Over the holiday, with family here, it became clear to me that the essential thing was for us to be connected. After all that is what Christmas, Solstice, Hannukah, and the other year end festivals of Light are about, being connected to the Light, our selves, our family, and our Source.
There are certain traditional activities that our family does together that represent the holiday time for us. We put up a tree and decorate it, we give each other presents, we have a big family dinner. You and your family or friends probably have your own set of elements that “make up” the season. The way we approach these activities is important. It is easy to feel rushed and overwhelmed when faced with snow storms and lists for shopping or things to “do”. The pieces of the holiday may become tasks that somehow we need to accomplish to have everything be “OK”, but we’re happier if others do them. We may feel separated and alone even with so many people around. We are missing the essence, the togetherness. All of this showed up early last week, wanting to feel that connection and the overwhelming sense that it might be missing in spite of all the business.
So I took time in the shower to release the grief and frustration that came up. Slowly others stepped up a bit, I let go a bit, I saw more clearly that all the “elements” are not to be done for their own sake, but to provide a space, an opportunity for us to do something together with our loved ones. That is where the joy comes. When I was young we used to take time to bake cookies and fruit cake, strain cranberry sauce, and spend time in the kitchen. It wasn’t a chore to be done as fast as possible, or passed off to someone else, it was a fun time of tastes and smells and being together with family.
The season is like a ceremony, the elements are only important to the extent that they create space and support the intention; fellowship, love, peace and good will. It was still a fast week, speeding by, but I realized that if we couldn’t figure out how to have fun with it we were missing the point. Perhaps shifting to an attitude of play would help too. So put on some music and gather round the tree, or in the kitchen, tell jokes, laugh. Let the “task” be a game to do together, something shared, a co-creation. This being together and co-creating is the essence and the point of the season, and what we will remember and cherish long after when we have forgotten the details of the dinner, or what presents we got, or didn’t.
Life is to live from the soul and do only that which feeds the soul and nurtures connection, rather than madly rush through a check list. Recognizing the essence, and that the rest are details which are only important to the extent they serve the mood, the intention of coming together to call the Light in and forth. It is in knowing that we do this collectively, this year, in the moment, uniquely co-creating spaces that serve connection, joy and life. In shifting our perspective we can shift our experience. The week was fast, full, but not just busy, there was joy, play, connection and co-creation too.
I hope you also got to feel something of creating with others this year, calling in the Light with family or friends or your guides. I invite you to carry this forward into the New Year, knowing that amidst all the changing externalities your heart tells you what is essential and will guide you in creating spaces for it.
What serves connection? How can we re-create what we are doing so that it becomes a space, a ceremony, a game that is grounded in Spirit and is connected to each other and to Source?
Just like stepping through a screen or veil, appearances are not changed much on the outside, but everything feels different on the inside. Waking up we are more conscious of the under layers, the spiritual fabric flowing through everything. What is essential becomes clear, and in that clarity you know how to honor it and relate to things differently. Intending to be connected rather than disconnected, making that choice over and over, until by habit, persistence, and grace you realize you are connected and things are different. Even though they may look the same, they come alive and are joyful.
Blessed be.
(© 1/2010)
