I'm playing catch up a lot here. I think it's mainly because I've been working hard at some paperwork that was so overdue, it was controlling my life. I had to focus on that.
This was the week I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
Watching the news, I've been drawn to Feeding America this holiday season. There are so many amazing people and organizations doing extraordinary things.
It feels like magic. The light and Love created through countless programs and charities, can warm the coldest night and illuminate the darkest hours. It reminds me of the suncatchers Zachary and I made.
Let me know your favorites. Let's talk about them.
Nope. I'm just not going to argue with people who refuse to see it. The delete button is magical. The block feature is like a most wonderful spa experience. It's "Troll Be Gone." Poof! Then I can get back to work. Stay centered. Stay focused. There's a lot of work to do.
Things like this... there is no justification for this type of behavior. The man you call "President" has just tweeted out to 85.8 million followers - that "Rochester N.Y., Brooklyn N.Y, Portland - All had bad nights, all weakly run by Radical Left Democrat Governors and Mayors! Get the picture?"
The mayor of Rochester said THIS of the peaceful protest:
"Last night, the world saw the true spirit of Rochester," Mayor Lovely Warren said in a statement Monday. "Over 1,000 people came together in solidarity to remember the life of Daniel Prude and call for the change that is needed to overcome structural and institutional racism. I am grateful to Pastor Myra Brown, our community elders, and the leaders of the local Black Live[s] Matter movement for helping ensure calm while making their message heard. I am also glad that our Rochester Police Department and Chief Singletary followed my edict to adopt a smaller and more restrained posture. It is clear to me that their actions were crucial to the peace we saw last night."
"Lastly," she continued, "I ask that all involved ignore the commentary from the President. It is clear [that] his only desire is to bait people to act with hate and incite violence that he believes will benefit him politically. We will not give him what he wants. We will continue to act with grace and do the work necessary [to] improve Rochester and our entire community."
If you are someone who thinks science is mythical and racism doesn't exist - I do not have time to argue with you. If you think that there is some righteous or moral reason to justify all of the obvious and disgusting qualities of this President and his enablers... You. Are. Wrong.
This is no time to take anything for granted. We can not just "hope" things will change or get better.
Go to JoeBiden.com - if you haven't already. It's time to work.
I'm from Western New York. I've spent a lot of time in Rochester. Many people I know, love and work with are from there. As we speak, an artist in Rochester is delivering artwork she has created, to be the cover art of one of my new songs. It's about the relentless power of Love. Those whose source is Love - will not and can not stand for division and hatred. To deliberately inspire those shadowy aspects of human nature is to work against the light. Love will win.
The Angel in my room, the one that lights up, twinkles, and sends dancing patches of light around the walls every night has stopped.
I could take this as an ominous sign: The Angel has left, its light extinguished.
Then again, its absence of light can serve as an example of faith: We must believe even when our path is not lit. The Angel is clearly still there. Its lack of illumination only indicates that we must believe in what we can not see, have faith through the darkness.
Then there's the reality that I am just out of C batteries. As soon as I put the new ones in, it will light up again.
What's really real is that I can put C batteries on the grocery list, but that light will not go on until I actually put them in and flip the switch. It's on me.
Earlier in the week I jotted down a note: "The Bright Spot." The thought occurred to me while driving to a doctor appointment, when I saw a lady crossing the street and talking on her phone. She was beaming. Whomever she was talking to, whatever they were saying had her completely transformed into a ray of light. I thought she was in "the bright spot."
How nice - that we have the ability to do that.
Here's wishing we can all follow our happiness and whatever it is that leads us to our bright place this week. It'll be great. :) #shinyhappypeople #followthelight
The lights went out in church. I had just finished saying a private intention for myself when the power flickered, then went out completely.
The organist moved to the piano, someone jumped in with their phone as a flashlight so she could see the music and someone else whispered to the cantor to sing out because there wouldn't be a microphone. As "Hosanna In the Highest" hit its crescendo, the lights came back on.
As I pondered the significance of the "sign" for myself, I looked around the room and realized that there were probably at least one hundred other interpretations as well. When the priest spoke again, he mused that it was another example of "Let there be light."
Here's wishing we all find what we're looking for this week. Don't forget Daylight Saving Time! #MoreLight #SpringAhead
Yet the world keeps turning. Time keeps ticking by. Stores are busy getting their Christmas aisles in order and people are busy shopping, watching football games and carrying on with the daily routine of life. Yet for some, there is immeasurable heartache and loss. For some, time stands still and numbness takes hold. For some, life will NEVER be the same.
We left church, stopped at the store, went home, fed Zach and got him ready for bed. The shooting was not mentioned in the service we attended. I'm not sure the priest was even aware of it. It wasn't until we were back at home that I was able to look it up.
I saw Marianne Williamson's (world renowned spiritual author and teacher) Instagram post: "Dear God, please help us. Amen" It includes a picture of the shooter (also from her hometown of Houston, TX) with text saying that he is not a Muslim or with Isis and that THIS (he) is what a terrorist looks like. MARIANNE WILLIAMSON - a woman who guides millions of people through concepts in A Course in Miracles - is pointing out what terrorists look like and praying for help for us all on her IG account.
With tears swelling up, I thought about how to fight "hatred." I know it's with Love. I know it's with kindness and compassion. I know the "battle" that occurs within ourselves and manifests in the world between fear and Love. I know people will argue and politicians will fan flames, stirring passionate thoughts in millions of people, dividing some and uniting others in common cause. I know many will search for answers and sometimes answers will not be found. Some will believe fiercely and cling to their faith. Others might give up on it.
I checked in online to see what friends were talking about and found something positively delightful in the midst of all this horror. I smiled. Then I laughed. It was pure, genuine. Then I looked up the lyrics. THIS is how you fight hatred - with joy of heart. This sweet little girl is bringing the Light!
Dear God, Help us all. Let us be guided by Love. Grant us wisdom and understanding in our thoughts, kindness in our deeds, and childlike wonder and joy in our hearts. Be with those in pain. When we hurt, hold us tenderly and touch our souls with the Warmth of Your Love and Divine Comfort. Heal us. Open our hearts and minds to learn, that you may teach us softly. Amen.
Thoughts and continued prayers for families affected by this unfathomable tragedy.
Namaste,
T
"Then he said: I promise you this.
If you don't change and become like this child,
you will never get into the kingdom of heaven."
- Matthew 18:3
"My friends, stop thinking like children. Think like mature people and be as innocent as tiny babies." - 1 Corinthians 14:20
Zach Williams, Old Church Choir, with lyrics:
Zach Williams, Old Church Choir, Official Music Video:
For those who don't believe, no proof is possible."
- Stuart Chase
As for me? I believe.
This week, I am reminded of the Truth - that all things are possible, that magic exists, and that we can. "We can" what? We can - anything.
The following is from The New York Sun, 1897. I've always loved this Christmas editorial:
"WE TAKE PLEASURE IN ANSWERING THUS PROMINENTLY THE
communication below, expressing at the same time our great
gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the
friends of The Sun:
Dear Editor -
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there
is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The
Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a
Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon
115 West Ninety Fifth Street
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected
by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except
they see. They think that nothing can be which is not
comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia,
whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great
universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as
compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by
the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and
knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as
love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they
abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas!
how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It
would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be
no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable
this existence.
We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The
external light with which childhood fills the world would be
extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in
fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the
chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you
did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?
Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no
Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that
neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies
dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they
are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders
there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise
inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not
the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the
strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith,
poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and
picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it real? Ah,
Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A
thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years
from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."
- "Is There a Santa Claus?" reprinted from the September 21,
1897, number of The New York Sun.
This year, I was moved by the writing of a nine year old little girl, Basya Fogelman, who read her winning essay aloud at the National Menorah Lighting in Washington, DC. I was also inspired and encouraged by Rabbi Levi Shemtov's comments, which immediately followed:
“Chanukah means different things to different people. To little kids, Chanukah means
presents. To adults, Chanukah means
spending time with family. To me,
Chanukah means going up. You might ask, ‘What does that mean?’ The second night
of Chanukah is symbolic of elevation or ‘going up’because every night you add
more light by lighting another candle. So
too does a Jew by doing this important mitzvah.
This mitzvah will lead to more. As
our sages say, ‘One good deed leads to another.’ We should try to do more good deeds every
day. It’s important to me to add more
light in honor of my grandmother who passed away on the second night of
Chanukah many years ago. My favorite
way to add light is to visit old and sick people and light the menorah and
sing Chanukah songs with them. When I
do this, I know I am not only elevating myself but my grandmother’s soul too.” - Basya Fogelman
“In your homes or via the live broadcast, know that you can
light a candle too.Even if you’re not
celebrating Chanukah, go warm up somebody’s life.Go do another good deed.Go make the world brighter than it would be
without you and in that way, you’re celebrating Chanukah too.Obviously, in the Jewish community we light
menorahs, but spreading light, good, and warmth in the world is a universal
opportunity and message.”- Rabbi Levi Shemtov
While the children are teaching us, here is another good find from Sesame Street, about Kwanzaa. I fondly remember learning all about Kwanzaa when my (then five year old) little sister came home from school and excitedly shared her entire lesson on the holiday with the whole family.
“Just as millions celebrate Irish culture on St. Patty's Day and Mexican culture on Cinco de Mayo, Kwanzaa has grown to fulfill Dr. Karenga's vision. The vision that people of all stripes celebrate the African culture and spirit.” - History.com
This holiday season, I'll keep in mind what the children have taught me. I will be warmed by the purity of love in their hearts and by the magic and spirit of family that fills the air. I will be reminded:
Life is simple. Choose Love. Choose Joy. Follow the Magic. Follow the Light.
Be Love. Be Joy. Be Magic. Be Light.
May we all have a joyous holiday season. May we love and appreciate each other for our uniqueness, for the variations and different traditions within our brotherhood and for the common bond which connects and unites all of us.
