In times of overwhelming challenges and turbulent change, it is easy to fall into resignation and hopelessness or turn away into abject denial, seeking to turn back the hands of time to what we suppose was a gentler era.
This year during our holiday season it is important to remember that all of the holidays this time of year share a universal spiritual message: it is possible to bring light and hope in a world of darkness. Chanukah is about a struggle for freedom by an entire people who sought to remake their world that was full of oppressive political and social order. Christmas, on the other hand, focuses on the birth of a single individual whose life mission was to bring freedom to us all. The celebration of Kwanzaa arose as a response to tragedy. More modern than the others, Kwanzaa was created in 1966 to be an uplifting holiday for people of African heritage, following the devastating Watts Uprising of 1965, which “lasted for six days, resulting in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries and 4,000 arrests, involving 34,000 people and ending in the destruction of 1,000 buildings” (History.com). For the last week of December, ancestry and resiliency are celebrated with music and art, colorful clothing and decorations, and the lighting of a candle at the end of each day. It is a time to gather with family, friends, and community to look toward the coming year with hope and purpose.
From these struggles for liberation, we have been gifted the template for our making the evolutionary leap required of us. Each of us, and all of us together, must have some abiding principles or tenets, be they the 10 Commandments of Moses or your own personal “rules of the road,” that will guide you when the chips are down or the going gets tough. And it will get tougher and rougher!
In my deepest core, I know that these are awesome times, albeit testing all we have to offer. But how are the tests of these times different from those of the past? We’ve had pandemics and natural disasters in the past. So what’s the big deal? The difference is that now the earth is in jeopardy as is our way of life. What we’ve done is to up the ante to the max.
I’m reminded that this is our time to make a sustainable difference. We’re needed, that is all we can be sure of. We may not know what’s in store for us, but we must persevere and hold to our beliefs and values, faith in humankind, and hope for the future.
So full speed ahead into the future.
My newest refrain: I’m still standing after all this time! I keep rebounding because I truly believe we are being prepared to withstand and survive even greater stress and testing on all fronts. All of us are needed to rally as we confront the next evolutionary shift of humankind and our planet. We are either en route to an evolutionary dead-end where everything we’ve known and held true is up for grabs, or we’ll ride these future trends into a new world of our making.
We are living proof that that which has been lost, forgotten, or floundered can be brought back to life again.
The holidays are the time to be reminded of the power of now, of stopping and reflecting, being in the moment. Focusing on what works, letting go of what doesn’t. We must channel our mutual energies towards creating a better future, so we can resurrect ourselves once more.
The greatest gift of these times of epoch change has been the call to our greatness. Sometimes the call is so silent, it is barely perceptible except to the trained ear. Other times it shakes us up like a cacophonous horn blowing for all the world’s Souls to come to attention.
It is critical not to lose hope, so I implore you to not waste your precious Soul energy on despair. Rather, stay focused on what really matters.
As history tells us, change agents always deepen their culture and leave a legacy for future generations by confronting the difficulties of their times with invention, insight, and transcendent understanding.
So as we move through this holiday season, rejoice in another year closing and a new one coming. Know and honor your greatness. Cherish and ignite the flame of greatness reflected back from those you love as you celebrate the year turning.
May your journey be filled with greatness and your tomorrows far better than your yesterdays.
Photo by Aaron Burden via Unsplash
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