New Year Wishes for 2012

This time, between celebrating Jesus' birth at Christmas and the New Year - in this case 2012 AD, is a time of tender celebration and quiet reflection within my soul.

I am grateful that the chaotic mess that I call family showed up and celebrated Christmas Eve with food, conversation and simple gifts this year. A few friends came which added a richness to the mix. We had folks from age two years to eighty-four years. What a blessing.

And, how can I not be thrilled that my little grandson spent Christmas Eve with us and then woke up Christmas morning here? Nothing is better than a four- year old's wonder and joy!

As the New Year fast approaches, I am struck by the tension in the air - cultural, economic, political, down to family changes and unknown results of seeds being planted by decisions made where all that I can do is acknowledge the action and pray.

My own vantage point as a woman in a family, community of friends and neighbors, counselor - give me pause. No matter where I sit, I have to ask: What are we doing to our environment? our culture? our democracy? ourselves? our children and grandchildren?

This morning I took a walk. A different kind of walk. This one was about getting off the meditation cushion and doing a walking meditation outside. In the cold. Feeling winter. Listening to the birds. Seeing the naked trees with broken branches everywhere from recent winds blowing through the tops.

I tell my clients that there is consciousness that abounds in every living thing- that it doesn't just reside in the brain. Every cell has consciousness. Every cell resonates to create harmony or let us know when things are out of balance (hence, illness, disease, etc.). The heart is connected. The gut is a part of this. Our legs and arms also have their own consciousness and part to play in living out the great Mystery.

We are not alone. We are not separate from each other.

This consciousness is easier for me to imagine when I walk in the midst of the lush green during the moist heat of summertime. However, I'm standing outside on a winter morning wrapped in several layers.

As I walked, I wanted to melt into the frozen ground and fly with the birds. I wanted to sing out a beautiful song into the crisp air. I wanted to breath deeply and release myself to it all. I wanted the airplane above to be carried along on unseen clouds of love in the blue sky.

Mindfulness means holding these thoughts lightly in the heart.

For a brief moment, I connected with the word "embodied." Yes, consciousness embodied in me, in you, in the trees, the birds, the hills, the river. Just as the Buddhists talk about a tree's treeness or a frog's frog nature, I was feeling my heartgarden-ness and my heart was pierced with joy and sadness.

After a few moments, my consciousness was back to just walking, feeling my feet on the ground, my heart beating, the breath breathing. The birds were the ones singing. As much as my flight of fancy and consciousness was broadened just a few minutes before, I was now back to chronos time, ordinary time.

It's best this way. The expansive beauty and quiet joy from touching something bigger than one's physical experience isn't very practical. Back to the laundry, the dishes, writing notes, practicing the harp. But the heart is lighter for it.

My prayer is for sanity, beauty and grace - for you and your family, for the world. May it be so. May all be well with your soul this coming year and in the years to come.