Day 10 - Beginnings

I started this reflection series with “Wintering” and thoughts about the season when the earth seems to die. The rituals of the winter solstice are ways for the human spirit to hold onto hope

Here on the final day of this series, in the wake of Christmas, it seems fitting to reflect on births and beginnings. My thoughts turn to the miraculous beginnings that define life itself.

The first moment is outside of time with the genesis of the universe. In the beginning, God poured God’s self into the emptiness and from that moment on, spirit and matter became forever joined. Celtic spirituality holds creation itself is the first revelation of God. Every blade of grass shines with the glory of the Creator. This season, the sun and the moon, geese and deer, barren trees and snow on the ground, call me back to the Mystery that is God.

The second moment takes place nearly 2,000 years with the unexpected gift of Christmas. Christians dare to believe that God entered human history by being born human. All of creation, every human being ever born, is sacred because God became one of us. And in return each of us share in the life of the Divine. Emmanuel means God is with us. This is the true gift of the season.

The third takes place in the each and every moment of our lives. With each breath, each heartbeat, each present moment, we are in the only the place where love happens, where healing occurs, where hope can be found. Each day is a new beginning where heaven and earth once again meet in the lived experience of everyday life.

Practice

Live life.