We must rejoice in the heavens, we must celebrate the things most sacred to us, we must thank our poor subconscious realm that toils away making things run, a to b, the known and unknown, discerning illusion and reality, and make a plan. Christmas is rest and time for collecting, family, ourselves, my selves. The subconscious in a person loves Christmas, the lights, music, people we haven’t seen for some time, family, and whenever or wherever joy. It’s actually time to let the realm of obligations become the kingdom of light. There’s power in light. Forgiveness.
My subconscious knows that light will lead the mind to the conscious realm where less harm is perpetrated and the protection that surrounds us is alive. So many souls walk the tracts of those before and travel in circles. Might we have contributed in some way, pause and reflect on our own state in its myriad issues and desires, locked into patterns, bound by priorities. We pray for other sources or forces to intercede if we’re of generous spirit, for ourselves and others. Can we walk in another man’s shoes for just an instant?
If spring is the joy of rebirth, Christmas time is the sharing of heart, opening up our own compassion and seeing how our thoughts affect ourselves and our world. One season when a war was raging, there arose a debate among a certain group in battle that they might simply stop the fight and risk death if need be. That in the deepest most unfettered thought, aggression would be lifted, and all men and women would see past the self-righteousness of battle and join hands. Real Christmas is simply peace.
We’re all the same on this little blue planet with our hopes and dreams of a more equitable future, a more livable planet. Turning 80 this past Thanksgiving seemed appropriately monumental, as did celebrating 50 years of marriage. Two milestones that bookend a life of consciousness and reinvention. May it continue.
This year has or should teach us that its long due time to give ourselves the benefit of all doubts. We can pick up the pieces of ‘22 and reimagine a better future. We can get tripped up by the past or we can take charge of the future, perform the same scenes or reimagine them. After all, Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and each man in his time plays many parts.” On stage we have to be completely in the present, and when we’re offstage, when we find ourselves at odds with who we are, we should remember that there’s always light, that the time between scenes is not time lost or squandered but time for breath, a time for acknowledging the best of ourselves. Set the stage for the next act, move the furniture around, new lights, the soundtrack that you can sing to.
With the New Year approaching, and with many years in the rear view mirror, I conclude we have to look closely at what we accept from others and what we accept from ourselves. They are different in many respects. We either listen to or ignore others, and we either listen to or ignore what we’re telling ourselves, let alone what others think. We keep our thoughts private, or we enter the ring where the beauty of our beings can shine. That’s the most sublime and surprising place. Inspiration becomes automatic, our anxieties subside, and it flourishes.
I caught a documentary last week on Nova, I believe, about Stonehenge. What does Stonehenge tell us? Down to 2500 BC the society trekked weeks each year to get to the yearly festival for all the citizens. There was one culture that occupied the land and weapons of war were unknown. They feasted, danced, and ate, and when the heavens aligned, they celebrated and went home. But the island was invaded by European peoples, and archaeologists and anthropologists found burial grounds where bodies were preserved with artifacts of war. The earlier peoples had no such representations. What a change. Man’s attunement to the outer world had become objectified. Status and wealth stratified society.
All the Christmas stories hark to times when the backdrop was set in conflicted times, and mankind was shown his choices. Now these have built monuments to what we can accomplish. The moon. Great ships, cures for diseases, incredible flying machines, the algorithm. But we aren’t able to stop creating the problems that threaten life. This we must rectify. If Christmas leads us back to our foundations, if it’s the yearly moment when we all come together, friends and families, think how precious the people of Stonehenge were to each other. It brought them connection at a time when life was not taken for granted. Nor must we. Best Christmas and holiday wishes.
Alan and Jane, of Shelburne Falls, are home this year and survived and enjoyed their 50/80 party — 50 years married and Alan’s 80th. Have a great holiday.