The holidays are here. A time that for many of us is rich in traditions, rites, and rituals. Gift giving, gathering with loved ones, lighting candles, and feasting with certain foods that help us celebrate and pay homage to our ancestors.
The holidays regardless of religion, culture, language, country, or ethnicity are high holy days because they serve as a reminder of the holy that is inside of us, that surrounds us, and that connects and binds each of us on this big beautiful blue planet.
The holy days invite us all to love and to love boundlessly. An invitation to love loving love – the practice of being present and loving for the sake of loving. To love not because one shares a home, a bed, or bloodlines, but to love because each person on this planet has arrived through Love, seeks to Love and be Loved, and will one day return to Love. It is a practice of loving fully in the now without asking or expecting anything in return.
For the threads that bind us are beyond borders and creed. They all begin in the heart. Love is the source of everything. For Love is another name for the Highest that goes by different names – God, Allah, Spirit, Universe, Goddess, El Shaddai, Yahweh, Dios, and so many more. No matter what the name, it all begins and returns to love.
2016 has been a very challenging year on so many levels. So many opportunities to feel apathy, hate, and to shut down. And as this year comes to a close, despite blue or red party, left or right, the particular name you call the Highest, wins or losses, all of it is an opportunity to practice love loving love. Even the melancholy that many experience during this time is a heart summons to practice love loving love with self.
Practice it when you pass others on the streets. Practice it when you are looking into your beloveds’ eyes. Practice it when someone cuts you off on the freeway. Practice it when you are with that one relative that challenges you the most. Practice it when you are the object of someone’s ignorance. Most of all, practice it with yourself for you above all others deserve to be loved by you.
Wishing you the most beautiful holiday season. May it be filled with bliss, compassion, peace, and a heart filled with love.
With all my love,
Jacqueline