Sy in the City

The Gift of Health, Happiness & Energy

You've all read my posts about my detox program, so it should not come as a surprise to you that "health" and "energy" are pretty high up on my list of priorities.

This holiday season, instead of going overboard with material stuff, I decided to give my daughter Imaan the gift of health, happiness & energy!  I have long admired the work done by the Art of Living Foundation.  Over the years, I've had the privilege of getting to know Maninder and the rest of the team behind the Art of Living.  This morning I received THIS newsletter from the Art of Living Foundation and I knew I had the perfect gift for Imaan.

I've registred her for the 5 day "Youth Empowerment Seminar" (YES) program which is especially geared towards youth between 14 and 18 years.  I had to check with Imaan first because I would never impose any wellness program on anyone.  As I had hoped, she received it with much enthusiasm.  I am hoping she finds the experience rewarding and decides to blog abut it herself.  You know that my daughter is also a blogger, right?  Yup, as they say, the apple does not fall far from the tree ;)

I am quite tempted to sign up for the adult program myself! My friend Rachana is a big believer and practitioner of the "Art of Living" philosophy and has often encouraged me to look into the program.  It just never happened.  Maybe it's because I had to reach a certain level of awareness and preparedness before I was ready for the program.

And this time, I can feel it - I am ready!  I would love it if some of you also joined me in this program.  All the details can be found HERE.  Feel free to check out the Art of Living website or simply call Maninder at 416-834-6628.

Whatever your holiday plans are and however you decide your gift giving - this may be one of the most rewarding gifts that you can give to a loved one (including yourself!).

Timeless Traditions

Most of us have some holiday tradition or another.  Some of these have been handed down for generations (a recipe perhaps for a special cake or turkey) and some have been sort of created along the way.

My family did not celebrate christmas when I lived in India so all my holiday traditions have been created in the last ten or twelve years - since I arrived in Canada.

Yes, we do the whole nine yards - from decorating our tree, to decorating the house with ornaments to baking cookies for Santa.  My favourite holiday tradition, however, is the advance christmas present opening that we do each year on Christmas eve.

When Imaan was younger she'd always get impatient and so one year (when she was 5 or 6), I allowed her to open one present.  It turned out that the box she chose had her new jammies.  She loved them and wore them to bed that night and the next morning she opened the rest of her presents in her new pyjamas.  And, just like that, a tradition was born.

Since that year, Imaan gets new pyjamas every year on Christmas eve.  There's no particular significance to it and there's no element of surprise either but I know she will be expecting them and I will have them ready.  Quite possibly, it's a tradition she will continue when she has kids of her own.

Another example is the Annual Kris Kringle bash I host for my girlfriends.  It started six years ago as an informal get together where a group of us decided to exchange presents and share the holiday cheer.  I offered to host it at my place and we had so much fun that the following year, I offered to host it again.  This time, I decided to cook for all the guests and we had a blast.  And that's what's happened every year since.

Last Friday, we celebrated the Sixth Annual Kris Kringle Bash at Chez Sy.  We had 16 women in attendance and, yes, I cooked dinner for us all.  I baked mini appetizers (chicken pies) from scratch to organizing the main course (also from scratch) of Nihari, Rice, Dal, Pad thai and Thai Red Curry - it was a lot of work.  But the evening was just as wonderful as I have always remembered it to be.  Our group has changed so much in the last six years.  There have been engagements, marriages, divorces, babies, relocations, career moves etc.  Once a year, we get together and reminisce and catch up and also share our hopes for the year to come.  We've had new girls join us as others have moved on.  And there's the faithful few that show up every year! :)

It's a tradition I feel so happy to have created and I am sure everyone in attendance feels the same way.

So if you haven't got a tradition of your own, make this the year you create one.  Do something special and then do it again next year and it will endure.

Happy Holidays!!