Win a Trip Winner Announced, What is Really Important?, The World Needs More Love Letters

Good Morning from the Fair Isle of the Sea,

Thank you for allowing me in for a cuppa this morning. 

Some say I am addicted to tea! 

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas, and the calories are starting to burn away in preparation for a healthier New Year.

Congratulations to Brynhilde Roth of Fredericksburg, Virginia, she has become our sixth annual Win a Trip to Prince Edward Island winner.

As long as you are a subscriber to our newsletter you are eligible to win. Perhaps next year is your year.

It is hard to believe the end of the year is almost here, let along another decade.

Earlier this week I read the following question. It got me to thinking.

Over the last ten years, what has become more relevant to you?

What has become less important?

For me, my family has grown in importance as has my Christian faith. I recognize the value and importance of real friendships. You know the kind that you grow from. The kind of friend you would do anything for.

Also, what has grown in importance is living intentionally.  Doing the right things at the right time.

"Forever is composed of nows." ~ Emily Dickinson

What is less important to me is: what others think about me, and the other is my need to pursue fame and fortune. I found that both are a waste of time.

“The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more. The life of the spirit requires less and less.” ~ Annie Dillard

At the end of the day, it is family and real friends who will be around your bedside.

What about you? Was there anything you want to add or subtract from my list?

Life isn’t a race against other people. Nobody wins in the end. Either you work some things out within yourself, or you don’t. That is the chief aim. ~ Dan Pederson

I recently purchased Atomic Habits, a book by James Clear. I am looking forward to diving into it soon.

This book will be the first of 20 to read in 2020.

I love the clarity with which he writes, a reflection of wisdom within.

For example, he states the following.

How to Be Unhappy:

-stay inside all-day

-move as little as possible

-spend more than you earn

-take yourself (and life) too seriously

-look for reasons why things won’t work

-always consume, never contribute

-resent the lucky and successful

-never say hello first

-be unreliable

Invert for happiness:

-get outside each day

-move: walk, exercise, dance

-spend less than you earn

-view life as play

-be the one who looks for solutions

-develop a bias to contribute and create

-learn from the lucky and successful

-be the first to say hello

-be reliable

I only have five chapters to finish For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Atomic Habits is next. Then, Beverley McLachlin’s book, Truth Be Told, My Journey Through Life and Law.

I had the pleasure of meeting the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada now retired in our shop a few years back. What I remember is that she was a gracious and kind person.

Gracious and kindness is a trait in humans; I admire a great deal.

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. ~ Albert Schweitzer

Speaking of kindness. 

Hannah Brencher's mother always wrote her letters. So when she felt herself bottom into depression after college, she did what felt natural -- she wrote love letters and left them for strangers to find. The act has become a global initiative, The World Needs More Love Letters, which rushes handwritten letters to those in need of a boost.

I need to head out the door. I want to get to the gym and get a jump on fine-tuning my 2020 habits.

We wish you a Happy New Year and all the best to you and yours.

Today, I have been listening and loving the Elias String Quartet album. Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets, Volume 4.  Sample Listen Here.

Have a lovely weekend. 

With love from Prince Edward Island, 

Bruce

ps. A mother’s experience...

I figured that at age seven, it was inevitable for my son to begin having doubts about Santa Claus. Sure enough, one day, he said, "Mom, I know something about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy."

Taking a deep breath, I asked him, "What is that?"

He replied, "They're all nocturnal."