DeborahBurkeHenderson.com

JANUARY 2026 – LOVE LETTERS

Hatshuinode is Japanese for “welcoming the first sunrise of the new year”.

As you welcome this new year of life, take a few moments to acknowledge and appreciate all the qualities that make you so very you. Don’t forget any flaws or quirks. Whatever you may think of as a flaw or odd behavior is also part of your uniqueness. Be grateful for everything.

Consider writing yourself a love letter.

It may sound corny, but why not? Offer a word of thanks for each characteristic, value, and talent. Jot down and welcome even your fears. Our lived experience shows that fear provides opportunities to stretch and move beyond our comfort zone. This promotes growth and shapes who we are.

As you take time to reflect, look within, and offer thanks, you may find this cultivates a sense of peacefulness.

Compassion is the thing that brings us gently back to ourselves. As we fill our “cup,” we can better inspire one another to engage courage and build up self-confidence. We can remind an individual to view failure as a learning tool and encourage that person to focus on the takeaways from any given experience. Throughout this process, however, remember to be gentle with one another.

We all want and need to feel loved. When we love ourselves, we are better able to extend lovingkindness to those around us.

Might you send a love letter or poem to someone else? If you do, share which of their traits you most admire. Through your words, tenderly support them in their efforts to keep trying, move forward, and discover and share their gifts and talents.

You may never know the impact of your words, but that’s okay.

When we reach out with genuine care and concern, we help others to believe more deeply in themselves, see their potential, and trust in their journey. And don’t forget to share your everyday awareness of miracles. When we live with eyes wide open, we witness the beauty and mystery of life and that brings warmth and joy.

As you go forward in this new year of life, vow to live each day to its fullest and spread love, peace, and kindness to all.

Blessings everyone,

Deborah

     ________________________

“What lies behind us and what lies before us

are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher

My morning mantra:

"I arise this morning with a smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. 

I vow to live fully in each moment and to greet every being I meet with compassion."

        ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist 

                                                                                    [1926 - 2022]