Giving what is already within.........

In the midst of all that is designed
- to stress
- to encourage the buying of everything we never thought we needed
- to "make up" for the scarcity (scare-city) of "the worst financial year I can remember"
- to trap into the must-haveto-alwaysdone syndrome

there is something anciently glorious called
the Festival of Light
a joyous celebration and deeply sensual merriemaking
that became Christmas

Somewhere the echo of
the Essene John (the Baptizer/Baptist)
is being heard again
crying out
Stop!
About face!
Look!

My own challenge is
to shed the
have-to's (alt. refuse-to-do-anything)
must-have's (alt. nobody's-going-to-get-me-to-buy-ANYTHING)
wanting-to-vomit (alt. dig a hole and hide)
bomb-the-malls urge (can't find an alternative to this one - except love)
and see how
Real Joy and Deep Merriemaking
can incarnate the Christ within and without.

My inner prayer is that
Joyous and Ecstatic Peace
finds Her Way of Wisdom
back into me
back into us
(the elements of creation seemingly going "in reverse")
to manifest the Reconnection
a coming together requiring nothing other than
Our Real Presence,

and yet
I want to hide
till all of this "holiday season" is over!

A good friend of ours said the other day
"I've just realised that this time of year is about
Christ mass-consciousness!"

My uncle would always write Christmass
with two s's.
Perhaps a fruit of this time of year
is, in S Sondheim's words
"it takes two......."
two that becomes three, that becomes many...
and then when two or three are gathered
miracles occur ...

time to come up
out of the hole in the ground?

So at this time
may I wish
you and me
the most glorious
Presence.

And if it so moves you
- Tears of Joy

John O