A Lighter Love

As February comes to a close this week, with all the latest news and conflicts, it seems important to complete this month with a lighter heart. First though, I want to return to Corinthians 13:13, that I quoted St. Paul last week: "and now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love." When your heart is heavy with national and world events, or with troubled events in your personal life, it's not a simple thing to dissolve by just willing your emotions to "lighten up". That's why I offer the scripture; it brings a progression of spiritual perspective. Today I add another Biblical quote Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, but not yet seen." Many assume it was also written by St. Paul, but that is questioned by other biblical scholars. Regardless, it offers a bridge between between faith and hope. Metaphysically, as Emmet Fox put it, "what you think upon grows. Whatever you allow to occupy your mind, you magnify in your life." When you add faith to your thoughts, along with your inherent human hope, you participate in the creation of a more satisfying, fulfilling life.

Naming faith as substance brings a dual message of the real. Faith is an assurance that Life provides for what we need on a concrete level (food, clothing, shelter, financial/transactional wherewithal), as well as fulfilling our spiritual longing for connection to the Unseen, the unfathomable Allness. The true substance is our relationship, our union with the Godhead. Now all this may sound weighty, not light. Yet, our overriding context here is actually Love. Certainly some forms of religious beliefs are heavily weighted with human imperfections, requiring suffering and sacrifice, but what kind of Love is that? Consider instead a spirituality that lifts the burden of life from your shoulders, a spirituality that brings your mind and heart peace, a spirituality that sparks compassion and care that includes--actually begins with--your own well-being and belonging.

This week, follow the thread of life that allows you to feed your faith in the essential goodness and delight in life, an inner song of hope that hums quietly, gently, as you go about your day, navigating whatever disruption or storm. Don't wrestle with hatred this week. Consider the simplicity of love, not the complexity. Simply Love the things, the activities, the beings you love. Tread lightly. Spring will come. Love sustains us all. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://thepoetryplace.wordpress.com/2018/02/21/life-is-but-a-weaving-the-tapestry-poem-by-corrie-ten-boom/ https://whitmanarchive.org/item/ppp.00270_00330 https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/A/ArabiMuhyidd/Myheartwears/index.html

Hope

Where does February lead after Valentine's Day? After last weeks flurry of assembling classroom valentines and treats, a morning meditation brought me a scripture from St. Paul, the essence of his teachings: Corinthians 13:13, "and now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love." But rather than the obvious focus on Love with all the Valentine energy, I have been reflecting on the "precursors" to love: faith and hope. Faith and hope lead us to our capacity to Love. Something in me settled with a focus on hope. Saturday then brought further complexity, with a weather alert and another series of storms headed for Southern California this week.

Consider hope. Hope often seems the weaker path in our reckoning with Nature and the turbulence of climate, let alone the conflicts of the social order/disorder. Hope for reconciliation, hope for peace, hope for simply our future. Few of us can move forward in life carrying hopelessness. Daring, choosing to be hopeful seems risky when our hope is not grounded in something of the factual, tangible world. On the other hand hopelessness will simply not motivate us to pursue avenues, experiences, and interactions that reinforce hope. What we read, what we listen to, the social media clips and videos that we watch, inevitably feed and alter our perspective, our "take on life". Community social influence is powerful. Early human beings who bonded into groups, reinforced belonging with shared viewpoints--that reinforcement is still very much there, but the scope is so much more complex. The way we access information and the sheer amount of information is beyond previous generations with single, simple group bonding. "Facts" can and do contradict in the vast modern range of information and communication. Hope is the expectation of Good. Hope is not so much about ignoring facts, but it can be strengthened by a focus on positive facts and their potential. As humans, we collectively build our expectations on the facts we choose to absorb.

Yet ultimately, hope has a deeper inner source, that doesn't reveal all of Life's mechanisms. It is that still quiet inner urge that lifts us into life again and again. As Emily Dickinson wrote, "Hope, is the thing with feathers", our inner bird-like silent song that lifts us again and again. Hope is the source of human resilience. In the worst of times, Hope rises in the heart.

"I’ve heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me."

Hope feeds our hearts and prepares us to Love. Maybe this is a good time to trust it. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://www.hopeisthething.com/the-poem https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48601/yellow-glove

The Soft

This week begins with Super Bowl Sunday....In addition to the fierce competitive spirit of whichever team you are rooting for (2026 brings East Coast New England Patriots v.s. West Coast Seattle Sea Hawks--battling in California, no less!), the 2026 culture war has brought a new split to the highlight of Super Bowl musical spectacle at half-time. Puerto Rican American singer Bad Bunny, the official headliner of this year's NFL entertainment extravaganza, will sing in Spanish. In competitive protest, Turning Point USA, (led by Erika Kirk) will offer their alternative "All American Halftime Show", featuring Kid Rock, on another channel. Who could have ever dreamed of such an entanglement around Super Bowl music! The cultural/political power struggles are unlikely to be solved by a battle of the bands, even as Super Bowl 2026 fades. In contrast this week, I invite you to consider the power of the soft.

Soft seems so contradictory to a week that begins with the toughness of premier football players, and a climate of social-political pressures underlying, not just athletics, but healthcare, immigration, international power plays, and financial maneuvers. If you feel your body and mind is in a constant state of tension, consider softening. By definition, the soft has the quality of yielding to pressure or weight. Soft fruit yields to our touch. Soft is malleable; it can adjust and adapt. In nature, softness is a response to the awe of life in so many forms, and especially in our encounters with the vulnerable. In relationship and connection, softness is an expression of love; it is linked to tenderness and our own willing vulnerability. In our inner spiritual depths, softness is our receptivity to the Divine, to the Inner Directive. Softness is the pull to love and to be Loved.

It may seem impossible to shift from bracing against what often feels like ominous threats of explosive change, to an experiment in cultivating softness. Yet, softness fosters resilience. I am not writing of weakness. Softness is not weakness; it is a kind of trust in the essential goodness at the root of life. That trust is strength, and self care. As the ancient Taoist sage Lao Tzu, put it: “Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it.” Tao Te Ching, Verse 78

To thrive and survive as the world becomes increasingly complex, humans developed mechanisms and constructs that allow us to release emotional tension and conflict in ways that promote social order, rather than destroy it. Consider Super Bowl Sunday as collective sublimation. In psychology, sublimation is a defense mechanism that channels the socially unacceptable impulses into something more beneficial to collective society. With football, we channel our anger and frustration onto a reduced battlefield, a fight by proxy, with well trained athletes and lots of energy flowing, as we watch the players run, throw, catch, evade, tackle and fling themselves across the end zone. We spectators have our catharsis; we cheer, scream, even cry. Let them fight it out, we watch. Softness maybe useful in an occasional surprise play on the football field, but there is something to football as planned aggression. We can watch and shout and scream, in the stands or in our living room and leave the field when it's done. We don't have to be hardened after the game. Exhausted maybe, but it's cathartic exhaustion.

After the win or loss, return to softness of heart. This week may bring more challenges to softness. The wonder of the human heart is that it does reset, when we say yes to a softer way. (Susan Nettleton). https://hillsidesource.com/daily-thoughts/2018/6/26/yielding?rq=Lao%20Tzu https://grateful.org/resource/kindness/ https://www.best-poems.net/amanda-gorman/chorus-of-the-captains.html https://grateful.org/resource/belonging/

The Natural

This Sunday we enter February.-- the "short" month, with its midpoint aura of Valentine love--beginning with a vibrant full moon. No way around it, January has been rough across America. Maybe it's the bright full moon, or maybe it's the relief of blue sky and mild weather here in Southern California, but I feel a infinitesimal drop of spring in the atmosphere. And it has me reflecting on that which is natural. Last week, I wrote of human beings as an aspect of nature, and the possibility of opening to the "primal without the primitive." It occurred to me this week that another approach, perhaps a corollary, is turning to that which is natural, in our daily lives. Consider the natural aspects of your daily life as a way of perceiving yourself as an aspect of nature.

A few days ago, I was at the dentist for a routine cleaning. My usual strategy for dental appointments is a kind of dual awareness--I settle into meditation, but maintain enough alertness to shift when the dentist or hygienist needs me to shift. This appointment was routine cleaning, so I settled in and began reflecting on "the natural." I noted how "natural" it is for me to lie back in that dental chair. I started dental visits when I was very young; my mother was a school nurse and made sure our family practiced what she taught in schools--we all had regular dental visits. They were not always a pleasant experience, still, I'm grateful for the interventions and care. As I relaxed in the chair, I considered the hygienist, busy cleaning my teeth. She always seems to enjoy her work, and is very meticulous. I considered whether or not she was "a natural" at what she does. Most likely. I don't know her personal history. Here is where my contemplation snagged. I questioned, is dentistry natural?

The simplest definition of natural is that which is found in, or produced by, nature. We can add, that which conforms to nature--not something artificially changed, or conditioned. But natural can also be defined as that which is in agreement with human nature. Can human nature be artificially changed or conditioned? There are many attempts to do so. Animals in general have inherent ways of natural self-care. Culture refers to groups of humans with shared practices that include personal care and health practices, "natural" to the culture, to the group. Yet modern culture can churn out all sort of products and practices that take us further and further away from nature. On the other hand, relying on only a narrow definition of nature, cuts us off from the gift of human intelligence, discovery, and creativity that spur life forward.

What I was left with was a line of poetry that floated through my mind as the hygienist continued to scrape, "I Thank you God--for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes..." I couldn't place the poem, but later, I looked it up, and found the e.e.cummings poem. (link below). It was all I needed. This week, consider your own natural movement and rhythm in your every day live. Sense what is natural for you, sand what is not. Let the natural lead. (Susan Nettleton)

For Poetry: https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/C/cummingsee/ithankYouGod/index.html https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/N/Nirmala/itishere/index.html https://allpoetry.com/poem/12402226-The-Natural-Way-by-Zakariyya

The Storm

As I reflect on this last Sunday in January, Winter Storm Fern is unleashing it's potentially 'catastrophic force' as it moves across a predicted 2,000 mile area, possibly impacting over 200 million people. A storm of this magnitude necessitated warnings, preparations, and emergency plans--all of which have been initiated. Miraculously, California is not in Fern's path...this time. But I am connected to friends and family across the country, so I too watch and wait. Despite the knowledge we have gathered in meteorology, climatology, and the other atmospheric sciences, we do not control the weather, and we cannot unerringly predict the causes, course, and impact of such a storm. Inevitably, social/political conflict over our changing climate hangs in the air along with our collective uncertainty of the future. Meanwhile, despite sub-zero temperatures, the phenomenal people of Minneapolis, are lining streets in protest of another kind of ICE (the immigration force), in another kind of storm.

As I absorbed the news this weekend, the ending line from a poem by Juan Ramon Jimenez, popped into my thoughts: "Life without calculation." (see link below for the complete poem). Here again, comes the paradox between Nature and Human Beings--our capacity to stand outside of our environment, our world, and reflect--categorize, calculate, while being an expression of Nature ourselves. Humans, as well as storms, are a force of Nature. Collectively, over centuries, we distanced ourselves (from ourselves as Nature), creating an identity of separation from every other form of life, as well as from one another. But another aspect of humans is the potential to come into a realization, or perhaps we can name it as a return, beyond our isolated sense of self. I thought of my friend and teacher, U.G. Krishnamurti, who described the state he attained in his "calamitous" shattering of self, as becoming "primal without the primitive". That phrase has long impacted me.

What does it mean to become primal without the primitive? For example, anthropology might point to the development of tools as early humans moved from beyond the primitive. Primal is the original, before humans separated themselves from nature. Primitive, in this sense, refers to a condition which lacks tools, technology, mathematics and language--that which provides understanding, creativity, and support. I can pull in here that line of poetry, "Life without calculation". Calculation is useful in our development beyond the primitive. It can refer to higher mathematics and probabilities, and concepts that have taken us beyond the primitive in our quest to understand life. Yet, calculation can also have an overlay of separation: calculation to achieve one's own separate interest, regardless of the impact on the whole. With Juan Ramon Jimenez's poem, endless openings await us; calculating our path is irrelevant.

So what does this have to do with massive storms? If you are stuck inside and have a power source, consider this week that you are not a victim of nature; you are home. Whether you are riding out the wind, cold, and ice, sheltered in place, or you are in the throes of protests, wearing layers of winter protection in service to humanity and Life, you remain an aspect of nature. You are equipped with endless possibilities, for thriving, creating, discovering--the primal without the primitive, beyond mere calculation. Expect the way to open to renewal. There is plenty to contemplate while waiting out your storm, until the time of restoration. Peace. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://108zenbooks.com/2010/07/16/life-without-calculation/ https://poets.org/poem/spellbound\ https://mypoeticside.com/show-classic-poem-30476

Peace Moments

This week I had to opportunity to attend a family and friends celebration for "graduating" students of a Cotillion program. The Cotillion tradition reaches back to 18th Century ballroom dancing, commingled with social skills training for youth, and coming of age ceremonies. There was a sweetness and innocence to the 2026 version of dressed-up California pre-adolescent boys and girls, randomly partnered by their teachers, practicing introductions and conversation, as they learned to compliment one another, and dance. The students were a California mix of backgrounds, barrios, wealthy families as well as struggling ones, that all seemed to be reaching for a stable future by invoking traditions of the past. Cell phones were mostly silenced. No one was watching relentless You Tube videos. No screens. No political commentary. New skills, music, cookies, companionship, and a lovely sunset, clearly brought a space of hope, after a year of upheaval that impacted the whole. This was a delightful evening of Peace.

My intention here is to encourage you to move forward in your own lives, by collecting your present moments of peace. I could critique the flaws of social conditioning; we are all conditioned in one way or another by social pressure. And we are consciously and unconsciously bombarded by threatening forces of one type or another. But we can stop to find ease within. Another friend sent me photos today of her hike up a local mountain trail that has been closed for a year; the area had dangerously damaged, burned and scarred in the January 2025 fires. It has taken a full year for nature and the forest rangers to restore it. This weekend it has finally returned--nature in it's glory!

The way of affirmation of life, of the Good, is not by forcing ourselves to be positive, especially when we feel just the opposite. Yet, rehearsing pain, anger, or fear is not helpful either. When pain--emotional, physical or mental--comes, feel it, acknowledge it, but gently stay open to receive peace. Peace is there. We collect more Peace as we recognize Peace, as we attend to it, and name Peace, even if it is only momentary, it is Real. This week, set aside the phone, the news, the screens for a bit--feel the Peace of silence, the Peace of a nature trail, the Peace of laughter and Dance. Consider that your life is already filled with Peaceful moments, and they expand when recognized and acknowledged. Let it be a week of Peace. (Susan Nettleton)

"World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew… Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. (Dreams of Brighter Tomorrows in Ebony Magazine, March 1965."

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45521/i-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud

https://www.dorothyhunt.org/peace-is-this-moment

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/K/KalidasEdwar/WayToPeace/index.html

Clarity

As I write today, it's difficult to believe that we are entering only the 2nd full week of 2026, and already the country has been rocked by the American take-over of Venezuela, and now, the death of Renee Good in the ICE shooting tragedy. I have to remind myself that as I see it, my job is not political commentary, but rather to point you back to your spiritual life. It's easy to lose spiritual focus with the onslaught of tragic news. Our overly-present phones make it easy to absorb the news and public response as the first event of the morning. I confess, while uncertain of how to approach my Sunday post, it took me a time of news, messages, and a mug of tea this morning, before I could settle into meditation. What a relief to meditate!

Simply watching my breath once again, reminded me how much life simply takes care of itself. All morning long, as I bustled about, I was breathing, recklessly unaware of that breath sustaining me, connecting me to the circulating breath of others and nature's breath, in the harmony of exchange. I might focus on other aspects of our living bodies that function on their own as well, without our conscious thought, but the breath was at the forefront in today's meditation, while the mind wandered back into the news, and the connections and commitments of the day ahead, including this post. Then, my 51 years of meditation brought me back to the breath again, as thought quietened. One word spoke: Clarity.

In these times of unexpected, repetitive shocks, our emotional and physical reactions--however they come and go--settle, as we find clarity of mind. Sometimes that clarity just spontaneously opens, but it's more likely to open when you recognize the need for it. There is so much "spin" from the culture--social media, news, marketing--that are attempts to leverage and manipulate our individual understanding and interpretation. Our intuitive, personal wisdom--that which gives order and continuity to our intentions, plans, actions--are hijacked, leaving us with confusion and paralysis. Time to clear the field of false thoughts! By false, I mean: that which is not truly Your thought.

This week I encourage you to sit with Clarity. Trust your innate capacity, the ability of your physical body, emotional responses, and intelligence to settle; learn the way that settling happens for you. For me, it is usually though meditation, but not always. A quiet nature walk, or an aimless drive, can free my mind as well. For some, it may come from writing out your thoughts, or through actually talking, expressing your understanding with someone who is able to let you, be you--enough to clarify your own direction. When more news hits, which it will, take the time to refresh your "mental screen", and trust Your unfolding, evolving understanding as it reveals Clarity. (Susan Nettleton) )

For poetry: https://www.mindfulnessassociation.net/words-of-wonder/clarity-martin-bril/ https://www.poemstocomfortandinspire.com/post/gift-of-a-clear-mind-short-poem-about-mental-clarity https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/U/UngarLynn/WayItIs/index.html

Begin Once More

Early January, with a New Year, is often like a reset button. We are coming out of holidays, setting our focus on re-entry into daily routines, while simultaneously reflecting on new goals and intentions. Take a moment to consider that even though traditions vary, the New Year is a global event; Saturday, January 3, made that clear, with the global shock of America's clandestine arrest of Venezuela's President--a rocky entry into our collective 'newness". All the more reason to set your personal intentions for 2026, from your own spiritual depths.

As I write today, it is cold, dark, and raining in a week of more storms. New Year's Day though, the storm lifted in the afternoon, and I joined family for an outing. We drove past a crowded display of Rose Bowl parade floats that had weathered the rain, and were parked locally for viewing. The scene was teeming with cars and pedestrian traffic, but the real wonder was the sky. For this brief late afternoon, the sky was magnificently blue, with streaks of gold shifting toward the sun on the horizon. There were heavenly white clouds floating overhead, opening to reveal a full white moon. I was driving, but the stalled traffic let me pause to watch the sky's spectacular promise of better days in 2026. That's how I chose to interpret the vision, even with more rain, rain, rain in the forecast.

We eventually made our way through the traffic and headed to nearby Altadena, the epicenter of the Eaton Fire disaster of January 7, 2025. Our destination was a beloved park in the hills that had been decimated in the fire. In the past year, Altadena raised some $60 million in Public-private funds for restoration of parks. We had read this particular one had been completely rebuilt. It seemed the perfect place for an outdoor welcoming of a New Year. And it was. It's a beautiful, upgraded, modern playground, with the mountain above, and the city below, in an energy that vibrates with the power of human and Nature's resilience. The park was packed with children, parents, (grandparents!), laughter and even music from playful pipe instruments. We stayed until dark.

This first full week of 2026, while you mull over your New Year intentions and digest the news, I encourage you to go beyond your personal goals, and include the affirmation of collective resilience, healing, and innovation. In a year that seems to have been about "taking away", the New Year can affirm an openness to Newness of Heart, Newness of Intellect, Newness of Discovery, Newness of Creativity. The world is large; the cosmos even larger. Don't let the losses of last year, or new political shocks swarm you. It really is time to begin again. (Susan Nettleton)

Below is an affirmation inspired from Tagore, samplings of New Year Affirmations inspired from Larry Morris's poetry, and a New Thought link with more 2026 affirmations. Pick yours! "And Joy is everywhere": http://www.inspirationpeak.com/cgi-bin/poetry.cgi?record=22 "I'm grateful that this is enough": https://hillsidesource.com/before-the-clouds "I am where I belong": https://hillsidesource.com/your-guidance-for-me-poem "A new beginning is already forming inside me, printed in my heart": https://hillsidesource.com/freshstart For more affirmations: https://folxwithfaith.org/2026_affirmations/

Goodbye 2025...

Last week brought weather week to L.A. County as heavy rains upended many Christmas plans. Still, after unrelenting rain and flash flood alerts on Christmas Eve, the sky Christmas morning had a brief moment of glory; when I opened the kitchen binds, there was actually a shocking patch of clear blue sky with surrounding white clouds. Those clouds were already receding into the gray and black overhanging the mountain, but I was cheered by the unexpected reminder that the storm would not last, even if we had to evacuate. (The suitcases were packed and on standby at the door.) The space of sunlight brought to mind the Biblical story of Noah's Arc, the rainbow, and the evening dove that carried the olive branch, bringing a message of safety and peace: the world continues. The storm here has now passed, but we are already warned of another one forming for New Year's Eve, while snow storms blast the northeast. Across the planet, storms form and dissolve--aspects of the ongoing shifts in Nature and human activity.

This week is traditionally the world's year-end-review. Inevitably, we begin planning 2026, while we are bidding goodbye to 2025. It's been an unusually disruptive year in the U.S., which has had world-wide impact--all the more reason to spend sometime in spiritual reflection, before charting your intentions. And, all the more reason to begin with review of the positive aspects of your life, alongside the hardships and losses. Over the years, Hillside has practiced forgiveness on New Year's Eve, a powerful time of meditation, release, and healing that truly opens the way to celebrate the fading past and incoming future. This year, perhaps because it has been so disruptive for so many, it seems very important to also acknowledge the wondrous aspects of life--beauty, laughter, discovery, companionship, and the simplest moments of delight that have nothing to do with politics, exploitation, money, or fame, yet have everything to do with Life.

This week, consider a year review of delightful moments. The other morning, I decided to wash a few dishes left in my sink, before any evacuation call came. As I squirted some dish soap in the sink, an iridescent bubble, about the size of a quarter, suddenly flew up, heading for my face--I reflexly drew back, but it propelled forward aimed at my nose. Instinctively, I took a deep breath and blew it away. The bubble shot back to the kitchen window and popped! The whole event was so absurd, I burst out laughing. There was something magical about it, lifting the burden of the heavy rain, the Christmas pressure, and ushering in the childhood delight of my grandchildren. Later in evening meditation, the inner voice spoke, "Maybe Life is actually about joy, discovery, light and laughter." I considered the master Ryokan who immersed himself in play as the highest expression of his Zen (poem in link below) and then I considered a powerful line by the unmatched German poet Rilke, "Nearby is the country they call life.

You will know it by its seriousness" (link below). Unquestionably, 2025 brought highly serious events; I'm sure 2026 will have it's share of serious events. But what would Life be, what would Earth be without Laughter? Why not welcome the New Year with renewed delight? Consider that delight and laughter keep us strong, even in serious times. Happy New Year! (Susan Nettleton)

https://thedewdrop.org/2020/06/03/ryokan-playing-with-the-children/ https://bloomofthepresent.org/go-to-the-limits-of-your-longing-by-rainer-maria-rilke/ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54327/to-the-new-year https://poetrysociety.org/poetry-in-motion/the-moment

Christmas Light

This Sunday, we begin Christmas week and Sunday is December 21, the Winter Solstice of the Northern Hemisphere. Christmas, always on December 25, follows this Winter Solstice. As the upper tilt of the earth moves the maximum distance from the Sun, we experience the shortest time of daylight and the darkest night of the year. From that point forward, daylight will begin to lengthen, and the dark nights, shorten. Over the centuries of discovery, and various whens and whys, Christmas was formally set to follow this peak of darkness and the return movement to increasing light. To me, here in the Northern hemisphere, these events have become an annual reminder that 'darkness' doesn't stay and the Light is never extinguished, despite threats and tragedies. We brighten what we can, care for each other, share, give, and find reverence and awe in the ancient stories, music, prayer, and community. And as Christmas celebrations close, we prepare to begin again, with release, forgiveness, and affirmation of a new time and a new cycle of nature's events--a New Year. The Christmas story is a story of birth and rebirth, again and again and again, in undying Light.

This week holds spaces for spiritual reflection on the Light that always returns, and our own capacity for renewal and rebirth. Traditional Christianity expresses that capacity through the birth of Jesus. Jesus himself is quoted in John 18;12 as saying, '‘I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.” In Matthew 5:15-16, Jesus declares, "You are the light of the world — like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." While tradition has this declaration limited to the disciples, New Thought captures this moment as Jesus' affirmation of the miracle of human existence and our capacity to open to the Light that we all bring to this miraculous Universe. As my ministerial mentor David Alkins expressed it, Jesus was the Way-Show-er, revealing, living, expressing this endless Light. Follow the Light.

Consider this week, the birth of Light, endlessly renewing and re-emerging out of the darkness. Consider too, that re-emergence begins in innocence, as a baby is innocent, expanding, growing into full maturation and expression, like the phases of the moon, in enduring cycles. As Psalm 19 sings, "The Heavens declare the Glory of God". Yes, It recedes, but also, yes, It returns. Have a Light-filled Christmas. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://wordsfortheyear.com/2018/12/25/christmas-light-by-may-sarton/

https://hillsidesource.com/end-of-seeking-larry-poem

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/B/BacharachNaf/APoemforthe/index.html