December: A month that brings Hope (and much more) to many
Happy Chanukah and a Merry Christmas to All!
This is indeed a special time of the year. It starts with Thanksgiving, a time when a lot of us will recall things we are grateful for.
I believe this gratitude begins to open our hearts to experience an even greater time of the year: Chanukah and Christmas.
Have you ever noticed that during this time of the year people do seem to get more friendly; more willing to do a little more for others...even strangers?
Over the centuries, even in times of great disputes, this month has brought about a time of healing on some level. A time to honor traditions from past generations; to remember family members who gave more and are no longer present; a time of year when the unity of mankind does focus more on Peace for All on Earth.
We can choose to focus on the very spirit of this blessed time or, if we choose, to find fault and focus on the commercialism and what we be perceive as false charity.
That is the free will we each have been given.
A mother or father cannot force a child's love. But through love and guidance (yes, that does mean rules and regulations!), by showing the child how they honor each other and those around them, living by the example of how to deal with diversity and keeping their hearts open, as well as making healthy decisions...parents set the stage for their children to grow up to have good character and the intelligence to make the tough decisions they will have to face on their life's journey.
So does our Divine Mother & Father do the same for all of mankind. They give us free will in the world of duality to decide how we are to live our lives. The choice is ours.
I try to surround myself with those who say yes...to Hope...to Faith...to Peace and, most importantly, to Love.
Love is not an emotion. It is so much more than a feeling.
And Peace is not the absence of war, any more than the absence of war is peace.
The two holidays from the Judeo/Christian teachings are very prominent this month and reinforce Hope, Faith, Peace and Love.
In the world of duality, we see Light and Darkness and, with it, many interpretations of what Light and Darkness means to each of us.
But in reality, there can be no Light without Darkness, and no Darkness without Light in the world we live in.
There is first the Festival of Lights: Hanukkah. Nearly 200 years before the birth of The Christ, a Hebrew tribe known as the Maccabees wanted to re-dedicate the temple after driving out the Greeks in a three-year struggle. However, the Maccabees only found enough oil to light their holy lamps for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted eight days; long enough for the Maccabees to make more oil. Thus, the Jewish tradition celebrates the blessing of something they had so little of that was made to last much longer then it was supposed to. Of course there are other teachings from that battle between the Jews and their Greek-Syrian oppressors.
This is also the month that Christmas occurs; a time when the birth of Jesus of Nazareth is celebrated by the followers of Jesus, The Christ.
Jesus of Nazareth came to be called "Jesus Christ," (or Jesus the Christos, meaning Jesus the Messiah). Christos in Greek means anointed one. Kings were anointed with scared oils.
In the New Testament, Jesus refers to himself as "The Light of This World" after healing a blind man on the Sabbath (thus leading a man from darkness to light).
There are many interpretations of the comparison between Light and Darkness, but among the most common are good and bad...right and wrong.
In some circles, the shadow side is considered to be negative. But doesn't the shadow side teach us as well? Doesn't it teach us the very things that we don't want to attract or have in our lives? Experiencing the shadow side is important; it too makes us whole, knowing that which we no longer want to be a part of.
But let's face it. There can be no light without the absence of darkness...and no darkness without the absence of light. One completes the other; in some sense, they make each other whole.
So as we go out and about this month (and in the months to come), I ask that we take a step back and look at all that is going on in our world and in our lives. Instead of rushing to judgment because of some perceived wrong done, what can we take away from it? Instead of being overshadowed by our feelings of right and wrong, and good and bad, can we take a deep breath and ask ourselves what is it that we are to learn from other people's actions or from us losing our job or loved one, or from becoming ill? There is always something we can learn from even the most painful situation.
In this month's Ah-Man Blog posts, I will once again touch on Hope, Faith, Peace and Love.
Namaste,
Michael
