The Twelve Days of Xmas and the Prelude

This of course will not be a traditional reflection as I've given up on religion in general and Jesus in particular, ie: god isn't what you think and Jesus cannot save you. That being said however, I read several wonderfully thought provoking pages this morning in the Celtic Spirit which I feel compelled to share with you. Share because one of the references mentioned taking time and space to be who we are. To actually push aside the pressures of an often frantic season and reflect on who we are or who we wish we were or in fact who we portray ourselves to be.  For me it's been a difficult year: a sister and former husband dying, a four year relationship ending, a weight loss regained and wine consumption beyond the parameters of  personally acceptable. I say this out loud because to me they seem difficult, then I compare it to any current news topic (just pick one, Ferguson, Garner, CIA Torture Report, Immigration Reform, Ebola, Any Country in the Middle East, North Korea....the list tumbles off the page),  and my life is a piece of cake in comparison. But it isn't of course, just like your life probably isn't either. We are forever trying to solve some pressing issue deep within us, sometimes making headway, sometimes failing. The key is to keep coming back.

Somehow taking time to create this entry, when I have a list a mile long to prepare for a house full of festivities, just seems like something I should really do. Something which brings me back to what I really enjoy, which is writing. And just when I'm sure I read an email and this appears One of the important opportunities of this solstice and new moon is to work on releasing all disappointments, regrets and dissatisfactions from the past year.  It's all tied together, it's a circle, we are one human family on one planet earth.....

So...my intention for these next few days is to share some of the insights from this book, which,  toward the end of December, focuses on the solstice, hearth & home, and being human. Those would be the 12 days of xmas. Two days prior, the topic is suspending your disbelief and what gifts do you really want. I'm particularly interested in 23 December when the focus turns to coming home, the preparations we make for family and friends. Perhaps you will have, or take, the time to read and reflect on your life, your family, your beliefs. For me, there are some calming and restoring inferences to temper my conflicts both personal and global. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...

The 12 days plus 2 which I've chosen are December 19th through January 1st, and have no real connection to the art picture above , the song or the Christian references...it's just a title.

You may now click on this link Twelve Days to read the entries. I did not get them completed however as I became ill, posting only the 19th thru the 28th.  Perhaps it will be complete by next season!

When Wrongs Fester Without Justice

The time is long past for change.  We must admit what is taking place and take action. To say we are mistreating the poor and the black and the brown is an understatement of outrageous magnitude.  I sit here in my white skin and my white neighborhood and I'm ashamed to be living in a country where so much injustice is taking place. My only recourse is to care and continue to press on.  Once again I take a stand:

Slavery by Another Name

8 December from "The Celtic Spirit" ~ another timely reading.

          Revenge

Three incitements to revenge: screaming of female relatives, and seeing the bier of their relation, and seeing the grave of their relation without compensation__triad from Laws of Hywel Dda

Both the Welsh laws of King Hywel Dda (HOO'wel THA) and the Irish brehon laws understood the deep-seated nature of revenge upon people who receive neither compensation nor apology for their wrongs. 

When wrongs fester without justice, revenge raises up its own host to deal with things. When we are pondering the causes of terrorism or vendetta, we should remember that these abuses arise among a people when appropriate compensation or justice is denied. The causes of revenge lie deep in the human heart: a need for revenge is evoked by loo, grief, anger, the inability to gain compensation or redress, the bold-faced behavior of the guilty, the desire to cause a like injury in the guilty "so they can see what it feel like."

Revenge can be maintained beyond the grave and cascade from generation to generation down the bloodline until all descendants are likewise infected by the disease. When revenge enters the bloodstream of a whole nation, then we face a situation that has defied boardrooms of arbitrators and peace-brokers. Proponents of terrorism seek redress on behalf of countries and nationalist sensibilities that they perceive have been abused or neglected. Terrorists are fueled by ancestral appeasement: they are no longer individuals with ordinary concerns but the living incarnation of ancestral revenge feuds. 

If peace and reconciliation are to be brought about, the wronged party must be listened to seriously and the source of the injury must be investigated by impartial witnesses. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter, the release of forgiveness is the only sure balm to revenge.

How has revenge been a factor in your own life and that of your ancestors? What solutions have been found to be acceptable?

Are we going to let this continue?

 

 

 

The images of  police brutality were so horrific and I did not take time to positively verify so I have not posted them. I recommend you take a look however, the reality of their suffering is beyond my comprehension and very possibly yours.....

The Practice of Being Human

The following passage is from an old reference of mine called The Celtic Spirit:

Integrity in Work

Whether we work for an employer or are self-employed, whether we have retired or are taking a sabbatical from work, the integrity of our actions contributes to the universal web of life. If an employer begins to bend the rules for his own benefit, then his staff may be tempted to follow his example. One person's actions may affect the company in such a way that certain positions or products are canceled, for who robs one, robs all. Occupations that strip the earth of its resources or leave it polluted are easy to target as culpable of gross theft and planetary vandalism, yet the actions of everyone living enable such results to some degree.

To be in right relationship to our universe, a certain integrity and code of practice in our work and actions is necessary. Most of us have no explicit code by which to steer, but what we value is revealed when we consider why and for whom we are conscientious in our work and actions. Surely it is not only our employer or fellow workers who inspires us to do well but those who consume or use what we make, or our families who are supported by our work.

Hands that work are the partners in manifestations of the unseen world where in Spirit (by whatever form or forms we recognize it) is the keeper, maker and inspire of all that is. Any code of practice must first apply to the sacred source of spiritual inspirations to keep its actions pure, to operate from the highest motives, to irrigate all work from the wellspring of integrity.

What is your code of practice for your occupation and your actions in general? 

This is offered as a moment of reflection as we move into the holiday season. Those of you who happen on my blog are likely the choir. We believe we are giving this life our best shot. May we simply take time once in a while to dig a little deeper into our "wellspring of integrity." The example we set with our  considered thoughts, words and actions may very well be our greatest contribution.

What does it mean to be in right relationship to our universe?

Approaching the Solstice

Winter Farm_Brian Kuether Studios

December

Month of December ~ the shoe is covered with dirt:

Heavy the land, flagging the sun;

Bare are the trees, still the muscle.

__anon. Welsh Poem