Celebrating Life: Is this the end or the beginning?

A year ago I invited you to celebrate life with me on a daily basis. And for the past 365 days I've been sharing the guests that life puts in the spotlight for each day. Some of them were really inspirational, some were really silly, others were very delicious, and still others made me scratch my head in confusion.  When I started the 365: Celebration of Life I had plans to celebrate some of them a little more intentionally. Most of the time those plans didn't come to fruition, the mundane life interferred. But that doesn't mean that I didn't take note a little bit more each day of this life we've all been gifted with. I learned about things I didn't know before, was reminded of some things I had forgotten about, and really did look at life, each day, a little differently.

Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy it will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.  Henri Nouwen

What does life look like when we celebrate it, observe it, acknowledge it? I found that when I purposed to really acknowledge life this past year that life became full of...LIFE. There were rainbows of color in my days (not just the occasional burst of color to interrupt the greys of mundane), an awareness of people that I didn't necessarily have before, an awe that there is so much to life that I don't know about or I forget about. Celebrating life reminded me to celebrate the simple and silly, not just the grandiose and impressive.

I don't know who journeyed with me this past year as I celebrated the sacred, silly, weird, and profound of life. If you did journey with me, even one day out of the 365, I would love to hear from you. Did it increase your awareness, your gratefulness, or change you in some way that has stuck? Learning what life celebrated each day spurred me to celebrate MORE. It reminded me to make celebrations set apart and special. And it especially reminded me that the day to day of life can be, and should be, celebrated. 

Am I starting a new 365? I am! But not for quite awhile (think end of summer), you'll just have to #waitforit *wink*  In the meantime you can find me doing monthly book reviews over at Beth the Bookworm, engaging in "coffee talk" at Coffee House Conversations, and from time to time sharing spiritual insights on Heart for Him.  So find me on one of those and I'll #seeyoulater !  *wink*