My minister offered our congregation a beautiful exercise last week. He suggested that we imagine we are sitting across from a loved one- it could be one we are concerned about and even one we are in conflict with. He then suggested saying these words out loud to our loved one, sending each intention out as a prayer:

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you find what you are looking for.

May you find peace and joy.

He went on to suggest that after we complete this part of the exercise, that we go to a mirror and while gazing at our own image, repeat the above phrases to ourselves. Of course, it doesn’t feel natural to look in the mirror and speak aloud to ourselves, so you may feel some resistance inside, but I really encourage you to try it anyway. As I said the phrases aloud to myself, I felt a lovely peace arise inside me. Of course, we try our best to be good to the others around us, so let’s take some time as the new year approaches to be kind and encouraging to ourselves as well!

My aunt sent me an e-greeting card this morning. It was a beautiful old fashioned Christmas scene, with a quotation at the top of it which read, “I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year”. Charles Dickens 1843

Most years I personally might say about Christmas, “I will do my best to complete all the tasks of Christmas and make it through the season with a smile, but be grateful to put my feet up when it’s all over and forget about it until next December.”

This year has been different for me though. Because there have been no Christmas social gatherings, no Christmas concerts, no shopping in crowded malls, Advent has been characterised by an uncommon quiet. I have had more time to take long walks, to write a lot of Christmas cards, and to think about the meaning of this season.

This year, I can relate to Charles Dickens’ words and be intrigued by them. What would it be to honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year? My initial thoughts on this are that I would want to try to stay close to the beautiful elements of the Christmas story as I have experienced them this year. Things like Mary’s trusting acceptance of the angel’s words to her, the shepherd’s excitement about going to see the newborn baby, and the Magi’s ability to stay close to God and follow God’s directions about how to find the baby, and why to go home by another route.

I have just begun my pondering of this quotation and I invite you to join me in wondering about how we can honour Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all the year that lies ahead of us.

May the lead up to Christmas be slow and sweet and peaceful for you and may you experience many moments of deep contentment. Amen

A friend recommended a Netflix documentary called My Octopus Teacher about the relationship between an octopus and a man. I am normally not a great fan of documentaries, but with an open heart and mind we watched it this evening. I learned so much about octopuses and was amazed to see how they can bond to humans. Our cat was sitting on my lap, also utterly fascinated by what he was seeing on the TV screen!
It was a beautiful, moving, meaningful and calming experience, an antidote for what ails us these days. Enjoy!

Being raised in the Catholic church, I had a lot of exposure to the concept of Advent when I was growing up. Somehow it didn’t really sink in, though, what the significance of Advent really is. This year I have been drawn back to wanting to know more about, and truly celebrate, Advent. I went back and reviewed what the themes of the four Sundays of Advent are. They are Hope, then Peace, then Love, then Joy.

Ahhhh! Thinking of those themes during this year of COVID helps me take in some nice slow, deep, healing breaths. We truly need Hope this December- hope that we will be able to see our friends and family again without worry of causing them to get sick, hope that the vaccine will be safe, effective and provided to us in a timely, equitable manner, hope that we will find a way to come through this winter and stay emotionally stable and physically strong.

I came across a beautiful scripture about hope, found in the Pastoral Visitor’s Handbook of St Patrick’s Parish in Stoneham, Massachusetts. It is a scripture I am going to write on a little card and carry around with me during Advent, because I would love to meditate on it, and then memorize it so I can bring it to mind as needed this winter:

“You are my hope, Lord; my trust, God, from my youth.

On You I depend since birth; from my mother’s womb, you are my strength;

My hope in You never wavers.

Psalm 71: 5-6

My initial thoughts on these verses as I have meditated on them is that though my faith might waver at times, my hope never does. As I write this, I am reminded of Emily’s Dickinson’s words about hope:

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all.

Dear Lord, please bless us all with Hope this Advent season! Amen

I read a beautiful book this week, beautiful in its simplicity, and impressive in its depth. This book may even turn out to be one of my top 10 all time favourites! It is called The Art of Being a Healing Presence, written by James Miller and Susan Cutshall.

The book talked about what you can do to create an open, soothing atmosphere that facilitates top quality listening. That made sense, and wasn’t a new concept to me, but then they said ‘the most important space you prepare is not around you, but within you’. Ah!! That caused me to sit up and take notice.

“However conscientious you are about creating open, soothing space in the environment around you, it’s even more important to create a similar space inside. When people sense you’ve made room for them within you, they are more likely to open up, to feel freer to be who they are, to claim their own healing potential. If you have prepared space internally for them, they will sense it. And if you have not, they will sense that too.” (pg. 31)

Wow! I had never been told this in any life coaching or expressive arts training. It has been quite an experience for me this week to be conscious of how much open, soothing space exists within me at any given moment, and especially, when I am entering into an encounter with an individual or a group. There was a whole chapter devoted to how to create this inner open, soothing space but here’s one tip : “You may not have the luxury of being able to prepare yourself as you would like. The telephone may ring, the door may open, or your name may be called and suddenly you’re swept into a flow of ongoing requests and needs whether or not you feel ready for them. Remember to breathe evenly. With each inhalation, visualize an area being cleared away within you, little by little.” (pg. 32)

I had read this section of the book one morning, and immediately after that, I received an upsetting email. Right after that, I was to lead a Nia class. I could not deal with the email before class began, so I had the opportunity to try out the idea of visualizing an area being cleared away within me, little by little, one breath at a time. I was able to set the worries that came from the email into an area outside myself, and clear an area inside myself that felt peaceful and calm enough to be able to concentrate on the Zoom screen full of Nia ladies for the next hour.

What an extremely helpful tip! I wanted to share it with you, as well as the book recommendation, in the hopes that you may receive something that will be of help to your life too!

As you know, I have been really enjoying reading Sarah Ban Breathnach’s book Simple Abundance this year. I loved her November 11 meditation entitled ‘Amazing Grace’. She tells us that the way to access Grace in our lives is simply to ask for it ‘specifically and regularly’. She instructs us that every morning, ‘gratefully and expectantly’ we should ‘ask for one day’s portion of Grace’.

What is Grace? Sarah tells us it is ‘direct Divine intervention on our behalf that circumvents the laws of nature—time, space, cause and effect— for our Highest Good’. She reminds us that theologians tell us that Grace is ‘an unmerited demonstration of God’s love, proof that we are not in this alone’.

I must admit, I have never prayed for one day’s portion of Grace before, and I was eager to give it a try! For the past few days, I have been asking each morning for one day’s portion of Grace and the first thing I noticed was a feeling of inner peace that came immediately. I felt that I must be on the right track in some way!

I looked up the dictionary definition of grace too. It was defined as ‘simple elegance’ and as ‘courteous goodwill’. That is how I felt inside as I prayed for Grace— I felt a sense of ease, elegance and goodwill. I can’t say I saw anything amazing happen, anything really out of the ordinary, but I did feel inwardly different.

I wanted to share this with you, in case you want to try praying for one day’s portion of Grace and see what happens for you— inwardly and outwardly in your life!

Recently, I have been working on a book of meditations called We Are Already Whole: A Daybook of Rediscovery. I am hoping it will be ready to be shared with the world in 2021! The book is about what has been called our True Self/our original self/ our Essence/ the part of us ‘made in God’s image and likeness’. James Hollis, a prominent Jungian psychoanalyst, says of the Self that it is ‘the architect of wholeness’ - a ‘larger presence’ which ‘moves and directs the total organism toward survival, growth, development and meaning’ (pages 11-12 in Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life). When I was out on a walk recently, I threw a pebble into a nearby river. I saw the ripples the pebble made disappear as the pebble sank to the bottom of the river. I realized that our Self could be seen as the pebble. No matter what is going on at the surface of our lives, our Essence or True Self sits deep within the core of our lives, quietly directing our lives, if we will allow it.

I wrote a little meditation about my experience and I have been practising it on days when I am feeling discombobulated by external events and having trouble getting myself settled. I would like to offer it to you today, in the hope it may be helpful for you too:

Sit in a comfortable chair, with a cup of tea or coffee in hand. Close your eyes and inhale the delicious fragrance of your drink of choice. Begin to take a few deep breaths, slowly, in and out of your nose. Imagine a favourite body of water near your home. Walk towards it, and when you arrive, select a pebble from the shore and throw it in. See the ripples the pebble makes, but also see the pebble sinking to the bottom of the body of water. While still breathing slowly, imagine being the pebble. From your vantage point at the bottom of the water, look up and see life above and all around you. Notice the fish swimming by and any disturbances at the surface, but focus on how it feels to be the pebble nestled comfortably on the bottom of the body of water. Notice that no matter what goes on above or around you, you remain calm and quiet. You can see what’s going on, but you aren’t affected by it. Events come and go, and you are still there, feeling centered, feeling grounded, feeling good inside. All is well with your soul.

Slowly return your focus to the cup in your hand, and again enjoy the fragrance of your drink. Open your eyes when you are ready and reconnect with the world. If you feel so moved, journal about your experience of feeling deeply connected with your True Self/ your Essence. To further unfold your experience, draw the pebble that represents your True Self. What size and shape are you? What texture? What colour or colours? Enjoy!!

I had the privilege this evening of watching David Attenborough’s documentary called A Life on our Planet. He calls it his witness statement. It was made in 2020, so the information is very up to date. We watched it on Netflix. As with all of his documentaries, it was beautifully done. I was kind of afraid to watch it, to tell you the truth. In these days of so much bad news and worry in general, I didn’t know if I could handle more of that, yet I really wanted to know how David saw the state of the world.

Amazingly, though he told the truth about how things stand with regard to climate change and how urgent the need is to act to reverse it, he also gave us a message of hope. He told us very simply what needs to be done and that if done, our species can be saved. Whew! Now I have a much better idea what I should do personally, and what I should lobby for provincially and federally. David gave examples of countries who have taken the required actions, and how good things have happened as a result.

I was so glad I watched this documentary. At the end there are the words : “ This is David Attenborough’s witness statement. Who else needs to see it?”

I immediately thought of all of you. I invite you and encourage you to watch it. I think you will be glad you did.

This morning I woke up with the lyrics of the Godspell song Day by Day running through my head. I haven’t thought of that song for 40 years or so! I went to You Tube and saw a video of the original cast and crew singing the song. Oh what simple, uncomplicated times the 1970s were, as I look back on them now.

I love the song lyrics as much today as I did then. Do you remember them?

Day by day,

Day, by day,

Oh dear Lord, three things I pray.

To see Thee more clearly,

To love Thee more dearly,

To follow Thee more nearly,

Day by day.

Wow! What a beautiful prayer this song is. It seems to me that we being invited to take a break from focusing upon the troubles of our day to turn our attention toward God. Simply put, we can seek to see, love and follow our God more clearly, dearly and nearly. This sounds like a recipe for peace to me. May it be so!

I was realizing this morning that it feels to me as though nothing is as it was in the world, yet what is to come is not yet known. The term for this is ‘the interim time.’

John O’Donohue wrote a beautiful book of Blessings called To Bless the Space Between Us. In that book there is a blessing in the shape of a poem called For the Interim Time. Of the interim time he says:

“No place looks like itself, loss of outline,

Makes everything look strangely in-between,

Unsure of what has been, or what might come.”

Boy, for me, that describes our situation in history right now very accurately.

So how do we handle the interim time? For me, I am realizing that honouring the rhythms of life which remain really helps. For instance, it is time to take the annuals out of the garden and plant bulbs which we know will bloom next spring, no matter what happens in our world. It’s time to put away our spring/summer wardrobes and pull out our warm woolies to wear, and we do this every year, no matter what is happening around us.

I am finding the rhythms of each day are so precious right now too. Thinking about what to make for supper, and then looking forward to the evening meal has become much more meaningful. Right now I have chili in the slow cooker and already the house is beginning to be filled with that comforting and grounding fragrance.

The weekly rhythm of church (by Zoom!) on Sunday, the weekly phone calls with my children and visit with my mom are touchstones of my week. I enjoy, look forward to, and savour these events much more and I am grateful for the anchor they provide for me life right now.

Some things don’t change! The daily, weekly and seasonal rhythms continue! What a relief to realize that.

John O’Donohue finishes his poem blessing with these words:

“What is being transfigured here is your mind,

And it is difficult and slow to become new.

The more faithfully you can endure here,

The more refined your heart will become

For your arrival in the new dawn.”

I do have that feeling that my mind is being transfigured by this COVID experience. The rhythms of my life are anchoring me while the work of transfiguration is being done. I find myself able to rest in that thought for now. Hallelujah!