Meditation on Christmas 2023
Looking back for the true meaning of the season
Before “black Friday”
Before mass consumption
Before Victoria and Albert and Dickens,
Before the Romans and the Judeo-Christian claims,
Before man v nature, or even man v man,
Back before man v himself…
Back to the celebrations of
The gifts of the sacred night
And the peace of it
Back to the Winter Solstice,
Washed clean of 3,000 years of conjecture and meaning
Back to knowing the land underfoot as a sibling,
As were the sky, clouds, winds, trees, and tides,
Each with its own voice and reason,
It’s own language to tell
How to navigate the living,
Sisters and brothers among others.
Not separated by species,
Not ignorant of other living beings
And their wisdom.
When the nights grew colder
And the moon shone brighter
When people sang in songs we no longer know,
Understood things we’ve forgotten to regard,
Knowing their connectedness
Embodying it all.
Back to the root of it all,
The glow of belonging with everything the eye can see,
The music of actual peace on the planet
The soft, quiet snow falling,
The light moving across the sky,
The knowing Life has your back
And you are always beloved.
Remember that below, beneath and behind
all man-made ideas, wars, fears and all,
you are always beloved.
Always.
Even when you forget.
