Fall festival time…harvest, abundance, wine, food. A time of celebration!

Or is it?

The stock markets are plummeting, there’s talk of recession, people are losing their jobs and financial giants are crumbling.

I live in a rural area, and as I have been thinking about this article the last few days, I have been looking forward in anticipation to writing about the Fall Wine Festival, harvest celebrations, and the general feeling of being thankful for such abundance. The apple trees out my window are laden with dark red apples contrasted against a brilliant blue sky. I can hear the machinery in the orchard next door as the harvest continues. The grapes are soaking up the last of the summer sun, preserving that essence as sweet sugar that makes our wines so luscious.  

Traditionally, this is the time of great celebration. Here in the Okanagan in South Central British Columbia, Canada, life is pretty much the way it always has been. The late summer is traditionally warm this year, and the orchardists, vineyards and wineries are all gearing up to bring in the last of the ripened fruit. The grapes will be crushed, and we will all celebrate at the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival. Two weeks of celebrating abundance.  

Here in B.C. Canada, we are relatively unscathed by the financial and economic chaos that is occurring in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. People are losing their jobs, their homes, and their retirement security. People are frightened. The news is flooded with the horror of a system in collapse. There are huge areas and cities that have been devastated by storms. Suffering is palpable.

 And it makes me wonder about all of all this celebration and indulgence and frivolity. It’s kind of like the feeling you get when you find yourself laughing at a funeral. It makes me feel guilty somehow. It just doesn’t feel right. I should be sorrowful out of respect for those that are suffering.

And, yet, life goes on. And, I am thankful. I am thankful that I am living in a time and place that I can enjoy the abundance all around me. I want to celebrate the weather, the harvest, the crush. I want to enjoy the fruit of the farmer’s labour – the wine and the food. My friends. My good fortune.  

I WILL savour all the richness that it available to me. And be even MORE grateful at this year’s Harvest Festivals as I recognize that this year, I am so very privileged. I will celebrate and be mindful of all those that are not as fortunate as I this year.  

If you are one of those hit hard by current circumstances, my hope is that you will find some small reason to celebrate too.

Yes, I know there are four months left in the year. But, realistically, December is pretty much a write off, isn’t it? How much more fun and less stressful would your Christmas season be if you had all your ’08 to do’s crossed off the list?

Yeah, I know. It’s kind of scary. Three months isn’t very long. And, if you’re like me, it begins to loom like a brick wall as the days grow shorter and the last of the summer BBQ’s and beach days are upon us. We’ve played a lot, and sometimes slacked off a lot over the summer months. And as August draws to a close, we begin feeling the push to get refocused and back on track. So, here are six quick and easy steps to get you revved up to finish the year in style!

Step 1: So, where to start? Well, why not begin with a review of the goals you set for yourself this year? Go ahead and pull them out. You did write them down, right? Ok. Well if you didn’t – grab a piece of paper and start now. Write down all the things you had hoped and planned to accomplish this year. Just as a little reminder: you may have had goals in any or all of these areas of your life: financial, career, health & fitness, relationships, fun and recreation, your environment, and your personal/spiritual development.  

Step 2: Put a big check beside the ones you have accomplished, and do a little celebration dance!

Step 3: Are the rest of your goals SMART? Make sure they are specific, measurable, that you can take action towards them, and mostly are they still relevant and realistic? Of course the time line is before the year end.

Step 4:  Prioritize: Ok, so maybe that list is looking a little overwhelming right at this point. Don’t sweat it. Pick the easiest and quickest goals first. Use them as your first priorities to get the ball rolling in the next couple of weeks. It will help you build some momentum and increase your self-confidence. Then, pick your top 3 most important, biggest bang goals and focus on them.

Step 5: Create your action plan. For each of your top 3 goals, write down everything that needs to get done in order to accomplish them. Break down those actions into the tiniest steps you can. Then put a timeline on each of the steps. What will you do by the end of this week? What will you get done by the end of September? You get the idea.  

Step 6: Finally, write those steps into your daytimer or calendar so that you know what you need to do each and every day. And, relish the knowledge that come December, you will be free to focus 100% on celebrating your successes as well as the festive season! Yippee!!