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 ...for an abundance of JOY,

From the bottom of my heart, I want to wish you a very, very joyous holiday. May you create countless magical moments over the final days of the year, and reflect on all your treasured memories in 2004.  Only 10 more days to enjoy.This is a shorter issue, as I know this is a busy time of year.  The Magic Moment below is the perfect article to include in 2004's final issue of Soulfully Living.You haven't heard from me over the past several weeks, as I was working diligently on the final details of my upcoming book, The Power of Inner Choice.  I am now intimately familiar with process of getting a book to print and boy, have I learned a lot.  It was tough - and FUN too. We ordered galley copies last Thursday.  While the book isn't scheduled to be in bookstores until May 2005, my publisher suggested printing a little earlier to make copies available to you sooner.  We may have books for you as early as March. Stay tuned.  The beautiful book cover is on the right.  My graphic designer Colleen McGunnigle did a fabulous job with all aspects of the book design and layout.  I am so fortunate. She also designed the Soulfully Living layout that you all enjoy.  Special thank you's to Colleen for her dedication on this project. FEATURES this week...Magic Moments - Laura's Little Moment.  My sister-in-law is a teacher and just sent this precious story of Ashley.  We can learn so much from children.SoulFULLY Being- Karma For Kids.   For those of you who have followed my yog-a-thon progress, I managed to complete 60 Days of Bikram Yoga in 90 Days on 12/18 (even with the book deadline).  Last minute contributions would be so appreciated.  See details below.

Laura's Magic Moment - Here is one of my little moments from the last semester that made me stop and think.

I taught fifth grade this past semester. Getting into a routine and getting homework done everyday, on time, is a challenge at the beginning of the semester, but one that most students master in a week or two. There was one student, Ashley, a very sweet girl who couldn't seem to get her homework done and consequentially had to stay in at recess to do it everyday. She never complained about having to stay in at recess. About a month into school, Ashley finally started having her homework done. We assumed she was tired of missing recess and finally decided to do her homework. We silently congratulated ourselves for teaching her how to be responsible for school work.
Over the course of the semester, a teacher learns a lot about her students through daily conversation. I knew Ashley came from a single parent household and used to joke around about how poor they were. As many students come from similar backgrounds, I filed it away in my memory as "facts about Ashley."
As thanksgiving approached Ashley mentioned that her uncle was serving in Iraq. The class decided to each write him a letter to say thank you. As I read through the letters, I came across Ashley's letter. In her letter she tells her uncle how proud she is of her mother who had been sober for six weeks now. It was one of those moments that make you pause. Here we had assumed that Ashley was not getting her homework done because she did not regard it as a high priority. In fact, the real situation was, how could we have expected her to always have it done when she was a ten year old taking care of her mom and her siblings. 
It is too easy as human beings to label other people based on what we think we perceive. We thought she was a ten year old who simply didn't care about her homework. In fact, she was a ten year old that cared so much that she didn't have time for her homework. She taught me that every student is a unique, individual with strengths and stories that may not be readily apparent. Caring means truly knowing and understanding each person's unique journey in life.

The semester is over now. All of the students made me cards to say goodbye. Ashley, however, came up to me afterwards and said she had a gift for me. This little girl, who had very little, took the beaded bracelet off of her arm to give to me. The strength and generosity of this one ten year old taught me as much about character as any book I have read. It just goes to show, we never know where, when or even how we will learn an important lesson in life. We just have to let ourselves be open to learning it.