IPFS
CONNECTING THE DOTS
Frosty Wooldridge
More About: Religion: BelieversCHRISTMAS CELEBRATION OF THE HEART: CIRCLE OF CANDLES
Each morning here in the Rocky Mountains, the rising sun
blazes across the eastern sky with multi-colored light-shows beyond
description. This morning, as I sit here
at my office desk, a crimson, boiling cauldron of screaming light—tinges the glowing
thunderheads billowing on both sides of the cliffs beyond my window.
The first black capped chickadee just hit our birdfeeder,
and low and behold, four elk sauntered through our front yard on their way
toward the aspen grove. The lead eight
point ‘big guy’ just turned to look back at me as I stand in the window.
Oops, another five sparrows jumped the chickadee at the
feeder and a Downy woodpecker grabbed his first chuck of the suet cage. He’s happily pecking away at his morning breakfast. Not to be outdone, a red-tailed hawk just
soared through the ever-intensifying sunrise—now a full blown, blazing
strawberry red extravaganza.
For most of the year, I write about the serious challenges
facing our country, our way of life and our impending calamities—this morning,
I am thankful for the qualities of life abundantly parading outside my window.
Last Sunday at church, my preacher, Dr. Roger Teel, always funny
and forever instructive, asked us to take a deep breath and “Breathe in a
mindful Christmas.” He engaged us with a
funny, funny parody of the 12 days before Christmas….
Beyond that tale, Dr. Teel invited us to create a circle of
candles leading up to a large candle in the middle. He asked us to light one candle each night at
dinner, give some kind of thanks for our blessings, and end up with the last
big candle being lit on Christmas Eve. He
showed a picture of the end result on the large screen at the head of the
church of 1,500 seats. Can you imagine,
he packs us in at 1,500 for three services every Sunday. I gotta’ tell you, I love to go to church for
the spiritual renewal, enlightened laws for living and how to engage a fulfilling
life in the Almighty.
Dr. Teel talked about Christmas, “Renewing our faith,
igniting our energies and engaging our mindfulness. Let’s work toward the L.I.G.H.T.”
Dr. Teel at Mile Hi Church, used that acronym of LIGHT as follows:
L. Light consciousness! Move toward beauty, joy, love and
thankfulness in your life. Let go;
breathe and release. Got some things
bothering you? Take a deep breath and
count the positives. Let the negatives
fall away or deal with them honestly and forthrightly. As I sit here, the sunrise burns through my
eastern facing window. I am full of hope for the day, for renewal of ideas,
energy and vitality for living. I hope
you might enjoy the same sermon from your minister, rabbi, preacher or priest.
Along with the ‘light’, who can you forgive? Anyone that has betrayed you, hurt you,
cheated on you, lied to you or in any way maligned you! Forgive with your heart and mind as well as
your spirit. Once you forgive, you too,
will see that heavy emotional ‘sack of potatoes’ drop away from your shoulders,
mind and heart. My preacher gave a
heart rendering story of a woman whose husband suffered death at the hands of a
woman who had run over him at a school crosswalk where he volunteered. She couldn’t see from the glare of the sun.
The lady driving the car suffered severe depression. The wife of the dead husband could not
forgive and remained angry.
Finally, the preacher talked her
into seeing the woman who had run over her husband. When she knocked on the door, the other woman
fell to the floor with grief and self-chastisement. The
woman who had lost her husband bent down and pulled her up to embrace
her. “I forgive you,” she said.
At that moment, both felt the “light” of living come back
into their lives.
Yes, I have been betrayed, lied to, cheated and hurt by
others on purpose or by accident. And
guess what, I forgive them and I forgive myself in order to move forward into
the “light.” God gives us that choice.
I. Invite divine consciousness and inspiration into your
life this Christmas. Make it a warm and tender time to invite others toward the
light and the energy of Christmas, the renewal brought about by the birth of
Jesus in that manger.
We so often scurry about our lives without inviting others
to join us. This Christmas, invite new
consciousness and feel the inspiration throughout your mind and body.
G. Give! Give caring,
joy, encouragement, support, love and yourself to people on the street. I always say “Merry Christmas” to all I pass
on the walks or in the grocery store. Pay a compliment to the cashier, tip the
paper boy, the garbage collector and anyone that makes your life nicer.
H. Help and serve! I
volunteer as a ski instructor to the handicapped at the National Sports Center
for the Disabled at www.NSCD.org in Winter
Park, Colorado. Each teaching day, I work
with kids and adults with MS, MD, CP, TBI, amputations and other horrific
problems. I am forever inspired by their
courage for nearly 20 years of volunteering.
I come away richer from having served.
Additionally, I’ve picked up trash out of nature for over 50 years. I have picked up over half a million pieces
of trash and expect to pick up a million more before I leave this planet. It’s my way of helping and serving. What’s your passion to serve?
T. Transform! How
about a renewal of your mind? What’s
within you that needs a rebirth? How about
transforming your mind, spirit and heart back to the beauty of living?
How old are you? Have you lost the
magic? Guess what! You never outgrow your ability to live with
child-like wonder for this great adventure on this planet.
So, come on, throw yourself into the season! Throw your energy into living! What is Christmas? It’s you dude or dudette! Show your transformation toward joy, hope,
love and friends.
Light those candles, makes those wishes, watch for Santa Claus
and share an egg nog with your friends and family.
To each of you, my long time readers, and my friends all
over America and the world—let’s enjoy God’s blessings and the renewal of a
child born in a manger. Let’s work,
think and pray toward a more peaceful world where the family of humanity may
work together for a better world in 2011.
We are all one in humanity! We
all share a stake in the outcome for our children on seven continents, in the
sky, under the oceans and everywhere life abounds.
As tiny Tim said, “God bless us one and all!” Merry Christmas from Sandi and Frosty
Wooldridge
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Frosty Wooldridge, Golden, CO www.frostywooldridge.com