|
REFLECTIONS ON CHRISTMAS EVE
Today is Christmas Eve and as I quietly reflect on the solemn day unfolding before us, I send my thoughts and energy to all who now travel the path through the pain of personal loss.
I think about how the fragile threads of life ultimately give way to the inevitabliity of loss through death. And I think about the many who, over the years, have shared their grief stories with me. I remember the reluctance with which many approached the very painful work-of-grief, believing that they would never "get over it"....and came to find that, while they indeed would never get over it, they certainly would get through it.
And I think about how "getting through it" requires a "leap of faith" inviting us to believe and trust the evidence rooted in the stories of human loss preserved for us since the beginning of recorded human history. I reflect on how often we seek solace and comfort in trying to understand why....only to discover that we rarely find comfort or solace in "understanding".
And I marvel that it is in the quest to understand that we begin the long journey to arrive at the place where we acknowledge a truth we have always known--we are born to die, at a time and place not of our choosing but of a design beyond our human understanding. Solace and comfort, then, lie not so much in seeking to understand, but in embracing faith in the power to believe that solace and comfort reside in actively engaging the grief that always accompanies loss. St. Augustine said it this way: "Faith is to believe what you do not see...the reward for this faith is to finally see what you believe."
Grief, our internal healer, gently but firmly, guides us through the painful process of our grieving and mourning toward the comfort and solace we seek: believe and trust the unfolding process. The grieving process gives us the opportunity to finally see what we did not believe and arrive, at last, to a surcease of the pain of grief as we tentatively embrace a different way of being happy. As I reflect on this Christmas Eve day, then, I ask you to give yourself these four gifts:
- Faith in the belief that you will get through the pain of your grief...
- Trust that grief, the vital energy of your inner healer, will see you through the process of your grieving...
- Courage to release what is over and embrace what is yet to come...
- Patience to let the universe unfold as it must while reaching for moments of joy in your changing life...
I conclude my reflections now and move toward celebration of the profound meaning of this day looking forward to engaging in the festivities of the holiday season. My hope is that, supported with the four gifts you give yourself, you will join with family and friends to honor the meaning of this day in your faith tradition and also enjoy the festivities...yes, in the midst of your pain, reach for moments of joy...
I send out to everyone my wishes for a wonderful holiday and a most blessed Christmas.
Until the next time,
Barbara | 
