Fri/end of Days

As another year draws to a close, festive company, music and commemorations abound from a cultural fulcrum. Even this post's corresponding tune is teeming with flavor, however feisty! In a former incarnation of this blog (circa 2006-9 as mentioned in last week's post), it was fun to occasionally learn and share some of the different spins people put on the days of the year. Birthdays, religious observances, Boxing Day, Thanksgiving, moon phases and the like can already be found on most calendars across the globe. You'd be surprised by what obscure stories also speak 'behind the stories'! For instance, today is known to some as Childermas or Innocents' Day, in memory of those baby boys slain in an evil attempt to thwart the Christ child's birth. Interestingly enough, it is also Card Playing Day (?!), much to what I guess is the pleasure of school cafeteria and casino dwellers alike. Those tidbits were educational, entertaining and random in their delivery, but two things I receive as humbly certain and deliberate to my soul: all citizens of the world can create a laundry list of joys and pains for any day yet the Most High God presides over every one. With surrender to this understanding, the Spirit of the Lord will prove to be our truest Friend. Can you attest to any other relationship wherein reverently being your honest, flawed and even vulnerable self guarantees no harm or end? By God's grace, now I can.

"All trust..."

Happy Win-terre!

The winter solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year. From that point, it is said that the light of the sun approaches the apex of its brilliant potency and influence until June 21, when those effects begin their decline again. It is also considered a time of quiet storage and protectively keeping one's hand close to the heart of the matter, as (not if) you will. After all, to paraphrase an old jazzy standard, bears do it, roots do it, seeds that will be fruits do it, so let's do it... When I did take a trip through my inner archives, I enjoyed revisiting a few creative concepts and musical favorites from somewhat recent years. Starting in 2006, when two particular tunes were created and Akeelah and the Bee was released, a popular Marianne Williamson quote featured in the film was a fixture on the MySpace social network page I used at the time. It reads:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles (1992)

After extensive battles with shy containment of my inner fire so as not to intimidate, offend or rouse another to anything but Love's healing; criticism or inattention from those who equated quality entertainment with selling sensationalism, sex or one's soul values; unfounded contractual fears from my young adult years as a signed recording artist and other would-be obstacles turned opportunities, I finally overcame my repressed ego to believe the necessity of sharing from the he/art with integrity, joyous understanding of the ups & downs we all face and diverse canvasses to my Life's purpose. There would be those who disliked, misunderstood or somehow felt threatened by the work to attempt my theft and harm on material/physical or spiritual levels, but shrinking to accommodate their dis-ease and disregarding God's mandate as a result were unwise non-options.

The Light of righteousness, sacred breath and our other resources were given to us not to curse another, but to bless the Giver. Marianne seems to 'get it' as does Nelson Mandela, whose similarly-themed 1994 inauguration address contributed to the resonance some have embodied as copyright confusion. I have no need to dispute their sides or any interpretation of even unwritten ancient wisdom over what I now receive as the essential plain sight of Matthew chapter 5. May it also serve you as a guide despite how cold the 'weather' may get, how far away brighter days may seem or how bare our yield may become at times. We can see our potential through Kingdom eyes, let p(e)ace be still in the midst, strengthen our roots in God's Word and store the nutrition that will burst forth soon enough to everything that/there is...

.: Season's Greetings :.

Amen.

After encountering the beautiful Mary J. Blige song on Blip.fm that corresponds to this post #81 for the year (see the lower left "...and Now" section of the page), I learned the related link was disabled. Although that sound was eclipsed from aligning with these and even higher purposes, let's "leave it..." there and appreciate all we can of today's gifts.

*******

 

Word of the Day

December 10, 2011

• adytum\ad-i-tuhm\ noun

1. A sacred place that the public is forbidden to enter; an inner shrine.

2. The most sacred or reserved part of any place of worship.

Origin:

Adytum  is from the Greek roots a-  meaning “not” and -dyton  meaning “to enter.”

Source: Dictionary.com

 

Word of the Day

December 10, 2011

• compendious\kum-PEN-dee-us\ adjective

: marked by brief expression of a comprehensive matter : concise and comprehensive; also : comprehensive

 

Source: m-w.com