Mind Set Go

When do we find time to wrap our gifts and our minds around the true meanings enfolded in what we perceive as a holiday season? While much (time) is spent, (focusing, attempting to control and later judging followed by periods of perseveration, not to mention decorating, purchasing, and don’t forget partaking in merriment the season) at what point do we stop to breathe?  To truly partake?

This year we were able to hike some sections of the beautiful Appalachian Trail that traverses Georgia to Maine in the US.  (Assuming you’re in a south-to-north frame of mind.)  Each footstep we took was one in which our minds were focused on what we were doing.  It’s hard to compare those backpacking trips (where we measured each ounce we carried on our backs, hikes that sometimes ended on clear nights staring at unbelievably starry skies not affected by artificial lights) with an AMA Waterways cruise on the Rhine. 

What it is like to wake to a moose calling out on a ridge directly above you as you huddle in a warm sleeping bag or to come face to face with a raccoon that spotted you at the very last minute after spending days on a trail?  (You, taking a little rest on some boards over a very wet trail?  You, who could only utter what could be described as guttural, primal sounds at that very moment?)  We loved being treated like royalty on a river cruise and spending time with “’old’ friends” traveling together.  There is no need for comparison between those trips, however, for the meanings we make along the way on this journey called life lie more in our heart-driven minds than in our thought-driven hearts and more in our presence than in what is present before us. 

While we did gather our family together for a final airline fini-flight to London and back in May, travelled to England for a reunion, went to yoga retreats, attended weddings and funerals, sailed and dived with dear friends, (sometimes off of a dingy launched from a catamaran,) walked barefoot, started a new job, looked at friends eye-to-eye that we hadn’t seen in decades and stared in marvel at the simplest of things—snow falling, clouds in motion, hugs from family and friends, observations of the earth moving whilst traversing switchbacks on foot or in vehicle, rubbed sore muscles, wiped a few tears, (our own and others’) marveled at the subtle and not so subtle changes as grandchildren and old people aged, pulled some invasive weeds in a river and lake as weed control divers and often breathed deeply, we felt the spirit move within us in a myriad of other ways.  And despite all of those distractions, life undeniably tended to speak to us in the simplest forms.

It doesn’t matter where we tread. Where we park ourselves and set up or build our homes—doesn’t matter, the color of our eyes. Whether you and I have the same opinions or ideas, or that we may have different or the same religions, is not the point.  It’s time to capture the full meaning of not only what we believe we know, but the truths undeniably part of our beings, by living them and by practicing true kindness for ourselves and others, filled with the inspirations and teachings we know so well.  That is how we capture the essence of this season and of every season.

It matters that you are true to yourself and others.  It matters that this season is a time to celebrate in our world, a world caught up in so much chaos.  Ask yourself what you can do to help even in the tiniest ways to help others, especially those with mental illness; then do it.  Hold the door; utter a kind word; call a friend; nurture a wound, literally and figuratively.  Blow your horn and sound the alarm, taking time to tiptoe and assess your surroundings, both inner and outer.  Do your best to not only name injustice, but to ignite change—always realizing that you function within your own biased paradigm—then forever tread from that vantage. 

The world needs you, and you can do all that and more.  It’s time to wrap our gifts in more than paper.  And that starts through identifying what those gifts actually are, appreciating where they have come from and then enveloping them in love, kindness, peace, grace and gratitude to share with others.  Wrapping and unwrapping paper are not enough.  Open your hearts and your minds, and let in the spirit, that is ever present in and about you, the spirit that speaks to you when you breathe, taking time to listen. 

From ours to yours, Godspeed in your own journey, and gratitude in sharing.  Truly partaking in wonder and allowing your meditations and prayers to guide you:

Go now and capture the essence of the season in this run-on called life.

Miracles happen every day, and you are one of them.