No part of existence escapes the shroud of mystery. Try to get to the end of anything, and all you’ll find is that there is no end. But exploration is the great adventure, and I suppose we’ll keep looking for whatever it is we hope we’ll find. Answers maybe. Some pot of gold. Whatever it is, from way, way down this long, long road, the mystery pulls us. Irresistibly.
Sometimes, some of us–maybe all, I don’t know–become aware of some piece of the mystery. It floats into our minds and quietly hovers there, right on the periphery of our awareness. It’s not so much that we think about it. It’s more like we feel it, the way we might feel the level of humidity in the air or the quiet hum of some distant enduring sound. It’s kind of like being in love. It’s nothing you can explain. It’s just unmistakably there.
Anyway, this year the Great Mystery of the Season has captivated my mind. According to my personal traditions, I think of it as “Christmas Season.” You might call it something else, or nothing at all. Whatever it is, I find myself stopping in my tracks as I get glimpses of its power. It touches us all, regardless of who we are, at what station in life, or what views we hold.
We can’t escape it. It’s a time when out-of-the-ordinary things happen. We do out-of-the-ordinary things, and think out-of-the-ordinary thoughts. We entertain old memories and dream new dreams.
The season carries an energy of anticipation; we sense that something significant is about to occur in our lives. We want to be ready for it, whatever it is, to be at our best. Yes, we urgently want to be at our best. And yet how far away our best can seem, despite our ardent efforts! Still, we carry on, the mystery irresistibly pulling us toward some secret promise that it holds.
And so the season unfolds, enveloping us all. And each of us responds in his or her own way, riding its currents, sensing that somehow, beneath all the bluster and noise, a deep mystery flows, and it hints that it offers a wondrous, unspeakable peace.
Let yourself sense that. Take a moment now and then to breathe, and to feel the depth and power of this time, its energies touching us all. Let the wonder of it fill your mind, and the love it holds wash through your heart, and, just for a moment, let yourself be at peace.
Warmly,
Susan