Sunday, December 31, 2017

Michael Meade - A New Year's Essay: Threshold of Change

From one of my treasured teachers. Deep bow of gratitude to Michael Meade and to all who support and encourage and nourish us on our journeys of awakening. And, yes, as Michael so wisely reflects  "January begins in the threshold of time shaped by the old year dying and the new one being born, in the timeless moment through which time itself becomes renewed. People instinctively kiss each other in that moment; friends hold each other close and even strangers hug one another as if to catch the spark of life and embrace the mystery of renewal and the return of light when darkness seems about to overwhelm the world." ― Molly


January takes its name from Janus, the old Roman god of gates and doorways and thus, thresholds and transitions. Most depictions of Janus show two faces looking in opposite directions, representing past and future, the old and the new. As ruler of endings and beginnings Janus was invoked at all major turning points in life. Thus, Janus was particularly present when time turned over in the long, dark nights where the end of a year comes round and a New Year begins it all again.

The backward looking face of Janus can still be seen in modern rituals of reviewing the past, naming the top stories of the year, composing lists of the best films and songs, and recounting the worst flops and miscues as well. Janus, looking the other way, can be perceived behind all the New Year resolutions and predictions, all the earnest promises to improve one’s life, and all the hopes that the future might bring more peace, prosperity and growth.

On a mythic level, New Year’s Eve can be seen as a rite of passage, a ritual of renewal currently disguised as a social event. January begins in the threshold of time shaped by the old year dying and the new one being born, in the timeless moment through which time itself becomes renewed. People instinctively kiss each other in that moment; friends hold each other close and even strangers hug one another as if to catch the spark of life and embrace the mystery of renewal and the return of light when darkness seems about to overwhelm the world.

The ancient writer Ovid wrote that the power of Janus was connected to chaos; as if the backward glance of the god looks all the way back to the primal chaos that existed before the formation of the world. In order for time to start over and a new year to begin, chaos has to be present.

Even now, New Year’s Eve brings disorder and unruliness as wild parties, loud music and an abundance of spirits reflect the old idea that chaos must reign before any renewal can occur. Firecrackers, noisemakers, and excesses of all kinds represent the chaos that necessarily precedes the renewal of time’s otherwise orderly march.

And there is one more thing that is essential to the understanding of the old god Janus and the origin of New Year celebrations. Besides the presence of chaos, a return to the beginning brings with it a renewal of all the potentials of life. Not simply the notion of a fresh start; but the deeper sense that the wisdom of Janus involves both a tolerance for chaos and a strong intuition of life’s hidden potentials.   

There is no doubt that we live in chaotic and troubling times. The radical effects of climate change evidence that; the toxic levels of partisan politics say that. The increase of bigotry, misogyny and self-serving ideologies all bespeak a chaos that has been loosed upon the world. Yet, amidst the chaos and collapse of one period, the next shape of life takes form; not after the chaos is over; but in the midst of it all.

The world renews itself all the time in the secrecy of forests, in the inner mysteries of quantum exchanges; but also in the hearts of those who commit fully to life. If people can remain open-minded and open hearted, whether it is the dark of the year or the darkest time of one’s life, renewal remains a possibility.

It is important to mark the beginning of the next year, not because it is a social occasion or simply a reason to get together. But because, consciously or unconsciously, we stand on the threshold of time turning over and can look both ways and assist the world to begin again and thereby tap the unseen potentials of life, of love and healing and meaningful change.

Beyond the capacity to shift from one vision to another, Janus was also the arbiter of peace and war. So, at the beginning of each year quarrels were avoided, feuds were put aside and differences minimized in order that everyone might participate in the magic and mystery of the light of life returning and time renewing itself from the ashes of the past.

As in the old custom of “first footing”, neighbors and friends brought simple gifts or a song to each person’s door so that the first thing crossing the doorway of each home in the New Year would be something inherently life enhancing.

Consciously or unconsciously, we stand on the threshold of time turning over and can look both ways and assist the world to begin again and thereby tap the unseen potentials of life and love and the magic of change.

May the threshold of the New Year open before you in ways that reveal hidden potentials and more ways to live with meaning and purpose and imagination.

Wishing you a blessed and soulful New Year,
Michael Meade and Mosaic Staff

  


A Beautiful New Year Message For the World


Plez Ray Cobb:
This is a beautiful new year message for the World, from a young son of Portugal, Sthefan Zirus.

Today Sunday is the last day of the year 2017.
Tomorrow starts a New Year.
Bless this year with faith and hope to see that all the poor have been given back their dignity as a person.
Bless this year with the joy of Peace for many peoples and nations.
Bless this year so that our hearts may be flooded with the light of love.
Bless the children in this new year, so they do not lose the innocence of being your little angels on Earth.
Happy New Year, my sweet friends all. I love them!

David Steindl-Rast: A Listening Heart


Eyes see only light, ears hear 
only sound, but a listening heart 
perceives meaning.

David Steindl-Rast


John O'Donohue: At the End of the Year

This is such a beautiful gift. 
And, yes, we give thanks.
Warmest blessings to all ― Molly



At the End of the Year

The particular mind of the ocean
Filling the coastline’s longing
With such brief harvest
Of elegant, vanishing waves
Is like the mind of time
Opening us shapes of days.
As this year draws to its end,
We give thanks for the gifts it brought
And how they became inlaid within
Where neither time nor tide can touch them.
The days when the veil lifted
And the soul could see delight;
When a quiver caressed the heart
In the sheer exuberance of being here.
Surprises that came awake
In forgotten corners of old fields
Where expectation seemed to have quenched.
The slow, brooding times
When all was awkward
And the wave in the mind
Pierced every sore with salt.
The darkened days that stopped
The confidence of the dawn.
Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.
We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.

John O'Donohue
From To Bless The Space Between Us: 
A Book of Blessings

Friday, December 29, 2017

Mark Twain: What Gets Us Into Trouble

Deep bow of gratitude to my youngest son, Matthew, for this quote. I am grateful not only for the wisdom of our elders, but also the wisdom of the young ones. May we all be inspired to lift the veils of our illusions and grow more fully into our wholeness as wise and loving human beings. Blessings to us all on our journeys. ― Molly


It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you 
into trouble. It’s what you know 
for sure that just ain’t so.
 
Mark Twain