There is so much activity in this period of build up to Christmas and New Year, so much pressure to make it all perfect, to have prepared everything exactly as we want it to be. On top of that there is the fear of new strain of Covid; the rules of behaviour are always changing and we lurch from one state of panic to the next.
It is no surprise that we often lose sight of ourselves, and in doing that we lose the deeper connection which is needed in order to make this time of year special.
We look outside ourselves for fulfilment; to things, situations or other people, whilst ignoring our inner truth, and so we end up busier and busier trying to find a source of joy or comfort.
These are dark days and we are meant to be slowing down and going inward. It’s a time of death and rebirth, letting go in order to replenish in the new year. But once we have lost sight of ourselves we fear the thought of letting go or of facing our innermost conflict; it is too scary, too dark, too like death itself.
At the same time we crave peace, we long for stillness and calm. But how are we to find that in this time of chaos and noise?
The instinct is to try and stop, to control the brain and our incessant activity and create that experience of peace.
But peace is not an experience. It is not something we can create or activate in ourselves, however hard we try. If we do find an experience it is transitory and therefore not ultimately fulfilling.
We are looking the wrong way around.
Deep within we ARE that peace. We are ALSO the chaos and busy-ness, with its emotions of fear, anxiety, expectation, frustration and sorrow. In trying to shut out the latter we only create more conflict.
However if we trust that the essence of our attention IS that peace, and bring the whole of that attention towards our inner chaos and incessant movement of thought and emotion, something beautiful happens.
The essence of peace brought to the movement of chaos illuminates the root of the chaos; ie our need for fulfilment and deep love. In seeing that fact absolutely clearly the heart opens towards ourselves with compassion. This connection of compassionate love within ourselves is what we have been craving all along. At this point the brain comes to stillness as it knows it can’t find what it needs through its constant movement.
What we are ultimately left with is presence, the quality of which is tremendous love.
This love becomes the centre out of which all our actions arise. Then we ARE the harmony and joy which we have been searching for, and all our encounters with others express this, enabling beautiful festive experiences through the flow of this powerful love.