Return of the light

It is that time of year again when the light returns.
Whether we look at it from the physical, seasonal perspective of the Winter Solstice or from the perspective of the celebration of Christmas; these last days of the year are marked by the return of the light; or Light as the case may be.

With that, it starts a time of new beginnings. The most obvious one the beginning of the New Year. And that often spills over into our lives when we start the year with our New Year’s Resolutions; our decisions to make the New Year even better than the old one has been; to set out to become an even better person as we have been up to now in our lives…

With the physical return of the light on the Winter Solstice, our vital energy starts building again, enabling a greater focus on everything we want to accomplish over the next year. At the same time the days are growing longer again, literally shedding more light on just about anything we focus at so that we can see it with more clarity.
With the return of the Light as we celebrate Christmas, the inspirational Light returns. This is the Light that guides us ~ and while some may see this Light as outside of themselves, others will experience it as the inner connection to the highest counterpart of themselves. As this Light returns, it brings us closer to the (higher) wisdom we need to make the best, the wisest decisions in order to move ahead on our personal paths.

It means that just over a couple of days, both the physical light as well as the inspirational Light come into our lives to give us that opportunity to set our goals for the New Year ~ whether these goals are personal or even global. Independent from our drive to come up with the best New Year’s Resolutions, or whether we have given up on those entirely (as we tend to forget about them, sometimes as early as January 2nd when ‘real life’ begins again), we are pushed to look ahead, to make plans and set goals.

The timing gives us all the tools to see clearly what we want to do, and why. It gives us the light and clarity to envision the structure through which we will achieve the goals we set out to achieve…
This makes this time of year ~ on top of all of the celebrations ~ a truly productive time of year as well. Even if you just use it to create a little list of the ideas and plans that come up so you can revisit them later.
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The Christmas Spirit

It is the season! When walking the streets late afternoon and looking into the well-lit homes, Christmas trees are appearing one by one. And whether they are ‘fake trees’ chosen to battle the cost of the ‘real’ equivalent, or rather to save the environment, or whether they are the ‘real deal’ spreading the unmistakable scent of the forest ~ it truly doesn’t matter. What matters is the light it brings into our homes and our hearts.

And so, come December, the short days and long, dark nights are countered by a multitude of lights!

In some homes this goes together with a pile of Christmas presents underneath the tree. Others may have celebrated Santa’s arrival earlier this month. After all, even with Santa’s ‘super-powers’ he cannot be everywhere all at once…

It is all part and parcel of The Christmas Spirit.

In a sense The Christmas Spirit then becomes kind of a catch all phrase for that very special time at the end of the year. That time when we celebrate the return of the light. For some that may resonate more from a perspective of the Yule Tide, or of the Winter Solstice, while for others Christmas day has great appeal. It also coincides with the start of the new year; again whether we look at it from a seasonal perspective, or from the actual day and time the new year starts. And all of these things are neatly wrapped up in a ten day period; a time to get together with family and friends.

A time to spread the Light and the love. A time we keep bringing to our minds and hearts our yearning for peace ~ be it in ourselves, our families, our direct environments and communities; and ultimately throughout the world. After all, we all desire to prosper in the very best energies the Universe has to offer to us, just as we have to offer to each other: Light, Love and Peace.

And in that spirit, filled with all of the Light and Love the season has to offer, we can come up with the plans of those things we want to bring to fruition over our next year. Making this a perfect time to set our goals, both personal as well as our job-related goals. And a great time to dream ~ and dream big ~ about the things we would really like to do or experience; even though they may seem out of reach for now…

In that way, when we bring The Christmas Spirit to life, we are certain to set ourselves up to experience the very best in our lives and in our world!
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Winter Weather

It is that time of year again. The leaves have fallen off the trees, the days are almost at their shortest. And depending on where you are at, the weather may be anything from dreary to plain nasty. Although in some areas it can also be nice and clear, and probably very cold.
It is the type of weather the that seems to invite us to get ourselves a warm drink, and to curl up on the couch with a good read. To enjoy the warmth and the light ~ the entire atmosphere ~ of our home environment. In a sense one could even say it is a time to rest before all kinds of activities start happening again…

These last few days of Fall, when the Winter weather has already set in, are precious in that respect. They signal a time of preparation in the cycle of the seasons. Not the preparation for the next year as we find during the Winter months, but more a preparation of ourselves. All that needed to be done before Winter has been done, and although the Winter weather has taken hold, the Winter energy is not quite there, giving us a little time to sit down, to take a deep breath, and to center in that point of Light within. Giving us time to to listen to that inner voice as it tells us what a great job we have done this past year. A time of quiet reassurance that we are indeed right where we need to be on our personal paths, and from that perspective allowing ourselves that little pause to look around and observe where we are at without the immediate need to take action on any of it.

For some of us this means to literally sit back and enjoy the warm drink. For others it can be more restful to seek out the storm while walking on the beach, enjoying the white, foamy heads that appear on each wave as it rolls onto shore where it releases the foam to the wind and the sand.
Whatever activity ~ or non-activity as the case may be ~ is most to your liking in during these last weeks before the Winter Solstice; be sure to set aside some time to do them. Even if it feels like you are indulging yourself for no reason; treating yourself without ‘having earned it’.

Because in the grand scheme of things you have earned this little time to just be with ‘you’ and the early Winter weather. And permitting yourself that little time to step back and enjoy ~ even if it is just an afternoon ~ will truly prepare you for the new energies the Winter Solstice will bring in…
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Seeing and hearing

Sight and hearing being senses, we use them to become aware of what is going on in our environment. This awareness then can be a warning system ~ we can see or hear something that alarms us ~ that can keep us out of trouble. Of course we also use our other senses to that effect; smelling or tasting something; not to forget our sense of touch through which we can feel whether things are right ~ and safe ~ or not.

Yet seeing and hearing stand somewhat apart from the other senses as we use them most often in our every day lives. Hearing sounds ~ something that is almost a continuous thing nowadays ~ and when we want to tune out the sounds of our environment, we start listening to music. And through our sight we get all kinds of input all day long. And when we find nothing much is happening, there is always the TV with 24/7 input…

It begs the question how much of what we are seeing and hearing in any given day in our lives do we truly observe and listen to? In other words, at which point does seeing become observing, or does hearing become listening?

For many things we encounter in life, the casual seeing and hearing is sufficient in order to keep us out of trouble, or even safe. However in personal contact raising our senses a notch to observing and listening can give us a lot more information!

Suddenly there are tone of voice and inflection, there is the choice of words that when truly listened to can tell us more than the actual story being told. And then there is the body language of the other person that let’s us know how that person is feeling about whatever is conveyed or going on…
As soon as we permit ourselves to truly observe and listen to the people ~ but also to our pets, and even to the ‘regular everyday sounds’ ~ around us we become more aware.

More aware of our environment, and more aware of our interaction with that environment. And ultimately more aware of who we are, what we (desire to) do, and what we have to offer to the world around us…

Something else that happens as we permit ourselves to become more aware, is that we start to live more in this very moment ~ rather then living yesterday’s memories, or the things we may be worrying about that might happen tomorrow.
The more acute our senses become, the more aware we become, and the more we are living in that magical moment we call ‘now’.
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Garbage

In today’s world there is a lot to do about garbage.
On one hand the actual garbage; the stuff that is broken or we no longer need that we want to dispose of ~ with the question of how much of it we can or should recycle. On the other hand the amount of balderdash we tend to spew into the world. Non-productive sounds, words, messages, sometimes disguised as ‘news’ are washing over us on a day to day basis.

It begs the question why we are okay with that.

Looking at the ‘stuff’ we want to dispose of for whatever reason ~ whether it is broken, no longer needed, or just something that was fun for a while but now we are done with is ~ one could say that we are living in a ‘trashy’ society. We create so much stuff that we feel we have to have, that often is really not giving us anything more than the pleasure we felt when we bought it. Only to find that it truly is not adding anything significant to our lives; and before long it is in the way and we dispose of it.

As to the verbal garbage we are bombarded with ~ and perhaps enter into making small-talk or gossiping with others ~ why are we listening to it? What makes us spend our time and energy engaging in stories of other people’s ~ often celebrity’s ~ lives, rather than creating our own life stories? Why do we accept that anything ‘newsworthy’ is twisted into something that is either exciting or scandalous; not because it is true, but rather because it sells ‘the papers’ (or whichever channel we use to keep ‘up to date’).

Are we really that apathetic that we are not paying attention anymore to what is going on, unless it is brought to us with that outrageous quality added to it that grabs our attention?

And why do we need to be seemingly involved in other people’s lives? Don’t we have our own lives to live? Do we really fail to respect ourselves and others to that extend?
Really??

It may be time to re-evaluate where we want to spend our time, energy, and yes our money.
To start thinking before we buy anything we don’t need. To start living our own lives before we broadcast our ~ often biased ~ opinions of other people’s lives…

Perhaps the best antidote to the garbage in our lives ~ be it literal or verbal ~ is to take a step back and start using our common sense again.
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