As the turn of the year approaches, I find myself thinking ahead a bit this year toward the word I will choose as a mantra/ guide/ aspiration for 2022. In the past, I’ve made a practice of thinking about and choosing the word on New year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. But , a friend has suggested a more prolonged process. One in which you engage with the world to see what word chooses YOU! I have a laundry list of words that I aspire to; kindness, patience, peace, softness, positivity…. All words I’ve chosen in the past. But this year I am trying to be more intuitive about it. I have sat in silence to receive a word, I have gone on a walk receiving words, I have reviewed the previous year trying to capture something I want to carry forward. And, I have a nice collection of possible words I am considering!
If you are interested in a slow process of uncovering your word – or letting a word find you, you might like to join in the Abbey of the Arts who has a free daily email they send with ideas of how to let the right word find you. Check it out by clicking here.
In the meantime, I hope your holiday season has some gaps, some moments of silence and peace as well as chaos and joy.
Here’s a Christmas poem for you by Rev. John Corrado A UU minister in Michigan
Christmas Eve reading – by John Corrado
We need not be a blessed virgin,
or even a woman to give birth to a Christ child.
The Christ; the god become human
is within each of us.
Each of us, at every moment
is pregnant with life that can
give and forgive,
heal and bless,
bring new life into the world.
The miracle of hope made human
lies in each human heart.
Flickering and fleeting with each hart beat,
waiting to be delivered by
decision and desire
to be one with all.
Every moment comes to us pregnant
with the urging of the holy
only to pass into eternity
and then to remain forever
what we have made of it.
In the silence tonight,
listen to your heart –
its highest hungry urging.
Feel the stirring.
Know the channel for the transcendent
that you are.