Seizing opportunity. Embracing the moment. Stepping forward when a door opens. 

A New Year arrives any time one of the above moments presents itself. When on the calendar January 1st arrives on any given year, an opportunity to start anew, press refresh, or reboot our energies arrives, but similar opportunities happen throughout the year if only we would frame them as such and giddily take hold.

A quote that caught my attention recently on Instagram, spoke to the reality of the opportunities we witness in various and multiple instances throughout the year, "The pandemic has taught us not to wait for the New Year to make changes because we don't know what tomorrow will bring."

Often opportunities present themselves as moments that simply are working out as we had hoped (or expected, but as I have come to learn, having expectations is a practice to let go for peace of mind). Case in point, when my brother's family and I, each driving in different vehicles and from two different locations, heading toward our parents' house in Wallowa County for Christmas happened to dovetail the timing that we arrived at our childhood home mere seconds before and after when each of our vehicles turned down the driveway and provide a most festive and boisterous welcome of family 'arriving home for the holidays', it was an incredibly magical moment that you could not have planned. Not taking that moment, that coincidence, what I call serendipitous moment for granted, I savored it and was happy for my parents to receive that unplanned, but ohhh so wonderful surprise. 

Other types of opportunities happen all of the time if only we hold ourselves fully present in the moment. Seizing the moment doesn't mean we manipulate or try to control the situation. We cannot know what will materialize, but by choosing to be an active participant rather than an onlooker, we open ourselves and our lives up to unforeseen outcomes, often of the more positive persuasion. 

As I watched Norman yesterday afternoon striding happily and curiously on the Oregon coast beach (image above), I was reminded to stride forward with such glee and appreciation for being alive, for being healthy, for being capable of loving and equally so, doing all that I can to let go more than I have in the past. So much is quite wonderful already and even more wants to be wonderful as we move forward if only we would just be open to all of the possibilities. 

As the new year begins, as well as when any chance gift or meeting or idea or seemingly wondrous event occurs in your life, choose to place yourself fully in the situation. Engage with the other players in the moment and partake rather than shrink. Your presence, your secure self in that moment will bring a powerful subtle force to the moment that perhaps you don't fully appreciate yet, but in time, the seemingly magical events will snowball into wondrous moments you never thought could be possible. 

The new year, as it says on the calendar, is nearly here (and if you are reading this letter over the weekend, it already is :)). My hope for you is that the new 12 months be full of love, laughter in the most joyous of ways, fantastic surprises and memories made that will be held close for the rest of your life. 

In this month's newsletter, you will find all of the posts from December that were shared on the blog as well as five Top Posts of the Year in a handful of categories.

Be sure to check out the box just below full of Subscribers' Exclusive News & Information as awesome changes and improvements are coming to TSLL blog in January as well as the official announcement of TSLL's 3rd book - the title, the release date and more. 

Thank you for subscribing to TSLL free monthly newsletter. I do hope you enjoy this month's issue and wish you an auspicious start to 2022. 

Until Monday January 31st, I will see you on the blog.

—Shannon

~To explore every post you wish to read, be sure to become a member/subscriber to one of the two tiers - BASIC or TOP as non-members/subscribers can only read five posts a month (it will reset on the first of each month - tomorrow!).