December 2008
Dear Friends,
Yet again the year turns in its inevitable way. We feel it on our skin, still unused to the cold. We feel it in our hearts, still unused to the dark, still uneasy with the greater dark to come. We feel it in our spirits stretching toward the light that we pray is coming, yet we know not how or when. So we create holy days to mark the turning; days for giving thanks, days for encouraging the light into life, days for resolutions, once we’re sure the sun is coming, really coming.
In the spirit of this season of holy days, I’d like to share two passages from UU Rev. Wallace Fiske’s marvelous A Harvest of 60 Years. The first is about Thanksgiving; the second about New Year’s resolutions.
“If we reach out our hands we can touch only those of you who are near. But if we reach out our hearts – ah – we find all of you. Is that not indeed just cause for thanksgiving.” (the Wulp family)
Our lives are made richer, deeper, broader, more meaningful through every single one we meet; not just the humans of whatever age, but every single aspect of life that engages us on our journey from birth to death. As the days grow dark, make time to stop and to appreciate all the blessings life offers to you.
As the days grow darker yet, turn your heart to the joy you can give away. Say “Yes” to the holy passages of the season; say “Yes” to the miracle of light each one celebrates: Chanukah, Winter Solstice, Christmas. There are those near and far who will be better in the dark because your light shines.
And then, as you delve deeply into your soul for just the right resolution to take you into the New Year with either joy or trepidation, or both perhaps, cherish this resolution of Helen Keller.
“…one resolution… is the keynote of my life. It is this: always to regard as a mere impertinence of fate the handicaps which were placed upon my life almost from the beginning.”
Do not be afraid of the dark, for in its quiet stillness new life is born — in the miracle of light, in the miracle of a stable in Bethlehem, in the miracle of renewal.
Wishing you a blessed holiday season,
- Olivia |
