Listen to Alan read “Etchings On Our Hearts.”
When I was a child growing up in a small central Kentucky town, Christmas Eve Day was full of cooking and baking and last-minute wrapping of gifts and all-around excitement. Around 6 pm, we would join together with other families at Dr. Sewell’s house to sing carols and eat goodies. Then back home until it was time to join my father at the church where he was the minister for the midnight service.
I remember one very special Christmas Eve when, while caroling at the Sewell’s, it began snowing—heavy, wet snow that stuck to everything and turned the world glittering white. My father went to the church to prepare for the service, and my mother, younger sister, and I walked the two blocks back home. We sat under the Christmas tree telling stories and anticipating what might be inside the wrapped presents nestled up under the boughs of lights and ornaments. There were always a few special small gifts for each of us, but we had to wait until morning for the unwrapping!
Then about 10 pm, the three of us donned our coats and hats and gloves, and went out into the snow to stand under the street corner lamp where my father would soon come to pick us up for midnight church. The night was dark and still and even the tiniest branches of the trees were now glistening with snow in the lamplight. It was magical and so peaceful, and somehow I knew then, even as a small child, that I would always remember that particular Christmas night.
This holiday season, there are so many memories from across the years. A few were quite significant at the time, yet most, I realize now, were simple moments. Sometimes I was alone; other times I was with someone special or my dog or a small group of people dear to me in that particular chapter of my life. To the outsider, it might have appeared that nothing remarkable was happening. Yet in that moment something precious or funny or tender or painful or touching was being etched into my heart.
And so it is with life. Our lives are a succession of present moments, some of which we cherish forever, some of which are etched on our hearts, and others that we long ago forgot. And then suddenly they pop back into our awareness—maybe even at the most unexpected times! Whatever those moments were, something about them mattered. Something about who we were in that moment—how we were showing up—and what we were touching deep inside ourselves. And those moments became part of the fabric of our lives.
This year, 2024, I’ve become so much more focused on what is important to me now—at this time in my life. And then living that. Putting more time and energy and focus on what, in the bigger picture of life, really matters to me, and less and less time and energy on what doesn’t. We’re living in unsettled and uncertain times. Who we are, how we show up with ourselves and others right now, today, and where we choose to put our focus matters. Because that’s what we’re putting out there into the world.
Whatever holidays you are celebrating at this year-end season, pay attention to what is happening inside you and around you. Where is your focus, and how does that feel for you? What are the moments of your current days that could be etched into your heart forever? What is the future you are taking care of by how you live today? What matters most to you? Whatever that is, live it now.
And then be Love. Just be Love. It’s a simple idea—not always so simple to live. Yet in the end, that’s really all there is.
As the Winter Solstice approaches and holidays of various spiritual and faith traditions are upon us, I leave you with these few simple words:
Life is a succession of present moments.
So, be here, now.
In this moment.
Know what matters.
And live that.
And above all, be Love.
Be Love all you can.
And then be Love some more.
Blessings and light to you and yours
through this holiday season
and into the New Year!
Blessings on us all,
Alan
Invitations:
- The Free Monday Meditations on Zoom series resumes on January 6th and continues on Mondays through February 24th. 10 am ET / 7 am PT / 16 CET for just 20 minutes. FREE —All are welcome. Register to receive 2-day reminders and links to recordings after each session. If you have registered previously, you do not need to register again.
- Free Meditations for Changing Times on the Center for Transformational Presence website. Visit anytime.
- If you are anywhere near Newburyport, MA, please join me at 8 am the first Sunday of each month for a free half-hour contemplative meditation, “Touching the Sacred Within,” at First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist Church. All are welcome.
