Emotional Sobriety, Self-Care and Divine Purpose

My maternal grandmother was born in Italy on the 6th of January; the feast of the Epiphany. This is a holy day in which Jesus Christ was made manifest and visited by the Three Kings. It was a time that celebrates God made manifest in this human being, Jesus.

While I am not active in the Catholic Church today, I have deep appreciation for the connection and resonance of ritual, ceremony and an honoring of the ancient that I learned growing up in the Church. On this coming feast day, I honor my ancestors, especially my grandmother, my Nona. More symbolically, I reflect upon and honor the ways in which I am called to make manifest the Divine in my world. How can I more purposefully make a difference in the lives of others? Where am I called to share my gifts and express my soul's purpose to be of service?

Emotional Sobriety is the foundation for a vibrant spiritual practice and for making a difference in the world. Healing our own emotional wounds, learning emotional intelligence, allowing our emotions to guide us with wisdom rather than control us with impulsivity is a necessary first step in honoring our divine purpose and destiny in the world.

As the new year begins, it is a good time for me to recommit to practices that nourish and comfort me. Bold self-care has been a theme in the past year and this year it will remain a priority. Journaling, learning to identify my emotions and express them directly and cleanly, doing family of origin work that cleanses and heals past hurts and addictive dynamics must continue.

As I nourish and care for self first through these healthy emotional behaviors, I am filled from within able to give more authentically to others. As I honor my passions and what inspires and enlivens my spirit, I honor the Divine's whispering to me as well. This is the most profound path for making a difference in the world. It begins with tending to our emotional needs and wants, learning healthy communication strategies and grieving our losses from our past. With this emotional maturity as a foundation, we can begin to honor our passions from within. Healthy spiritual practices will continue to nurture our emotional maturity. From this place, we make manifest the Divine in our world and in our relationships with others.

As the New Year unfolds, I invite and encourage a commitment from all that we honor and nourish and care for ourselves above all us. As we do, we can trust that we give to others from fullness and out of an authentic care and love. We no longer take emotional hostages. We assume a healthy responsibility for our emotions and the expression of them as well. When we keep our emotional sobriety and intelligence as a priority in our lives, we are able to connect with our passions. We will find our purpose and divine destiny.

May the year be filled with great self-love, forgiveness for the ways we fall short of our own expectations and the courage to honor that which inspires us from deep within as we make manifest the Divine in our own lives and the lives of others.

Blessings in the coming year,