aid digestion. Just rub 2 drops on your belly after the meal and relax.
- Peace® – Reassuring Blend
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed, frantic and begin to panic because everything is not done properly or something is not working the way you wanted it to, well this little gold mine, is a positive reminder you don’t have to be perfect to find peace. Keep a bottle handy when you need to reconnect with yourself and feel cool, calm and collected.
When you are feeling sad, melancholy or disconnected, breathe in Peace to promote feelings of contentment and composure.
- Serenity® – Restful Blend
Can’t get to sleep, the kids are going nuts and doing a mad half hour, you want everything to just calm down.…. This restful blend brings calm, tranquility and relaxation to chaos. If you are floating off into space, the vetiver and cedarwood in this blend will support your ability to stay grounded.
Meditation on Joy and Gratitude
Take a moment to breathe into your heart. Begin to imagine to think about all the wee small things you are grateful for. Allow them to come and sit in your heart space and sense or feel your heart expanding with joy and gratitude each time you add to it. When your heart is overflowing, rest in this glorious feeling of love, gratitude and joy. Allow this feeling to permeate throughout your whole body.
Sending massive bear hugs, high fives and my open heart to you this Christmas and may you be bestowed with the gift of love, joy and laughter.
Many blessings, Tania Sloan – Stepping into Self
Tania Sloan, owner of Stepping into Self is totally passionate about meditation, working with essential oils (nature’s pharmacy), essences (spirit’s pharmacy) and incorporating them into all aspects of life and business, constantly creating unique blends to represent people’s businesses and lives.
If you would like to know more about how DoTerra essential oils can support changes and challenges in your life or to obtain your own personal blend please contact tania@steppingintoself.com.au or visit her website.
This is a definite read for essential self care tools and tips for Earth Angels and Empaths.
Christmas is exciting time of year, filled with parties, gatherings and family get togethers. Plenty of food, drink, gifts and socialising. But for Earth Angels and empaths, these things can cause high levels of anxiety, stress and energetic burnout.
Earth Angel is a term I use for sensitive, caring souls who greatly feel the need to help, fix and rescue people. They are the peace keepers of the world, are very intuitive, empathic and can easily feel other people’s emotions and stress. They are like little sponges who easily absorb everything going on around them, then struggle to maintain their own health, wellbeing and inner peace. They also feel very responsible for other people’s happiness, which often means they sacrifice their own happiness, needs, time out, rest and wellbeing.
Earth Angels really struggle to say “no” without feeling selfish or guilty. So you can easily see why the festive season can be extra challenging and stressful.
As a self-described Earth Angel and empath myself, I have spent years trying to deal with these issues. The pressure to create the perfect Christmas experience for my children, family and friends has left me feeling exhausted, frustrated and unappreciated more than once and in recent years cautious and nervous about going through it all again!
For many they are just trying to keep up with family tradition, or often do everything that their mum used to do. In order to cope and survive we can adopt some not so healthy coping techniques, like
- Leaving things to the last minute
- Boycotting Christmas altogether
- Going to extremes to make, bake and create every Christmas item available
- Manifesting an illness
- Getting angry and resentful toward those who don’t help
- Excessive gift buying and spending
All in an attempt to keep everyone happy and keep the peace!!
You see Earth Angels and empaths often really struggle with staying grounded, speaking their truth, being assertive and having boundaries with other people. So when you are faced with celebrations and gatherings it can be quite overwhelming.
Indulging in rich foods, sweets and alcohol can really affect you even more, causing digestive issues, low energy and mood swings. Being around large groups of people, or family members that push your buttons, can also be overwhelming, especially if you haven’t learnt to protect yourself energetically and clear your energy. You can easily absorb others energy and that can leave you feeling tired, not yourself, negative and unhappy.
Here is a few tips to help you
- Practice 20 min a day of alone time where you can sit with yourself, detach from others and tune in to your body. Earth Angels are so used to being attached to everyone else, worrying about everyone and everything, so it’s important to get out of your head and be present with you!
- Listen to You!!
Ask yourself daily
- How are YOU feeling?
- Where’s my energy at?
- Is this my stress I’m feeling or have I taken on someone else’s?
- Am I being true to myself? Honour my happiness and wellbeing too?
- What one thing is your body needing you to do, to help you feel better, relaxed and lighter?
- Then Do it!
- Everytime you start to fall back into worry, fear and negative self talk and people pleasing, STOP!
Say Cancel, clear DELETE!!
That’s an old habit, you adopted and took on years ago, maybe from your own mother, that is no longer serving you.
- Say “yes” when you mean yes and “no” when you mean no.
- Make peace with guilt, worry, feeling selfish and letting people down.
Remember self-love and self-care is not selfish, it’s smart!
Here is a brief Emotional Freedom Technique or “tapping” exercise to help you relax and Bloom too this Christmas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_i-cgO9wvk&t=17s
For more help and support check out my new 4 week online Course “The Essential Self Care Guide for Earth Angels & Empaths”
http://letlovebloom.com.au/the-essential-guide-for-earth-angels-and-empaths-4-week-online-course/
Much love and infinite gratitude, Alison x
Alison Filihia is a professional holistic kinesiologist, intuitive reader, spirit messenger and self proclaimed Earth Angel. Her business Let Love Bloom is located on the beautiful Central Coast, Australia. Through her own journey with chronic fatigue, self sacrifice and dealing with a loved one’s addiction problems, she learned that self love and self care was not a luxury, but a necessity.
She credits her journey back to health and wellbeing to spirit, who in her darkest days, gave her the ever loving and supportive guidance and opportunities to heal and grow. Alison now uses a range of modalities to help her clients dissolve any blocks to healing their body, mind and spirit, restore balance, self love and inner peace.
Considering booking an appointment in person or an intuitive reading via phone or Skype, call Alison on 0404 547 769.
It’s December. The month when everybody has Christmas on their mind. The shopping for gifts and presents, the preparations for the feasts with family and friends, putting up of decorations and the Christmas tree and much more.
’Tis the season of caring and sharing and giving and forgiving. ’Tis the season when we think of others … more than ever. But don’t we always think of others? When was the last time that you thought of yourself or did something for yourself? If you had to think for while to answer that question, you’re like most of the people in this world. As with everything else, extremes are bad in case of priorities too. Narcissistic or altruistic are not the only options. In this article I will give you some ways and means to achieve the balance between thinking of others and thinking of yourself. Because both are important. Equally important.
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” – Jack Kornfield
In order for us to genuinely feel like doing something for a person, we need to feel a kind of appreciation or gratitude towards them or for what they may have done for us. This applies to our own selves too! So let me ask you then, do you appreciate yourself? Are you grateful for being you, having what you already have, for the life you are leading?
Gratitude towards YOU
Practising one or more of the following will help you live in the feeling of gratitude towards life and towards yourself.
- When your feet touch the ground when you wake up every morning, say the words “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Think of at least one thing or being you are thankful for. This sets the energetic tone for your day.
- Whenever you look into a mirror or catch your reflection in a glass during the day, tell yourself one thing that you appreciate about yourself. Do your best to mention a different thing each time.
- When you go shopping for Christmas presents (or any other time of the year or reason), think to yourself at least one reason you are grateful for the person you’re buying the present for.
- Treat yourself to something nice, whether food, item or experience, this holiday season while you scamper around buying the same for others.
- When you go to sleep each night, write down 3 things or beings or experiences you feel gratitude towards on that day.
#25daysofchristmas with a difference
If you are social media savvy, you will know this particular hashtag that surfaces and trends on various social media platforms this time of the year. Usually this concept, 25 days of Christmas, is about being caring and kind towards others and sharing what we have with others, too. This year, Radiance Holistic Wellness is hosting a 25 days of Christmas event with a difference, on our Facebook page. I will be sharing daily inspiration for random acts of kindness – towards yourself – from 1st to 25th of December.
What you give out, comes back to you
So you may be asking, why be so grateful? And why towards myself and my life? I hear you. Us humans in this day and age are wired to be dissatisfied with what we have. We’re programmed to find happiness in objects. So we have to have more, we always have to have more. That, of course, results in no gratitude whatsoever for what we have been blessed with. However, the way the Universe and life works is that only if we feel a feeling, we attract more of it. In other words, if my heart feels grateful for something or someone, that feeling then attracts more feeling of gratitude … for something or someone else.
We’re also, unfortunately, wired to believe that there is inherently something wrong with us. And so we keep finding more and more wrongs. It is important to sow a seed of gratitude – for ourselves and for others – if we want to benefit from the fruits of the tree of gratitude, among the weeds of greed and unhappiness that abound in our hearts, sadly. What are you grateful for in 2016?
Have a lovely Christmas and holidays!
Radhika also offers a 6-week online course titled “Love Yourself to Your Ideal Weight”, with a special promotion price of $111 (standard price $333). It may just be the Christmas present that you can gift to yourself or your dear ones.
For more details and to purchase, please visit her website.
It’s December. Most of us would agree that it’s been a BIG year! We’re looking forward to some time off and many of us are thinking about next year.
I think it’s important to review the year that’s been before looking to the year ahead.
Find yourself a notebook, journal or art pages, collect some coloured pens and get ready to create your year-end review. Read through the questions below, answering as best you can. You can write, draw, cut out pictures, make mind maps – whatever feels good to you! You can ask yourself more or different questions as well.
Here are four reasons why an end of year review can be helpful in moving forward with more optimism and purpose:
- Learn from the year
What did you experience this year? What did you learn from those experiences? How can you use that learning to make next year better? How did you grow this year? How do you feel, right now?
- Wrap up the year
A year is full of so many things – the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual. Look back over the year and make some notes.
Were there any significant ups and downs? What impact did those things have on you – mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually? What really stood out for you – good or not so good? How do you feel about it, right now?
As you prepare to let go of this year, remember to take with you the things that you want to carry forward. Make a note of what those things are.
When it’s time, whenever feels right to you, release this year freely. You want move into the coming year without anything holding you back.
Doing a ritual around releasing this year and welcoming in the new year is a lovely way to transition.
- Get focussed
It’s easy to feel that the years are blending into one another.
We get into routines, do the same old things and at the end of the year, wonder why we haven’t achieved goals or moved past some old feelings. We might find ourselves doing a rerun of something that has happened a few times previously – the same kind of not great relationship, the same kind of work that we’re a bit bored with, the same holiday as last year – just because.
Now is a great time to assess.
How much have you grown this year? What new challenges did you meet? Where do you want to go next?
What other questions are coming up for you?
Thinking about these things, how do you feel right now?
Remember to check in with your intuition for all these questions and answers. You will get a lot of additional insight by listening to your intuition as well!
- Start next year feeling ready to go!
By setting aside some quiet time to review this year, you give yourself space to settle, to think, to feel, to question.
When you’re ready to plan next year, you already have a good idea of where you want to be in twelve months’ time.
You know how you want to feel at the end of next year. How you want to feel during the year. How you want to feel as you navigate the ups and downs that will come.
While you’re planning next year, remember to open yourself up to your inner guidance because she knows more than you do!
If you want some help to access and consciously use your intuition, Shan has an online course available: Inner Healing for Outer Health. Alternatively, please contact Shan here.
This morning I came across a blog post that deeply touched my heart. It is written by one of my favourite coaches, Cheryl Richardson. In honor of what would have been her father’s 82nd birthday, her sister’s friend, Lisa, decided to extend a gift of kindness to a stranger on behalf of her dad by paying for his breakfast.
Cheryl’s father has just recently passed away. He used to collect food donations and distribute them to the homeless in downtown Boston for many years. Lisa wrote a short note on the bill, just to say in honor of the memory and spirit of this kind man, the way he used to Pay It Forward to others.
Reading her blog post has lead me to think about Christmas in a different light. December is often a month full of celebration, festive cheers, feasts and wonderful gifts. It is a joyous time. However, it may also be a difficult time for some families who struggle financially or who feel very isolated. I have heard several charity organizations in Australia that give away Christmas hampers to disadvantaged families or put together free Christmas meals for people in need, so that they can have a good meal and do not have to be completely alone during this time.
It is one thing about getting fed physically, where food provides the sustenance we need to survive, but it is also very essential to have hope and to believe that there is help in this world, that those who are struggling are not forgotten. The spirit of humanity is the guiding light that can lead us to make the world a better place.
As I felt so moved by the notion of Pay It Forward during this time, I looked up some websites in Australia that offer Christmas appeal. I am also saddened by some facts that I did not know about Christmas before (the following numbers are based on 2015 statistics from The Salvation Army).
- 1 in 10 Australians report that they cannot afford to buy enough food for Christmas
- 603,000 children live below poverty line
- 2.7 million people aged 18 – 64 say they know at least 5 families who will experience financial hardship/poverty during Christmas
- In the 6 weeks to 25 December 2015, Australians spent $47 billion on Christmas
There is a clear disparity in our society, so perhaps if you are in a more fortunate position this year, consider helping those who are in need. Whether it is about donating food or money, or volunteering at hamper packing, or invite someone that you know may be alone for a Christmas meal.
Pay It Forward or random acts of kindness are not just about doing a good deed. It is about being part of the greater human spirit, that guiding light which illuminates a path for those who may be lost, and for those who need hope to keep going forward. Every single effort is like a single candle, when put together, it will appear like a Lighthouse, beaming in the dark.
Be the light you wish to see!
The following is a short list of several Christmas appeals available in Australia:
- The Salvation Army 10 Thousand Meals
- Magic Moments – Basket Brigades
- The Smith Family – Donations and Give Toys or Books
- The Salvation Army Food Hampers
SzeWing coaches conscious individuals and purpose driven entrepreneurs to a fulfilling, well-balanced and successful life. She speaks, writes and promotes in the health & wellness industry. She is the co-founder of Lighten Up Summit, author and teacher of Feminine Power & Goddess Archetypes, editor for GratitudeOnline, consultant for publishing and media companies and creator of many life empowering online courses.
Sze Wing holds a master degree in European Studies and a bachelor degree in Economics. She graduated from the prestigious London School of Economics & Political Sciences, and University College of London.
She offer workshops, talks, goddess retreats in Sydney. You can contact her via her email: szewingyip@mac.com or www.GoddessArchetypes.com and her Facebook page