A Life You Love — Margaux Joy DeNador

Wishing You a Joyful & Fun Holiday Season!

 

My birthday is on Christmas Day and I love it. Over the years I've heard many people say, "Oh, you poor thing!" when they hear it — but I love it. Maybe it's because my mom always made me feel great about having my birthday on Christmas. She loved to tell the story about how "Silent Night" was playing when they took her into the delivery room and when she came out with me she heard "Joy to the World." 

My mom always made me feel like I was her "Christmas Joy" and it is one of the reasons Joy is my chosen middle name. I also like the name Joy because it reminds me to look for the joy in everything I do, see, hear, and experience. Just hearing the word JOY makes me focus on joy and feel good.

  

Santa and me — when I was three.

 

I feel LUCKY to have such a special day as my birthday. I always get to be with my family for my birthday. I am thankful to have my birthday be such a fun holiday and to be able to spend it with people I love.

Last year I received a note from my husband that said, “I want to thank you for being born on Christmas. You have re-infused Alex and me with the spirit year after year!”  What a great way to start my day! I left the note up to remind me how my love of the season can help others enjoy it more too.

 

My husband, son, and I have written and recorded a beautiful Christmas song. The song is called "Merry Christmas" and was recorded by our treasured friend Robert Berry, owner of Soundtek Studios, in Campbell. My husband, Dudley, sang the song and played guitar. Robert Berry did a masterful job on the keyboards and the recording of the song. 

I would love for you to hear our Christmas song — so please click on the link to read the lyrics and hear to hear the song. Merry Christmas, The DeNadors' Christmas Song

 

 

 

 

Several years ago, Wayne Dyer sent me a copy of a little book he wrote called “Happy Holidays!” and in the book he talks about how much he loves the holiday season and has lots of reminders of how we can enjoy them more as adults by being more like a child. 

 

Here is a quote from “Happy Holidays!” by Wayne Dyer:

"If you can get back to that time of your life when you were a child, enjoying every aspect of this glorious season, you can rid yourself of the 'holiday blues' permanently. As a child, the shopping was something that filled you with excitement, and you were able to ignore the crowds. The time you spent decorating, wrapping, celebrating, worshiping, and being with your family was a pure delight."

Children view the holidays as a positive, fun, and joyful time of year. It is possible to change the way you look at the holiday season and have more fun, more joy, and actually look forward to it each year.

Here are some reminders that help me feel more joy at this time of year:

* Look for ways to make it more fun than ever before

* Look for ways to give to others besides buying them expensive gifts

* Be thankful for all you have and your ability to give to others

* Enjoy the beautiful holiday decorations in the stores

* Stop and really look at the holiday lights and enjoy them

* Take time to enjoy your shopping experiences

* Find something to like about every gift you receive

* Allow children's joy and laughter to remind you to lighten up and be playful

* Laugh more — watch some funny movies and play games

* Enjoy the fantasy of the stories, movies, and decorations

* Be willing to be more spontaneous and have flexible plans

* Take time to relax and recharge your body, mind, and spirit

* Savor your present moments

* Create memories that you will treasure

* Appreciate the people in your life — enjoy spending time with them

* Give the gift of your time and love — and enjoy receiving time and love

 

The common themes for all of the ways of celebrating the Holiday season are time with people you love, a feeling of connection with people who may be far away, gifts of love, and time with people we love. In my opinion the Holiday Season is for giving and receiving the gift of love and having time with the people who matter most to you. 

The holiday season is a time for giving, loving, savoring, magic moments, beauty, wonder, believing, receiving, and having fun. It is an opportunity to share the gift of love and create memories that you will treasure. 

 

What are your favorite ways to spend your time during the holidays? Do you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa — or a blend of one or more traditions? What reminders would you add to my list? I would love to hear how you enjoy spending the holidays!

 

 

Here are a few last reminders for more holiday joy:

Give yourself the gift of love — take great care of your Self.

Give yourself the gift of time — with the people who matter most to you.

Give people you love the gift of your love, time, attention, and appreciation.

 

I wish you Love, Laughter, Hugs, Fun, Joy, and time to enjoy the holidays with your family and friends!

 :) Margaux

PS: Following are links for lists of Books, Music CDs, Audio Books, DVD Movies, and Art, Jewelry, and Sculpture. There are many great gift ideas in these lists. Just click on the links, below, to take a look:

Books

Music CDs

Audio Books

DVD Movies

Art, Jewelry, and Sculptures

The Joy of Treasured Friends

When life gets busy it is easy to lose touch with people you enjoy. Feeling a connection with friends is one of the greatest joys of life. Friends are an important part of living a life you love. Do you feel like you need more time with your friends?

As Caroline Myss says, “A visit or call from a friend can heal you.”  I’ve found that calls and visits with my friends can be healing and enjoyable for both of us!

What is a friend? I’m sure you have your own opinions and beliefs and I would love to hear them!  

Following are my thoughts about what it means to be a friend:

A friend is someone it’s enjoyable to know.  A friend is someone who feels like a Kindred Spirit. A friend adds positive feelings such as love, joy, and fun to life and it feels good to do the same for them. It feels good to have new friends and friends I’ve known for years. I enjoy having a variety of friends so I see life from many different perspectives. Also, because we all have different backgrounds we can help each other re-frame things and focus on what’s good. Instead of having one "Best Friend" I prefer to have lots of "Treasured Friends" that I enjoy whether it is in person or through email and facebook. Connecting with like-minded people is a great feeling. 

I've heard many people say that you need to be either a parent or a friend to your child, but my mom showed me the best way is to be both a parent and a friend.  I admit that there are times, especially while your children are younger, or in their teens, when you might need to act more like a parent than a friend.  But it’s possible to guide and be a friend as well. My desire has always been have a great friendship with my son, Alex. I feel thankful to be able to say that Alex has always felt like both my son and my treasured friend. Because of my friendship with my mom, I know that even now that Alex is going to college in Southern California my friendship with him will continue to grow.

Below is a photo of Alex, Me, Dudley, and my sister Tina. I know for sure that some of my most treasured friends are also family members! 

I feel lucky to have had my mom as my example of the kind of relationship it is possible to have with your children. Spending time with my mom was always fun. I will always think of my mom as one of my most treasured friends.

It seems to me it's good to have many kinds of friends. For example, some of you I know only through a conference, class, or club such as Toastmasters, or some other shared interest.  Some of you I’ve known for a long time but we only get to see each other once in a great while.  Some of you started out as my teacher or mentor and then became my friend. Some people begin as friends and then teach us valuable lessons. However I know you, I think of you as my friend.

The following photo is of my treasured friend Linda Bray that I met at a Hay House conference. The photo was taken at the Tao Restaurant in Las Vegas.

Would you like to have more Treasured Friends? A good way to have more Treasured Friends is to be the kind of friend — and person — you want to attract into your life! As the Law of Attraction says, “Like attracts like.”  What you think about is what you attract.  If you want to have more Treasured Friends, become the kind of person you want to attract as a friend.  

Following are some questions you might want to answer:

What friends encourage me to be myself and be the best me?

What friends inspire me to become all I can be?

Who is an encouraging “believing mirror” for me?

Who gives me positive feedback to help me learn?

Who can I tell the worst things that happen in my life?

Who can I tell the best things that happen in my life?

I’ve had some experiences that made me realize there are only a few people I feel I can tell when something “bad” happens in my life. The people who will be there for you during the worst — as well as for the best — are treasures!

How do you feel about the friends you have in your life?  Are there people you treasure that need more of your time?  Do you have friends who give you “psychological air” by truly listening to you?  Do you listen to them?  Make a list of people you treasure and make time in your schedule to see them — or at least email or call them more often. 

When life gets busy it is easy to lose touch with people you enjoy. In my opinion, feeling a connection with friends is one of the greatest joys of life. In fact, I believe that inspiring friends are a huge part of living a life you love.

Remember this quote:  “A visit or call from a friend can heal you.”   Visit a friend, email a friend, call a friend — allow the joy of your friendship to heal and enliven both of you!

I wish all of you love, hugs, laughter, joy, variety, creativity, and lots of fun with your treasured friends!

Margaux

PS: Do you use facebook? I am enjoying it as a way to connect with more people. I like that it has helped me meet people who have similar interests from around our country and in other countries as well. I also like it because it’s a way to share ideas with like-minded people. Plus it’s an easy way to share photos with each other. 

If you or one of your friends would like to join me on facebook, click here for my facebook page.