Holiday Magic

It's just a few days until Christmas. There is no snow, no post card perfect scenery.
I am also not particularly religious and am expecting no presents. So why am I excited? Here the commercial hoopla surrounding the holidays is minimal with very little advertising bombarding you at every turn.
So why, oh, why?
It happens every year. At some point I get excited. Usually just a few days before Christmas. It comes like magic whether I'm ready or whether I want it or not. I long to talk to everyone I know. Alas, the remnants of my family are scattered across the globe.
No matter. Christmas comes. For me it is a time of joy, of hope. More than other holidays it is a happy time. I wish everyone joy and peace, a full belly and hope for the new year. Wherever you are, alone or with friends and family, celebrate in your heart. Let your love for life shine through.

Going North Rant

Some years ago I moved to a tropical place. The air is soft, moist and sometimes downright humid. The light is kind, friendly and things appear lush and rich in color. I love it. There we are surrounded by green growing things and nature's bounty. Wildlife from the smallest ants and colorful birds to large cats (fast disappearing unfortunately) and monkeys keep us company. You never have to remember your jacket when you go out because you will never get really cold. Do remember the umbrella though when it's the rainy season.
As I write this I am back in the land of cold. The good thing is that it's a short visit. Right now there is snow on the ground and the wind is bitterly cold. A weak sun is shining but it only serves to provide illumination, no heat. There is a stark kind of beauty but I find it harsh. My skin is dry, my lips are chapped and my hair is a sad bedraggled mess due to dryness. Lotion and chapstick only go so far.
I have heard many people say they love winter. Some like winter sports. I never did and I often doubt those who profess this love of cold weather. Spring and Fall can be stunningly beautiful but not this. To me winter is bleak and depressing. It was always so for me. And now that I have lived where nature is kinder to the human soul and body I am more determined to stay away from northern climes.
Of course I am grateful that not everyone wants to live where I do. It would grow too crowded and turn into another concrete, mall clogged, traffic nasty, crazed and unliveable place.
If all goes well I'll be home shortly. I can shed these layers of fleece and wool, socks and hats, and get back to real living!

Human flowers

If God is and God is love as some have said then those who have not known love in this lifetime will surely receive grace and understanding in the next life, feeling it shine through them.

There are many who could not embrace love, could not give or accept love. The broken people who yearned for it but did not recognize it. If God is love, if God is merciful, if God is unity, then these people will know at last the warmth, the peace and the completeness of love.

Their souls will uncurl, the masks will fall, and they will bloom like human flowers.

And if God is not - for them the torment and the yearning are over. I weep for them, for all of us. Life is fleeting and the time to risk, the time to dare, is now. The human potential, the hope of us all, is daily ground underfoot. Sheer neglect and the well placed barb do more to destroy the soul than any image we have of a mythical devil.

Evil lives and we are it.

Goodness lives and we are it.

As you will.

thinking

Have you ever had an original thought? Be honest. Really really honest. It's not that what we read, hear, see and experience doesn't effect our thinking. That's called learning. But do you really take time to think? The kind of time you'd spend on some other less essential life process? Say taking a bath, eating dinner, watching television. Do you read the op ed section of the newspaper or listen to the 'experts' on your favorite radio or tv show and fall into line with whichever one seems to reflect your own feelings best?
To be fair it's almost impossible to think in most modern environments. Too many distractions and too little encouragement. Oh we think about our work, our friends and families, where we're going next, what we're doing next. No time, no time, no time to think we say. Not about 'unimportant' things like what our lives are about and how we're going to feel when they are over.
Thinking is one of the most essential acts imaginable. And it's beautiful. Nothing better than a totally quiet day, completely alone, no obligations hanging over our heads, nothing we have to DO.
Can you imagine that? Try. Your life depends on it.

Time

Think about the many ways we talk about time. We say things like: kill time, make time, waste time, spend time, good times, bad times, save time, no time, more time, etc. What is this thing that we can waste it, earn it, kill it, spend it, and save it? Sometimes call it good, other times bad. A thing we can have too much or too little of?
Time is a language tool that we have developed to communicate with others. Without the language of time we would not be able to refer to events in a way anyone would understand. Is that all it is? And what does it look like? We often think of time as a straight line. We are somewhere along the line at a point called 'the present.' Events on either side are called 'past' or 'future.' But is it really like that? Could time be an a curve that somewhere becomes a closed circle?
According to Albert Einstein time as we know it does not exist.
There is only NOW but there are other NOWS just as real. A now in which I exist and one in which I do not.