Far too often we pay attention to the loud and brash, which tend to have little meaning, while overlooking the important things that are taking place so quietly and humbly just outside the corner of our eye. ~ Erik Stensland “Whispers in the Wind” At different points in our lives, the Christmas holiday season is marked by stress and anxiety, overwhelm, overindulgence, undernourishment and sadness and depression. For many, it is a hollow season of unmet expectations, disappointment and despair. Instead of Joy we’re met with sorrow. Instead of Hope we carry anguish, self-blame, loss and regret… “If only I had done this…If only I had this… If only…” Why does this time of year, meant to be a celebration of Joy to the world and Peace on Earth, goodwill toward mankind, seem to bring the exact opposite? How is it that we have created self-inflicted traditions that make us manic and weary, ultimately losing all sense of the true meaning of Christmas? In the frenetic hustle and bustle of the holiday parties, frantic last-minute shopping, holiday meal-planning, cooking, baking, overeating, under-sleeping, short tempers and long-distance guilt-tripping, is it even it even possible to find, return to, or better yet, create a world that is Calm and Bright? What does that even look like? And how do we get there? The external world begins with the internal world. It doesn’t happen by accident. That’s for sure. Nowadays, more than ever, there can be found an enormous Resistance in the form of distractions and side trails of every kind, be it cell phone, television, bombarding advertisements, bad news, divisive politics, threats to health, Social Media and beyond. You know what I’m talking about. There is no escaping the fact that this Resistance looms over and challenges each and every one of us day to day, moment by moment, until we either bend and break under its pressure, or we strengthen and grow like an athlete purposely training with weights and calisthenics. Sadly, for the average person, it is “unnatural” to slow down. It is outside of the norm to find, and create for oneself that deep inner peace and calm which generates Hope for a bright today, (let alone the possibility of a better tomorrow). Before we attain it, we have to believe it exists. We have to desire and pursue it. We have to resist the Resistance and seek it like a man whose hair is on fire seeks a lake. We have to be intensely focused and intentional in our pursuit of it. This means being brave enough to say “No” to much of what society calls tradition. It means being perpetually mindful and awake. It means being brutally honest with ourselves, asking hard questions like, “Is there a better, more meaningful way to celebrate the holidays?” Something that will bring more peace and calm and treasured memories for years to come?” “Is there a better way to look at gift giving?” “Why did I choose to give this gift for this person? Is it something they even want?” And, “What is the most important, meaningful, loving and caring thing I could do for someone else this holiday?” Remember, there are other gifts beyond just the ones you can wrap and put under the tree. Paradoxically, creating deep inner calm requires fighting for peace. Not necessarily in the traditional sense of the word, but in the single-minded focus and intention of marshaling our inner forces to combat the resistance to this calm we seek. It takes fierce inner conviction and confidence to go against the flow and create new “traditions”. It takes indefatigable intention and resolve to carve out an inner world of serenity and tranquility; to go against the crowd to live in a state of repose. Why is this important, and how do we go about achieving it? Once again we return to Nature for the answers. In his remarkable, soul-penetrating book “Whispers in the Wilderness”, nature photographe
