To smile so warmly people can’t help but smile back
To be so present in the now that long-held regrets fall off my radar
To have so little expectation it’s commonly exceeded
To have so much compassion it commonly spreads beyond boundary lines
To be so generous with canned goods, warm clothes, and spare change, that my hands become empty and my heart becomes full
To say all the loving words there are to say so nothing gets left unsaid
To breathe so deeply some might think I'm a yoga instructor.
To laugh so hard my kids might think I’ve lost my mind.
To invite so openly and spontaneously there’s no time to clean or prep or make a fuss
To be an encourager not a critic
To be a soul builder not a dream crusher
To listen so closely I hear the hurt behind the words
To look so closely I see similarities instead of differences
To listen more than I speak
To love more than I fear
To hope more than I doubt
To fill the air with so much positivity, negativity has no room to breathe
To be so attuned to my heart that I obey when it tells me to take a moment to cuddle or pray or appreciate the sky
To forgo the mirror so often I forget it’s there
To be so focused on what’s good in my people that I overlook their messiness, their mishaps, and their mild annoyances
To be so still and available my beloveds use me as home base.
To spot the silver lining so vividly even the naysayers can see it too
To practice so much self kindness, self compassion, and self acceptance it ripples beyond self
But most of all … yes, most of all … my December creed is this:
To remember 2016 is not over yet.
Yes, it was hard.
Yes, it had many disappointments.
Yes, it broke my heart too many times to count.
But there are still 31 days left of this year,
And that means there is still time …
Still time to heal brokenness
Still time to salvage the pieces
Still time to love one another well
There is still time for hope, healing, and love to make a late entrance to the party so we can embrace them and whisper, “I knew you’d come.”
31 days, my friends. We’ve still got 31 days.
Let’s make it a grand possibility.
Starting right now.
Starting with you.
Starting with me.
Together, there is still great hope for 2016.
© Rachel Macy Stafford 2016
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Dear ones, thank you for being part of The Hands Free Revolution. If you enjoyed this creed, please know I have written several others that are available as hand-lettered prints:
(new item) Love Prevails Over Failures, Flaws, & Imperfect Days
Both of my books, Hands Free Mama and Hands Free Life contain truthful storytelling and doable, daily strategies to bring more presence, love, and grace into your life. My third book, ONLY LOVE TODAY, is currently available for pre-order and releases on March 7. Thank you for your unending support of my work.
Yes.
I pledge to finish 2016 strong.
We are in that last lap.
Pressing on.
I promise to take up this mantle for the next 31 days.
Thank you so much ….
I love you dearly, my friend. Thank you for this beautiful commitment. I love how you used the word “promise.” It makes me truly feel like we are in this together … thank you for being here.
Rachel, YOU ARE INCREDIBLE! This December Creed is getting printed out so I can look at it often and ingrain these wonderful things into my life. Cool thing–it’s going to be my 2017 Creed too. Actually, my Forever Creed because this is how I want to live.
Thank you, WonderWomanofRealLife. And yes, I think you should have a tee-shirt in your favorite color with that statement on it.
With my love and appreciation,
Nance
Oh Nancy!!! You just made me laugh out loud and cry with joy. We are truly all in this together, aren’t we??? The world feels smaller and more hopeful when one person’s thoughts echo another’s. I am so thankful to be the messenger for this divinely inspired creed. And the t-shirt message you suggested makes me smile so big. My husband just asked if I had any Christmas ideas … I will say, no … but my friend Nancy does!!! You made my whole day. Love you
I love you RMS! It’s been a tough year, but you are right…it’s NOT over yet!
I love you, Debbie! Thank you for showing up to LOVE the heck out of 2016! I am right there with you.
…Shared on FaceBook. Beginning with the End In Mind. Great post. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Audry, for helping to spread the message a little further! I am grateful. And “Beginning with the End In Mind” is a profound notion.
I needed to read these words today! Thank you!
Thank you for letting me know! I feel so much hope from the comments and solidarity here.
I don’t know what it is about this that hit me so hard. Read it through, forwarded it on to people who needed it, and read it again with tears in my eyes.
Thank you. 🙂
I appreciate you sharing how this touched you. I appreciate you passing it on to others. You have blessed me.
I needed to hear these words today. Thank you. ♡♡
Thank you, dear Ann.
Beloved Rachel
I thank God in 2016, for every breath, every beat of my Heart, every laugh, tear, joy, sadness, for new personal and virtual Friends, for every message given and received… I am in contact with people inside and outside Brazil and I prayed a lot for the good of all humanity and Mother Earth… This is an Interregnum Year, where cycles have ended for the new ones begin… The end of things frightens a little, for we do not know what comes next, but all that is good comes, when our heart and soul vibrate in Unconditional Love; adversities we all had them, but wonderful things also happened!!! So let’s take advantage to grow with adversity and understand how much we have become stronger, hopeful, and courageous precisely because 2016 demanded our best, our greatest strength, our immense Faith in Life… And be sure that when we saw a single footprint in the sand it was our Lord and His Angels who carried us on His lap, loving us passionately … All because we gave our best!!!
I accept to renew our hopes in a world of Peace in our hearts and in the nations this December, to build a 2017 full of love, new projects of life, new accomplishments taking advantage of all the creative range that has been given us by God!
Thank you Rachel for being one of the Angels of the Lord who helped us in 2016, with your words always timely… you are very blessed and your Family too, God bless you for being the Mother of such Loving People committed to the wellbeing of humankind and in giving us such noble examples of life!
Just finished hands free life. Really loved it. Just about to buy hands free mama. Looking forward to the peace it affords me. Yes lets salvage the rest of the year 2016. Love from Ireland.
Words that go straight to the heart. Purposing to make this month a remarkable one. Thank you so much for your very insightful thoughts.
Like you, I have been feeling the weight of this last year. Raising two teenaged girls, choosing to leave my work as a teacher to focus on my health, undergoing surgery that I am still healing from, losing a beloved old dog – I’ve just been thinking that I am ready to see the end of this year. I hate to wish away time, but that is what I have been doing. I just wanted it to be a new year and a new chance for things to be better. Your post today brought me to tears. I can choose love today. Things can start being easier today, not next week, next month or next year. I will breathe, I will see flowers. Thank you.
Divinely inspired again and again. Love + Hope + Faith + Never Give Up Belief. RMS so grateful you began to put your words into the universe… ripples of acceptance, encouragement and courage. Reminders to be the change we wish to see..we need to see, we help to see. Light thru the darkness. Brilliance to the last 31 days of this year. Continuous Canadian Love…xxoo
Dear Patti, thank you for letting me know what you feel, see, and hear in my words. I cherish this feedback more than you will ever know! Oh and I am coming to Canada for the release of ONLY LOVE TODAY the week of March 20. I think I will be in Toronto for media and a book signing. Are you anywhere near? I would love for you to come be my family at the book signing and talk!
Oh Rachel. You have no idea how much I needed to hear those words. This year has been awful. The hardest year ever in my 44 years. And I was ready to write it off, too. I’ll save your words and read them often to remind myself that I don’t need to lose these 31 days, too. I can instead use them to renew my broken spirit.
Oh Nikki, thank you, dear one. Thank you for braving choosing love, hope, and optimism even when you are so weary. I cannot imagine what you have been through but it sounds incredibly hard. My prayer is that you are able to see how you have grown and prevailed through this trial. My hope is that you see your strength shining through. May the next 31 days have a glimmer of light in each one of them.
Thank you Rachel for being one of those glimmers of hope!
Dear Rachael,
As always your words seem to reach out to us at just the right time. Printing this off and taping it to the bathroom mirror as a reminder all is not lost there is still time! XXOO Vicki
Double fist bump to you and your two daughters.
My mom died unexpectedly at the age of 67 this year. I hate this year…thanks for helping to give me a few bright things to focus on….
Ready, set, go! Thank you!
WOWWWWWWWWWW…..i really needed to see this today.
Thanks for the kick in the pants! There is still time….especially
since each day is a clean slate……do over’s are a wonderful thing!!
This made me cry! While I am the eternal optimist, and there have been victories in 2016, there have been many dark days, especially within the last two weeks. I am trying so hard to not let the enemy steal my joy!! Thank you so much for this! I will print it out and read it each day. And put one foot in front of the other for the next 31 days, believing that God will restore the days the locusts have eaten.
One of your best Rachel. You should be so proud of how far you have come on your journey.
Thank you, Annette. I am so touched by your loving affirmation today.
Thank you so much!!!!! I needed this. Good bless you and your family!!!
“To be so still and available my beloveds use me as a home base.” Thank you for putting into words the role I play for my family and the children I work with. The older (and wiser) I get, the better I get at being that home base.
Thank you, dear Caragh.
Beautifully written and thank you for sharing
Thank you, Mo! I appreciate you.
Just what I needed, because let me tell you how deep this fog that I’m in, is: so deep I can’t shake it. So consuming that I can’t concentrate. So threatening that I have to fight to find the light. And this here, brought it to me, for its content and its promise to commitment, yes. But mostly, because of the gift of unexpected humor: I can’t shake the shock off my brain from Nov 9, and I read your post title as “The December Creed” and took it to mean an action verb. The December Creed to do what? Ah, I see, a ‘creed’. and there was my golden laugh for today. Thank you. xoxoxo
I am so thankful for you and your writing. It is always needed.
Awesomeness Rachel ❤️ want you are doing, so refreshing ?
Thank you for this beautiful creed and reminder that there’s hope on the horizon. We’ll be sharing it on our Facebook page, and hope families everywhere find ways to rise above the sadness or disappointment of the year and pledge to share kindness, generosity, and acts of service with those they know and strangers too. Let’s all be big-hearted.
“To whisper to hope… I knew you’d come.” Oh, my heart, Rachel! Reading this post felt like opening a gift… thank you ?
Thank you, friend!
Ahhhh. Love this. 2016 has been super hard on us too, but this? Yes. All of this! Thank you!!
Your words are the best! Always gives me a lift and helps me believe I can make the right choices. Thanks for all you do:) Happy 2016.