Here is Erin’s greeting from the studio January newsletter.
My husband, kids and I all spent the holidays in Colorado with my parents. My mom has a serious illness, and I was present to an array of emotions all week. Joy at getting to spend this time with my family, sadness at the changes that have occurred in my mom’s freedom and movement, sorrow at not being able to alleviate the discomforts she is experiencing… but mostly, I was present to what a gift it was that my children get to spend this time with their grandparents. Seeing my mom playing on the floor with my 8-month-old daughter with such joy and fun filled my heart, and I found myself stepping back, taking a picture in my mind as if to hold that image.
My mom has always been filled with such love and joy at being alive and being with the people she loves. Even as she struggles with physical discomfort, with the stress of her body not being how she wishes it could be, that love and that joy of being with the people that matter most to her is ever present. It is the thing she wakes up into each morning and the thing she goes to bed with each night. I could say she is a fighter, which is true, but what I really want to say is that she is a lover, which is even truer. Every day that I witness her going through her challenges, I am mostly reminded of how much she loves her family and how much life and spark that brings to her daily life.
I was thinking about “New Year’s Resolutions”: the typical promises we make year after year and that we might or might not fulfill. Eating better, exercising regularly, or improving ourselves in one way or another. All of those things are valid-and yes, we should cherish and take care of our bodies and our minds while they are ours. But what I am really aware of this New Year’s, as a promise that I can authentically take on and be inspired by, is to be present with the people I love. I resolve to forgive more, to let go of grudges and the rightness of my view. I resolve to practice letting go of needing to “get somewhere” and spend relaxed, luxurious time just being with my loved ones.
A friend of mine just lost her father, suddenly and unexpectedly. In an email she wrote, letting her community know, she said, “One of the things I’m so grateful for is that my relationship with my Dad had nothing incomplete. One of the last things he said to me was, “I really love you” and I really got it. I invite you to take this moment to cause the presence of love with the people that matter to you. Don’t wait. We really only have right now.”
With the birth of a new year, consider-what would make a difference in your life now, each and every day-what would make a difference in the quality of your relationships? And then, don’t wait. We really only have right now.
With love, Erin
