Thursday, December 20, 2012

Stories are the Reason for the Season

Lately it seems that Goddess speaks to me just as I am waking up in mornings. It's as if I wake up already engaged in a conversation with Her before I even realize what is going on. This morning was no different.

I found myself remembering my Childhood Christmases and the stories I tell about them. Like the fact that I, being the oldest and having my own bedroom, seemed to be the gathering place for my other siblings on Christmas Eve where beginning about 3am we took turns going into Mom and Dad's room to ask if Santa had come yet. Usually after the 5th kid went in we were allowed to get up (most often around 5am!).



I found myself remembering the Christmases with my own children as they were growing up. I laid there watching the video play of David and Stephanie finishing up opening their presents and then together going down to the fireplace and bringing the stockings upstairs. They even did this the last Christmas we celebrated as a family (during the separation and then divorce) when they were 18 and 21! Here were these two adults running up the stairs, laughing, and then tearing into the stockings!



Memory lane did not end there! I found myself visiting the Story of the birth of Jesus; sweet and calm and the song Away in the Manger and Silent Night crept into my still sleepy mind! I saw many Christmas Eve Midnight services with candles lit and thinking how magical that night was. I love that story.



From there I remembered lighting Hanukkah candles and listening to the stories while spending time with my Jewish friends! Those Hebrew songs of the coming of the Light were truly full of hope and remembrance.



Oh and the story of the Winter Solstice: the Lady, the Great Mother of the Earth, gives birth to the Lord, as the child of golden sunlight. From his birth, the world begins to grow warmer and the days grow longer.



And one of my favorites is the story of Demeter being aided by Hekate goes into the Underworld to rescue her daughter Persephone. Such a wonderful story about the love a mother has for her daughter and how desperately she will search for her when she has been taken into the darkness.



Dark and Light are the themes for all the stories of this time of year that is for sure. And there are so many more than I was remembering in that in between state of sleep and wakefulness. 

But what I kept hearing was "It is the Stories that make us Rich People"! And there was the lesson to be learned. When we become turfy and believe that "our" tradition, "our" stories are the only accurate believable stories then we become poor in Spirit. It is the richness of each story, whether they be of tradition or of our own personal story, that brings color to the world. Stories are meant to be told over and over; they are meant to be sung and spoken; they are meant to be cherished in the heart. And each story has a message for all of us.

We become Poor in Spirit when we refuse to engage in another Story. We become Poor in Heart when we refuse to acknowledge the blessing of all the stories at this time of year; at all times of the year for that matter! We become colorless when we demand that there is only one story for a season!

So tell Your Story! Tell it as if your life depended on it. And if someone wants to argue that you are wrong to have Your Story; tell it anyway! The Wheel is Turning and hopefully that means that those who live in the Dark World of rigidity and closed mindedness will begin to see the Light of openness and acceptance! The Wheel is Turning; just like pages of a good Story!

Let's read them all together!

Blessed be and Happy Holidays!

2 comments:

  1. love all the stories!!! what a great way to bring them together!!! blessings and light sister!!! ♥ <*)

    ReplyDelete