As my better half, my daughter Danielle, posts our adventures on the Cotswold Way, I am drawn to remember, pull back together, the memories of that trip. Simple things like comparing the size of the slug to her foot. She is so creative in her editing, she makes the trip seem more beautiful than it was, and that is pretty significant.
Being a Christian, I am supposed to reflect on this time of year with focus on the baby being born. Many years ago, I let go of a literal belief in our Christian faith and began a journey of looking at all Jesus did through the lens of metaphorical lessons alongside his historical path. He walked this Earth with such a strong conviction, I struggle with what the religion has done to his work as a man.
His birth story was an addition to the sacred texts long after his death. I always have said no one knew much about Stratford or cared where Justin Bieber was born until he was famous. Like most stories, they develop in the telling. In the concreteness of our written ancient text, what gets lost when it is written down? We are a scientific society that wants facts, proof, and randomized trials. If we look at the birth story through a different lens, what possibilities are we pregnant with from divine source?
When we see a star in our mind’s eye or the sky, do we follow and listen to the journey? When the wise come with gifts, are we at the humble place, waiting for them, and are we hand in hand with the anima (soul) and Mother Earth?
In Harry Potter, Sirius is known as an ‘animagus’ in his animal form. The Latin word, anima, is the source of this word and is also the source of the noun, animal. It means soul or spirit. So, the animals around the manger are the sources of the soul standing by the birth of our possibilities. The Divine Source has sent us potential in the form of an infant and it is our job to nurture, guide and walk with it.
As the darkness begins to fade into the light and the hours grow brighter, can we birth this divine gift and bring it/them into light and love? What a gift this time of year is here in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter solstice predates by a few days the day we celebrate the birth of the divine in our lives, bringing gifts to each other of love and tangible items that tell of this love. (Note: The fact this has gotten way out of hand is another pondering.) Gathering around the table to break bread and laugh. Welcome new faces to the tables and settle in to wait for the dawn of a new year.
Savour this time with yourself and your family. Learn from it and see it as the gift it is. The presence of the divine love in your life.
What possibilities are you pregnant with?
What has the Divine impregnated into your energy field?
Mary, the woman who chose to carry the Divine for all to see, even in her embarrassment and outcasting, taught us when we partner with that which is divine, we can tell a story that will surpass the ages.
Blessings abound upon you and yours this holiday season.
Cynthia Breadner is a teacher, author, grief specialist and bereavement counsellor, a soul care worker, and offers specialized care in spiritually integrated therapies. She lives and works in the Bradford West Gwillimbury area as a long-term care chaplain assisting with end-of-life care for client and family. She is the mother part of the #DanCynAdventures duo and practises fitness, health and wellness. Her book, In Stillness: Short Stories from a Life Well Lived, is a compilation of her work and is available from Nancy’s Nifty Nook and Health Food Store downtown Bradford. She is available remotely by safe and secure video connections. If you have any questions, contact her today via [email protected] or breakingstibah.com.
