Here I sit in the quiet early morning hours in my art studio surrounded by the clutter and disarray that come along with creativity.  How appropriate for what I am about to write.

As we enter the holiday season, which for many of us is a time of celebration, we look out and see a world of confusion and disarray.  Too many lives and for many our sense of “normal” has been lost.  So here we sit in what appears to be a time of chaos and destruction.  What and how are we supposed to celebrate?

I believe that this time is a wake-up call.  Sometimes we have to lose what we have been clutching so tightly to see what truly matters.

So here we are approaching the winter solstice, a beloved yet dreaded and hated time of year.  How many times have we heard “I’ll just be glad when it’s all over.”  Yet we cling to our traditions including frantic shopping, overspending, and overindulging as if our lives depended on it.

Perhaps this year we are being called to strip all that down to the essence of the holidays, to be reminded of what the celebrating is all about.  I know that in the midst of the current social and political climate it can be difficult to find reasons to celebrate.  But in a time when we are more divided than ever, we desperately need to find a common ground on which to come together.  Even though we do not all celebrate the same things during this season we desperately need to grab hold of peace, hope, love, and goodwill toward all.

During times of war, it has been traditional to declare a cease-fire on Christmas.  We have heard the stories of soldiers from opposite sides singing Silent Night on the battlefield and coming together for that brief time to celebrate in peace.  

This year let’s declare a cease-fire.  Let’s just for this month, put a stop to the hatred, fear, name-calling, defiance, blaming, and physical and emotional violence that seem to have taken over our countries and the world.  Let’s reclaim the month of December. 

We may have to let go of what we think is absolutely necessary for celebration, but we may come up with beautiful new ways to celebrate that are just as or even more meaningful. It won’t be easy.  And I can guarantee it will be messy.  But just as works of art come out of the clutter and mess of an art studio, something good, something beautiful, perhaps even the start of a new beginning can come from this season.

Please join me and a few friends through the end of December as we celebrate in the midst of darkness the light of the world which can join us all together and guide us into a brighter future. Please make comments and join the discussions by making comments on these articles. If you would want to contribute an article to this “Shine Your Light” program please contact me through our Secure Contact Form.

Let’s close out our year with a positive, united effort to help the world see who the people of the world really can be in the year 2020 — the year of more perfect spiritual vision.

—Genie