BiGGER
BETTER
BRIGHTER
that’s what it’s all about in our world today, isn’t it. . .
and oh guess what. . .
we’ve been told countless times over
IN FACT
just watch the news
or just being in a group of people that you don’t even know
standing in line at a grocery store
or a coffee shop
S T O P
Listen to all the bad news that the world is giving us
P L A C E S
As if we don’t have those very dark places in our life
that are asking for what not a bonfire
not even a candle
or even a constant flame. . .
How about just a
F L I C K E R
just a flicker of Hope
and psssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
even if it comes from a
fake candle
that gives
it’s better than a brand new one that doesn’t. . .
so maybe the biggest question is:
ARE YOU THAT FLICKER
FROM A FLAME
AND LIGHT
A DARK SPOT
IN A DARK PLACE
TAHT NEEDS TO BE ILLUMINATED. . .
Are you?
BE THE SPARK
THE EMBER
THAT STARTS
THINGS
G L O W I N G
Brrrrrrr is Never in Season
A small Unitarian Universalist church choir in Black Mountain, North Carolina (The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Swannanoa Valley) began making videos for their online services as a response to the Covid pandemic in April of 2020. Their choir director, Annelinde Metzner, used her experience as a compose and arranger to make videos using Garage Band and I-Movies, with rehearsals and recordings on Zoom. “We Are Lights” (The Chanukah Song) is a song for Chanukah that their choir performed in December 2021, with lyrics by Steve Young, music by Stephen Schwartz, and a 2006 arrangement by Mac Huff. They have added their own photographs symbolizing “Light” which give the words poignancy. . .and inspired the rest of this blog post celebrating Chanukah with Christmas just 13 days away. . .
It is THE Season of Lights. . .
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
L I G H T
is always in Season.
I love stories,
especially ones that start out:
THE STORY IS TOLD. . .
that there were six people trapped by pure Chance in the darkest of darks and the coldest of colds– but not without a
G R E A T S O L U T I O N
Each person, all six of them, had a stick of wood. . .
SO THE STORY IS TOLD. . .
Their dying fire needed just one thing as they huddled around it:
L O G S !
One woman who had a stick wasn’t about to give hers up. As she shivered and huddled around that dying fire, that dimming light, she was able to see the faces huddled/shivering being illuminated and because one of those faces was black, there’s no way she was going to give up her stick to warm THAT face up.
There was another sitting around that dying fire and saw the face of the one who’s mouth talked about a God he didn’t quite believe, there’s no way he was going to give up his stick to warm THAT face who’s mouth talked of a different belief.
The third one sat there around that dying fire in tattered clothes and pulled the well worn coat closer and more secure around him as he muttered under his breath, “There ain’t no way I’m giving my stick to this fire to warm these highfalutin rich folks.”
There was a rich man who just sat and thought of the wealth he had in store, and how to keep what he had earned from all of these lazy, shiftless poor; he would not be giving up the stick he had rightly earned.
The black man’s face was frowned all up in revenge as he held on to his stick even while the fire was flickering its very last flame; no way he was giving up that stick to people who had oppressed and kept he and his ancestors down. It was the spite that made him hold that stick almost as a weapon; serves these white folks right to die of cold.
The last man in this group, shivering harder now in the barely glowing embers, firmly believed you give ONLY IF FIRST GIVEN TO, so his cold hands held his even colder stick and would stay that way since no one else was going to offer up their sticks.
THE STORY IS TOLD. . .
S I X L O G S . . .
Six Logs held by six different
UN-SHARING
people who died. . .
w h o
WOULD RATHER DIE
than to
S H A R E. . .
The Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm of the Season
is that they died not from the
Cold and the Dark
but something the much,
much worse:
The Cold and The Dark
I N S I D E
It is the Season of Lights. . .
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
L I G H T
is always in Season
A single little ember can Light a miracle. . .
There are many
CANDLE BLOWERS
OUT AND IN
T H E R E
Keep an inner Candle lit
so that the Miracle in your life
can find its way home again and not only
E N L I G T E N. . .
b u t
W A R M O T H E R S
along the way. . .
Eliminate
B R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
from ever having a Season. . .
A n y
L I G H T
that Shines
not only illuminates a path
. . .It Warms a Heart
BE A SEASON OF LIGHT
(if not always–o f t e n)
(BETTER STILL: ONE THAT NEVER ENDS!)
BE AN EVERLASTING
LIFESTYLE OF
L I G H T
C O I N E D
C O I N E D .
Sometimes I feel like an old discarded
C O I N
Worn
Weathered
Unnoticed
In open air
Sunning
With the Shine long rubbed away
To no longer reflect
Sun
Moon
Or Star
Just Because
I’m not in a gutter
Doesn’t mean I haven’t been Displaced
Laying there
I scream out dully
I’M NOT S P E N T
PICK ME UP
USE ME
KEEP ME
SAVE ME
COLLECT ME
BUT DON’T WALK BY ME
like all the Others
So remember. . .
The next time you feel like something that doesn’t spend
not worth being picked up
Un-used
Thrown away
Not sought
Walked past
Shunned
YOU ARE THE CHANGE
THAT DOESN’T JINGLE
(only c o u n t s)
A STAR IS BORN
Top selling movie over the past couple of weeks. . .
A third remake of
A S T A R I S B O R N
The worst thing about
A S T A R I S B O R N
isn’t a movie critic’s bad review
or petty criticisms. . .
The worst thing about
A S T A R I S B O R N
is N O T
r e c o g n i z i n g
the STAR BORN IN YOU
never quite noticing
or passing over
d i s r e g a r d i n g
your talents
your dreams
your aspirations
your essence
Because of Someone Else’s
o p i n i o n
or lack of one
about youYou are not a firecracker
that’s mere lit and momentarily sparkles
or a nub of a candle almost burnt out
d i a m o n d
s h i n i n g a l w a y s
refusing to be seen
or s h o w n
. . .d i s p l a y e d
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:
O P E N Y O U R E Y E S
BE BLINDED
BY YOUR OWN
L I G H T
and then
S H I N E
e v e n b r i g h t e r
DOING WHAT YOU LOVE
R U T R H O
Do What You Love?
Or, Love What You Do?
Since some of the earliest writings from the world’s most prolific thought leaders the notion of doing what you love (seeking a career that fills you with passion) has been discussed at length. But with current research showing how many people are disengaged, dissatisfied, and frustrated at work, we wondered is it possible to flip the words—is it possible to simply love what you do—your current job?
Q U I C K:
ARE YOU LOVING WHAT YOU ARE DOING
RIGHT HERE
RIGHT NOW
ON APRIL 11, 2018. . .?
Finding a job you love is age-old advice. Confucius probably has the best longstanding quote about “do what you love.” His words, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” have been repeated throughout history. Or consider Warren Buffett’s words, “Take a job that you love.” And let’s not forget the prolific thoughts of Maya Angelou who said “…pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”
Does anyone advocate the opposite approach—telling people to love what they do? We did not have to look far to find the advice of Steve Jobs who said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Are we typical of most workers? Science actually gives us some insight.
The “find a job you love” advice listed above is easy to buy into for those who love their jobs. But for those who still don’t love their work, should they quit their current job and chase the dream of the job they would love? Or can people learn to find meaning and success in their current job? The answer is ‘yes.’ And here’s why.
END-L I G H T I N G
I love Candles. . .
I love the actual act of simply lighting Candles.
I Love how they make a room look.
I love how Candles can make a room smell.
I love how Candles illuminate something in me that nothing else quite can. . .
especially if music is playing;
I love that one of our friends with their kids made candles
and gave Erin and I each one last week;
I love the flickering dancing of a small flame from a Candle. . .
Y O U ?
Go figure. . .
Hanukkah and Christmas Eve are NOT the same days this year;
. . .in fact, we are already nearly in the middle of Hanukkah
and it’ll end in the evening of Wednesday, December 20. . .
four evenings before Christmas Eve. . .
My favorite Hanukkah Story is one of my Favorite Christmas stories:
Right before sunset a young boy and his mother were about to light the Menorah and he asked her,
“MOM, DO YOU LOVE ELENA MORE THAN YOU LOVE ME?”
As the rest of the family gathered around to Light the Menorah, she whispered back to her son, “Honey, I will answer that question when we light the Hanukkah Candles.”
She lit the Shamash, (the Candle that lights the other candles of the Menorah) held it high and said,
“ALL MY LOVE IS IN THIS FLAME. I AM GOING TO GIVE ALL MY LOVE TO GRANDMA AND GRANDPA.”
She lit that first candle, held the Shamash high above.
“LOOK, I STILL HAVE ALL MY LOVE.”
“NOW, I’M GIVING ALL OF MY LOVE TO YOUR DAD,”
She said as she lit the second candle, holding the Shamash high above and proclaiming,
“LOOK, I STILL HAVE ALL MY LOVE.”
“NOW, I’M GIVING ALL OF MY LOVE TO YOUR SISTER, ELENA,”
she said as she lit the third candle and then held the Shamash high above exclaiming,
“LOOK, I STILL HAVE ALL MY LOVE.”
“NOW I WILL GIVE ALL OF MY LOVE TO MR. BENSON, OUR NEIGHBOR WHO HAS NO FAMILY OF HIS OWN,” she said as she lit the fourth candle and held the Shamish high to say,
“LOOK, I STILL HAVE ALL OF MY LOVE.”
“NOW, FOR MY FRIEND CATHY WHO IS IN THE HOSPITAL,”
she said as she lit the fifth candle and once again held the Shamash high as she boldly said,
“LOOK, I STILL HAVE ALL MY LOVE.”
“NOW, HERE IS SOME LIGHT FOR ISRAEL, IN HOPE FOR PEACE,”
She lit the sixth candle, held the Shamash high to extol,
“LOOK, I STILL HAVE ALL OF MY LOVE.”
“NOW, I WILL GIVE ALL MY LOVE TO CHILDREN WHO DO NOT KNOW FROM WHERE THIER NEXT MEAL WILL COME.”
She lit that seventh candle, held the Shamash high and confidently stated,
“LOOK, I STILL HAVE ALL OF MY LOVE.”
“NOW. . .NOW, MY SON, I WILL LIGHT THIS EIGHTH CANDLE. AND I AM GIVING ALL OF MY LOVE TO YOU.”
C O U L D I T. . .
could it be that one Light ends at the same time Another Starts?
Could it be that they
ALL JUST CONTINUE TO
f l i c k e r
on. . .
enlighten. . .
to the eye that notices?
L I G H T I N G
is a VERB
For all Seasons
For all Days
For all Moments
For A L L
Maybe. . .
Maybe it’s all about just when the
Wick comes to Flame. . .
m a y b e
it’s all about
O N-L I G H T E N I N G
and less about
E N D-L I G H T E N I N G ?
S O . . .
S e e. . .
B e. . .
F r e e
that magnificent Light
w i t h i n
for all those
w i t h o u t. . .
I T I S I N E V E R Y O N E O F U S
Let’s in our own way
Let’s in our own time
p r a y
Be ENLIGHTENED
To ENLIGHTEN
To SEE
Your Sparkle
https://youtu.be/kUFPGYVhmSs
If your life was a
C O M M E R C I A L
what exactly would it be
a d v e r t i s i n g. . . ?
It’s not so much the noticing of
W H A T ‘ S B E T W E E N U S C O N N E C T S U S
or even recognizing
Y O U R S P A R K L E
so much as just simply
S H A R I N G I T
. . .it’s one thing to be an empty
B I L L B O A R D
and another to ever
G I V E
what no commercial could
ever even begin to
promise. . .
as a Caring Catalyst
it’s never really what’s
Y O U R S P A R K L E
so much as
H O W
W H E N
W H E R E
and mostly
T H A T
YOU SHARE IT. . .
Psssssssssssssssst of the Day:
Why have S P A R K L E
if you don’t ?
Dark Nights of the Soul
We’ve all had them and few, if any are voluntary:
DARK NIGHTS. . .Of The SOUL.
They Scare and paralyze more than amaze and awe us.
I’m in the middle of The Wedding Season right now. I will conduct weddings from now until Labor Day and then a a couple more in the Fall, including my youngest daughter’s on 12/13/14.
There is absolutely NO MIDDLE to the Burying Season. They happen year around, oddly enough, much more so right after the major holidays than at other times (but that’s another Blog Post).
It’s fascinating isn’t it?
All weddings really seem to be fairly similar, but every marriage is vastly different. Death…well…we know that it’s the other side of the Coin we all carry that will one day Come UP for all of us. Death without any Vegas odds comes to everyone, but ONE MOURNS SADLY ALONE.
Dark Nights of the Soul.