Thank Goodness It's Monday #439

SEASONS GREETINGS,

HAPPY HOLIDAY

-- AND, PLEASE: LIGHTEN UP

Does that sound– Bah! Humbug! – unseasonably vague and cranky?

TGIM Guy with the Big Guy
 circa 1949
Hey! He knows if you've
been bad or good.
You'd be apprehensive, too.

Perhaps it is.
So let me clear the air by saying upfront --


I’m a Christmas celebrator. Have been for as long as I can remember and expect to continue keeping the season and many of its traditions, especially the English/German ones that are part of my family history.

 

But I also try to “observe” and appreciate and enjoy experiences beyond my roots.

And I’m also more than a bit weary with the increasingly escalating broadcast, print and social media “fuss” over forcing the most doctrinal parts of Christmas front and center in the tangible, material world, especially to the exclusion of others.

In this day and age I can’t help but wonder at the failure to recognize the connectedness of all the belief systems that find reasons to celebrate at this time of the year. 

And I’m pretty confident that, in the best interpretations of those sacred observances, even the most orthodox adherent could find at least one secular, non-dogmatic connection that binds us in celebration to this –

Universal Truth: ‘Tis the season, in the northern hemisphere, of the Winter Solstice.



Actually ... it's NOT
precisely Christmas.
This frequently shared
social media image
from recent days
underlies a bit
of my adamant tone.

It’s science, folks (not just Stonehenge mumbo jumbo). This year December 21 will be the day with the least hours of daylight and, therefore, the longest stretch of night.

Historically solstice celebrations have influenced the lives of many over the centuries, through art, literature, mythology and religion. So, whether you officially “celebrate” or not, you probably will (or recently have) observed the Winter Solstice in some way.

If you care to, you can find doctrine-neutral recaps at sites such as ReligiousTolerance.org/ or Beliefnet.com. There, and elsewhere, you can learn more about the wide range of solstice-related observances across time and cultures both extinct and extant around the globe.

 

Wikipedia lists 40+ that range from contemporary observances at science stations in Antarctica to references in Western Hemisphere cultures that date back to 1800 BCE and further back to Neolithic and Bronze Age practices in Europe.

So, for 12,000 years and maybe longer, the return of the sun and the lengthening days, represent –

The return of hope. Perhaps prehistoric man feared that the sun would keep on sinking until it went away forever.

I'm sure they knew it wouldn't. They were as intelligent as we. (They just didn't know as much.) But it’s only human to fear the darkness. When the sun came back, fear receded and hope returned.

In our bit of the globe the December solstice occurs during the coldest season of the year. Although winter was regarded as the season of dormancy, darkness and cold, the coming of brighter days after the Winter Solstice brought on a more festive mood. To many people, this return of the light was a reason to celebrate that nature’s cycle was continuing.

At this time of the Winter Solstice we all – without confronting the conflicting tenets of particular spiritual or secular beliefs -- can trace the evolution of our seasonal celebrations to origins in ancient nature rituals. We can acknowledge the primeval link to today’s widely practiced religions, monotheistic and otherwise.

And in this 21^st Century we can use all the tech and gathered wisdom and best thinking at our disposal to come to one inevitable –

TGIM TAKEAWAY: It’s still about the light.

►   Beacons of hope.

►   Moments of illumination.

►   Glimmers of insight.

►   The promise of brighter tomorrows.

Miracles of light and enlightenment. Whatever your traditions hold dear and celebrate and commemorate at this time of the year, we are all very much one in spirit.

It IS a very small and very interconnected world after all. Daily it becomes closer still.

 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Lighten up and be enlightened. Know what you believe and why. Your core beliefs need to be your own, arrived at freely. 

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Like exploring the history of solstice celebrations, look for evidence yourself. Dig down. Get back to the source as you gather facts. Make your decisions based on your informed research and insight. Decide what works for you and use it.

Lighten up. You don’t even have to wait for an “official” holiday to begin.

We wish you an Enlightened Solstice … (belated) Happy Hanukkah … Merry Christmas … Joyous Kwanzaa … 

“Peace toward men of good will.” 

Happy holidays, one and all.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S.  Deep peace of the winter solstice to you.

        Deep peace of the falling snow to you.

        Deep peace of the love of friends to you.

        Deep peace of the gentle deer to you.

        Deep peace of the moon and stars to you.

 

       Deep peace of the running wave to you.

       Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

       Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.

       Deep peace of the shining stars to you.

       Deep peace of the gentle night to you.

 

       Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.

       Deep peace to you.

       Deep peace to you.

              -- source(s) unknown