It is Christmas time…
Today it is a grey, gloomy, rainy day…and yet I feel happy and content…In my mind’s eye/heart I see all the generosity of life, my dearest beloved husband, our wonderful children
and grandchildren, our dear family and friends near and far…all the beauty that this world is offering at each moment with so much generosity…mountains, rivers, oceans, flowers, trees…sun and even rain can be so nourishing and beautiful
and cozy, like today, all these courageous women men, children, even the courage of the strong resilience of Nature itself, the beauty of our creativity, of art…I feel grateful…
I am not naïve, I know there is so much
suffering in the world, right at this moment: loneliness, illness, hurt of the soul, wars, discriminations and violence and destructions, betrayals, yes I know…all this beauty and pain co-exist, also in me they co-exist,
Yet
I truly believe in the courage to affirm our common generosity of heart, our willingness to support each other, to heal each other, to be inclusive and kind
Lately I have been wondering how come religions, beliefs have a tendency to narrow
our mind, to “separate us” and try to put us into categories of what I believe in versus what others believe
Everything that is “different” seems to be an unconscious threat” to our “well established/narrow”
worldview
I remember when we moved to Switzerland many years ago, I had a very “narrow” view of “how Switzerland was “…now 30 or more years later my view has widened, is more subtle, has changed a lot. I
understand and love this place so much better,
Or rather I have the courage to rediscover it a new day by day…and I am in awe, in admiration and gratitude for every moment to have the chance to be here…to always
see things, places, people anew is the key
With people, religions, other countries, other mindsets it is the same…our narrow-mindedness tries to narrow down “how she/he/it is” according to our very narrow view, comparing
her/him/it to ourselves, our beliefs, our experiences, but rarely with a wide and free consciousness that just lets people, ideas, even places, just reveal themselves always anew AS THEY ARE and not as how I “want to make them fit into my world view”
Why am I thinking about this at Christmas time…..Christmas is a time of generosity, of presents and I guess a very precious present we can give to our loved ones is to let them be and to just love them, rediscover them a new with joy
with loving kindness with compassion and freedom, always A New
Happy New Year
As Brother David says:
The wisdom that begins with surprise is the wisdom of a grateful heart.