This week: Home By Another Road Edited by: SophyBells  
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Hi, I'm SophyBells ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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Home By Another Road
A few days ago, we observed the beginning of a new year. And on the Christian calendar January 6 is the Day of Epiphany, which commemorates the story of the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus from the book of Matthew in the New Testament.
Two epiphanies occur in the story of the Magi – the first is following a star from the east to find the place of Jesus’ birth. The second epiphany occurs when they are warned in a dream not to return to Herod as planned, and instead are compelled to return home by another road. They listened to the message of the dream, that inner voice, and changed their plans accordingly. That's the story, in a nutshell.
I love the story because it invites us to consider the epiphanies in our own lives. According to the dictionary, the word "epiphany" means "a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something; a comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization." In a spiritual context, it refers to those times when God breaks into our world in such a way that we become more attune to the divine nature. It is sometimes referred to as an “aha” moment, a spiritual awakening. I like to think of it as light breaking into the darkness. Thus the symbol of the season of Epiphany is a Star, a bright light shining in the heavens.
One of the things the beginning of a new year invites us to do is consider the spirituality of time, and whether we made the most of the year that just passed. We may wonder what possibilities may have slipped by under-appreciated. One of the things I hope for is to be able to turn the page on any given year with more gratitude than regret, something that was very challenging to do after the very difficult 2021 we just had (which was preceded by a very difficult 2020). Still, no matter how tough it was, coming to the end of a calendar year reminds us how very short and fragile life is, and that moments in our lives are still to be treasured.
Certainly the past couple of years have been very difficult emotionally, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Personally I felt sad much of the time. When I wasn’t sad, I was full of anger or fear – sometimes all three at the same time. I spent way too much time on Facebook and Twitter, participating in the already consuming negativity of social media. I listened to news pundits on drone on about the same thing over and over for far too many hours, and then spent sleepless nights in bed worrying about the future, and waking hours doing much of the same.
I don't want 2022 to be a repeat of 2021, or 2020. And one of my epiphanies is that I have a choice about how to go on from here; how to live in this coming year. I survived 2021, and people I care for survived. The sky did not fall, and we made it through. So like the Magi, I am going to try a different route, another road this year, because the one I used previously did not serve me, or anyone else, well. Instead of contributing more outrage into an already turbulent conversation, I will try to choose kindness; instead of hurling insults, I’ll try to share compliments; instead of arguing, I will try to be civil. This is what I aspire to – my epiphany resolution for the New Year. During this season of Epiphany, I invite you to consider your own.
Epiphany offers us the opportunity to make caring for and being kind to our fellow travelers on this planet a routine, a habit, one that empowers the weak and the vulnerable, gives food to the hungry and shows compassion to our elderly, lonely, homeless, and other neighbors in this place we call home. Every year we are given another chance to live our lives in such a way as to bring positive, healing change to the world. To be the light in an already dark world.
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Below you'll find some spiritual offerings from other WDC members. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review.
| |  | Life (E)
poem of life, and what one should do
#2264421 by Elphee  |
| | | The Gift Giver (E)
A man will receive special help to give what his family wants for Christmas.
#2263905 by brom21  |
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Here are some responses to my last newsletter "Spiritual Newsletter (December 8, 2021)" about "Advent Love" - where I asked "During the season of Advent, we light candles of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. How can we learn to share the love of this season all year 'round?" Several people posted answers on the WDC Newsfeed ...
We can start by spreading love and joy as a small child would... with a smile, a kind word or just being happy around other people. We can learn a lot more from children than many may realize. ~ Scifiwizard Retired
   
By acknowledging that there are different sets of expectations throughout each season and month. Think about it. We get so many (almost too many) messages of love this time of year, whether it's through prompts to talk about past family gatherings or hearing constant songs about celebrations with other people. This time of year tends to be a boom time for these kinds of messages, and we are more likely to be too distracted to notice that other feelings being expressed is almost taboo. When we more closely examine our expectations across time, we can identify gaps.
Here's one example I've seen. We're enticed to give to charity during the holidays but don't see as many reminders in the spring. Spring tends to be focused on renewal and self transformation, not necessarily taking note of the world around you. If your funds are tight during the holiday season, set a reminder to make a donation in March. Nonprofits will be very thankful for the springtime boost. ~ Elisa: Snowman Stik 
Remembering to be kind to those around you, when others curse you. ~ tybo777
By doing Hope, Peace, Joy and Love 365/24/7 ~ TheBusmanPoet 
To share the love of this season with other fellowmen is to learn to give loving care to each other, not only during Deccember/Christmas but also all through from January to December, each year... ~ elephantsealer
Love. Walking in love, one toward another.
Though we are not perfect, and there are times we will fail we choose to walk in love.
I Corinthians 13 states, "now abide faith, hope, and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love." ~ lynntarzan
Until next time, Happy New Year! SophyBells |
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Spiritual: January 05, 2022 Issue [#11154]
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