Tea with Linda - ENTHUSIASM
Tea with Linda - ENTHUSIASM
Linda Kavelin Popov, Co-Founder of TVP, January 2025
This new year of 2025 feels momentous! Enthusiasm stirs as never before! It fills me with hope that each tiny ripple effect --every word of love and encouragement, every choice of courage or forgiveness, every act of service --will send out massive waves of healing throughout a world sorely in need of a virtues transformation. The root meaning of enthusiasm is (en Theos) “God within.” All those we impact, from our intimates to our workmates, strangers we encounter, and people with whom we share community, need to experience virtues that are authentic and trustworthy. I always like to choose a virtue as a theme for the year. What will yours be? Sufi mystic Rumi said, “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” What do you love most? My enthusiasm is projecting a creative renaissance for The Virtues Project global community with fresh initiatives emerging.
The Five Virtues Strategies provide a lens and a template preparing us for a genuine spiritual shift.
Looking back to the past year, what were the strength virtues and growth virtues that arose? What virtues are needed in your life now and which ones can you stand on as you create your new narrative? There are many virtues veterans in our seventh, eighth, and ninth decades. As we approach our final season, deep reflection on how we choose to live what could be our last year on earth brings heightened meaning. Write an affirmation that reflects your guiding virtues for the year. “I am…”
What were the key Teachable Moments of the past year? What did you learn? What do you plan to change this year? Personally, I’m seeking a more constant pace of grace and a sense of pristine balance between service and joyful non-compulsory space. Moderation and contentment call to me. Creativity is rising once again and I have already started new virtues-based projects, including a book of virtues stories illustrated by my island granddaughter. I want to plunge into the creative side of a Virtues Project Legacy initiative currently underway. I also intend to plunge more often into our turquoise lagoon. Neither boredom nor overdoing is an option!
What are the boundaries needed to protect your new narrative, the ideal pace of 2025? What will you stand for this year and what will you not stand for? How will you protect space for solitude and spontaneity, where Grace often moves?
What practices nurture your soul and honor your spirit? What support do you need to sustain your enthusiasm and your sanity? For many of us, participating in a Virtues Connection Circle online is a lifeline.
What is my soul trying to tell me? What are my honest feelings and how can I hear them better? How can I become a more effective spiritual companion to others? Am I listening to Spirit?
Just imagining this process fills me with Divine enthusiasm. We are agents of our own lives. There are many things we cannot control but so very much that is within our power to transform with Grace.