Being sick during the Holidays is no fun, my children did not seem to mind the delayed Holidays, January; in all actuality they were quiet delighted, it would be one less relative to visit making it less stressful. If you had asked me the question, “Let’s move Christmas into January”, I would have said no. Since it was I, that was sick, I was going to miss the Holidays anyway.

I had for months in 2018 trying to reinvent myself, reading the books on various  religions. I began with present day Christianity, those who “sermonize” from the Bible in most cases picked and chose the “parts” from the Bible that they want to use to put fear into followers, and it worked.

Christianity is  first ranked in the list of most popular religions around the globe with more than 2.1 billion followers , the highest ranked are the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant. Islam is given the second rank in the list of major religions of the world having more than 1.5 billion followers; it is one of the fastest growing religions. Hinduism in one of the major religions of the world with 900 million worshipers, it is considered one of the world’s oldest religions. Buddhism is also considered a leading religion around the globe with more than 376 million followers; Gautama Siddhartha founded it 2500 years before in India. Sikhism is the world’s fifth largest religion having more than 23 million worshippers; this religion combined the beliefs from Islam and Hinduism.

What does all of this have to do with the Holidays and me being sick? What does it have to do with “missing” Christmas? What does it have to do with the reinvention of Elizabeth Ann Murphree?

It was the best way to lay a foundation for the change that I am trying to put into practice within myself. Do I believe in God, yes? Do I believe every word written in the Bible, no, why? Men and their perception of the events of their day and time wrote it. One must pull away the layers of the stories much like pealing an onion, and then you may find the written truth within the book. There are, I find some reasonable truths in all religions, I sway toward that of Christianity fed the need of my living a life of “goodness” and Buddhism, gives me additional guidelines to grow, and if we are to believe in God, then we must believe in all of the religions he has created through the man and women of this world.

I have read many books throughout 2018. I believe the practice that I need in my life at this time is “mindfulness”, if I can master that one, I will have a better understanding of life and I will see growth in myself and be aware of it in others. I try every day to be mindful of the difficulties that lay ahead of me. I try to actively be attentive, keeping the complexities of my life in mind.

Mindfulness an ancient Buddhist practice that has profound exposure in my present-day life.  In truth, it has nothing to do with Buddhism, but it does have everything to do with living in harmony with myself and with the world around me. I have examined who I am and I have educated myself with the practice and now have an appreciation for each moment that I am alive. It also helped to survive the many health issues I have had these past three years.  Do I fall away from mindfulness, of course, but the teaching of mindfulness quickly brings me back in line to what my life needs.  It prepares me for the next part of my life, as the journey grows shorter.

This practice is not an easy one. One has to be continually mindful about the present moment and not be judgmental in what is going on around you and the world in general. One must be aware of the greater reality. I believe with this concept I can continue to grow, we as world inhabitants can continue to grow if we are aware of the happenings within our own realm and that of others.  Have I mastered this concept, no, I must be constantly aware of what is truth and what is gossip within my realm.  I have more work to do, but isn’t that growth.

©2019elizabethannjohnsonmurphree