Why cannot we be content with the secret gift of happiness that is offered to us, without consulting the rest of the world? Why do we insist rather on a happiness that is approved by magazines and TV? Perhaps because we do not believe in a happiness that is given to us for nothing? We do not think we can be happy with a happiness that has no price tag on it.
Thomas Merton
God comes to us disguised as our life.
Richard Rohr
Today’s midwinter solstice begins the gradual rebirth of light in the Northern Hemisphere after the shortest days of the year. It marks a turning point, a reversal of the lengthening of night and shortening of days. Slow stirrings of light and life. Whatever is now just germinating will be full of life in due time. As humans we like to see immediate results. However, for now, all we can do is wait and trust. We move on, and look to the future, even if we do not know what shape it will take.
In times like these, I turn back into the heart of our faith traditions, searching for hope. And hope is there to be found, in great abundance. This is not mere optimism. This is not about how we see, what we see. No, it’s about something more rooted in faith: its about hope, “Go back to your fortresses, ye prisoners of hope.” This message in the Bible is also taught by the Prophet Mohammad: “If the Hour of Resurrection comes up, and one of you is holding a sapling, finish planting it“
It is an amazing saying. If the End of Days is upon you, still, finish planting. Go ahead with the act, even if it — and you — will not survive to fruition. How powerful this is for us. We are so often tied to the results of our work, the fruits of our labor. What Muhammad offers us is hope; faith is hope in the unseen.
It is faith in the loveliness of a simple act of kindness — apart from whether it will be reciprocated, whether we will live long enough to see its fruits. Acts of beauty are redemptive in and of themselves. So let us, friends, keep planting. Yes, there are days that it seems like the world around us is coming to an end. It may — or it may not. But let us keep planting. Let us have hope that the accumulation of our collective planting may save this small planet, and our own souls.
Omid Safi, In Time of Despair, Keep Planting
Another storm system passed over last evening. A very unsettled start to the winter season, reflecting a general belief here that climate patterns are changing resulting in greater extremes of weather. On the emotional level, the key is finding the still point within.
Even in the middle of a hurricane, the bottom of the sea is calm. As the storm rages and the winds howl, the deep waters sway in gentle rhythm, a light movement of fish and plant life. Below there is no storm.
Wayne Muller, How Then, Shall We Live?: Four Simple Questions That Reveal the Beauty and Meaning of Our Lives
The modern commercial celebration of Christmas carries within it the danger of over-anticipation, where we could fall into a projection as to how everything is going to go perfectly, or is going to be suddenly different in the future. We tie our happiness to a certain form of a future moment, which only leads us to feel more discontent when we see that nothing really has changed
A different perspective is found in the Western Liturgy, which begins to sing from December 17th the beautiful “O” Antiphons, dating from the 4th Century, putting into words hopes based on a deeper perspective. The one for today asks for Wisdom, to teach us a balanced way of living. .
Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out
Vaclav Havel
A great person is one who has not lost the heart of a child.
Mencius, 372 – 289 BC, Chinese Philosopher
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