A Seed in the Wind

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible to you." – Matthew 17:20

As we move through hard times, it is quite challenging to remain true to one’s faith and to keep a positive outlook. Many proudly state their beliefs of a Higher Power taking care of things, but in reality few have the type of faith that will keep their heads above the waters of anxiety. True faith is not in hoping that we will be okay, but in believing it with every cell of our being while letting go of the illusion of control we cling to, regardless of the resistance we meet in our daily lives.

After the tsunami in Indonesia, I remember watching an interview with a girl who had been picked up and swept away by the tidal wave from her hotel room. She explained that at first she had panicked and had tried to grasp anything she could; once she realized there was nothing she could do to win against the amazing power of the water, she had let herself go without fighting, ready to accept whatever was to come, knowing that she was going to be alright. Once she stopped fighting, after a few bumps along the path, the wave carried her safely off shore until she could swim back, away from the sweeping currents. Letting go, and allowing destiny to unfold without fighting, had saved her life.

As with the tsunami in Indonesia, the economical wave we have been experiencing the past few months has swept many families away from their platform of security, and has left most in a paralyzing grip of fear for their future and for the wellbeing of their loved ones. With unemployment funds drying up, and few jobs on the horizon, even the strongest believers are faltering in their faith, and are desperately clinging to whatever they can find to remain afloat. Many more have turned to prayer to drown the distress, but although their lips utter words of salvation, their minds paint pictures of hell the moment they say Amen. Prayer and fear are ill-fated roommates, and unless a deep faith in the outcome evicts the doubts, prayers are but a stream of pretty words.

Despite the gloom of our financial night, we must know the sun will rise again. As Jesus said, if earthly parents have the power to fulfill the wishes of their children, how can we possibly doubt God’s power in fulfilling the needs of His children? No petition is hopeless if it is accompanied by absolute faith. Doubt is a human weakness which must be overcome if we can ever hope to rise above our limitations. As the mustard seed, we know we are too small and powerless to fight the winds of destiny, but we are big enough to hang on tight to our faith and "know" that we will be safely deposited wherever we need to go.

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Meeting Befana

January 6th marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as the day of Epiphany. In Italy – and in Italian communities around the world - this occurrence is also known as “Befana”.

La Befana is a character in Italian folklore who delivers presents to children throughout Italy, in a similar way to Santa Claus. In popular folklore Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of January 6th, and fills their socks with candy and presents if they are good, or a lump of coal or dark candy if they are bad.

Being a good housekeeper, many say she will sweep the floor before she leaves. The child's family typically leaves a small glass of wine and a plate with a few morsels of food for the Befana. She is usually portrayed as an old lady riding a broomstick through the air wearing a black shawl. She is often smiling and carries a bag filled with candy, gifts, or both.

Christian legend has it that La Befana was approached by the Magi (or Three Kings), a few days before Christ's birth. They asked for directions to where the baby Jesus was, but she did not know. She provided them with shelter for a night, as she was considered the best housekeeper in the village with the most pleasant home. They invited her to join them on the journey to find the baby Jesus, but she declined, stating she was too busy with her housework. Later, La Befana had a change of heart, and tried to search out the astrologers and Jesus. That night she was not able to find them, so to this day, La Befana is searching for the baby Jesus. She leaves all the good children toys and candy, while the bad children get coal or bags of ashes.In the center of Rome, in Piazza Navona, a popular market, the Fiera della Befana takes place each year between Christmas and the Epiphany. There toys, sugar, “charcoal” and candies are sold for the Roman children.

In other parts of the world where a vibrant Italian community exists, traditions involving La Befana may be observed and shared or celebrated with the wider community. In Toronto (CA), for example, a Befana Choir shows up on Winter Solstice each December to sing in the Kensington Market Festival of Lights parade. Women, men, and children dressed in La Befana costume and nose sing love songs to serenade the sun to beckon its return. The singing hags gather in the street to give candy to children, to cackle and screech to accordion music, and to sing in every key imaginable as delighted parade participants join in the cacophony. Sometimes, the Befanas dance with parade goers and dust down the willing as parade goers walk by.

Some of this information was found on Wikipedia.com.

Was Jesus a Leftist?

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?” ~ Matthew 5:43-47

I am very often labeled a “tree-hugging leftist”. For those who might wonder, I don’t hold a membership with PETA, I don’t belong to any activist group involved with the preservation of our environment, nor do I condone lack of self-responsibility and accountability. My qualification for the job is the mere fact that I don’t easily judge others and I embrace all, regardless of who they are or what they have done.

As I write these words, I can already imagine that some are mumbling the word “naïve”, so I have a question to ask – was Jesus naïve? Two thousand years after His incredible journey on earth, the great majority finds His embracing ways inspiring, and most who follow His teachings aspire to be able to live their life in the amazing footsteps He left. According to records, Jesus’ messages of equality, unity, unconditional love and lack of judgment spread quickly across the land, and were accepted by many - rich and poor, educated and illiterate. But, as a woman living in the 21st century, embracing the same concepts labels me as a “leftist”.

I am fairly conservative, and hold on tightly to what I believe are wholesome, important values, but I still choose to keep my mind open in order to tailor my views on an ever-changing pattern which is at the base of human evolution. I believe in preserving life in all forms, as I believe that each is one of the many faces of creation; I believe that humans are constantly having to choose between the pull of the ego and the guidance of Spirit, thus all humans have the potential of being good or evil; I believe that since half of each person is created by light, the best way to turn them away from the shadows is to feed them more light, regardless of how faint their flame is at the time I meet them; I believe in all people being the same gift just wrapped in different packages; And ultimately, I believe that we are all one – as long as we waste time fighting one another over meaningless issues we will never discover our true potential.

So, inquiring minds want to know - wasn’t Jesus hoping to spread these very same thoughts? He embraced thieves and prostitutes because he knew that deep down they were no different than a holy man – the only difference between them was the direction they had mistakenly taken, which could be reversed by changing paths on their journey.

I hope nobody is offended by these words, as I have no intention of stepping on anyone’s belief, but I have often wondered why we tend to mix politics and spiritual views, and would love to hear others’ opinions about this topic.

Taking Back Our Power

“Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.” ~ Duke Ellington

Someone sent me an interesting e-mail a few days ago, which I felt I should share. It spoke of dispensing love to all, but particularly to unconditionally love our enemies.

“Jesus said to love our enemies. It's difficult sometimes to get our arms around that concept in our daily lives - when someone ticks us off or says something that insults us, or insults what we believe in or someone we care about. In his book "Jesus and Non-Violence, A Third Way", Walter Wink says that love of enemies is the recognition that our enemy is too, a child of God. "When we demonize our enemies, calling them names and identifying them with absolute evil, we deny that they have that of God within them that make transformation possible. Instead, we play God."

Loving our enemies in indeed a challenge; it’s easy to give in to the temptation of doing otherwise, but if we do so, we are only shutting the door to new opportunities for ourselves. It is okay to be angry or upset when something happens, or someone does something wrong, as the power of that anger is often the force that drives us out of apathy. It is, however, quite detrimental to hold on to that anger once the situation has lived its life cycle.

Inside each of us are two intelligent minds at work – one, the rational mind, analyzes all the wrongdoings and keeps track of ego bruises; the other one, our soul mind, forgives all, for it knows that the light of others is the same as our own. By denying that this eternal light exists in others we break the chain of connection that naturally exists among all living creatures, and we isolate ourselves from the source of energy of the Universe.

Once we become disconnected – and our spirit mind is no longer being fed by unconditional love - we feel depleted and tired, and begin to entertain feelings of self-doubt and fear. Because the energy running through our spirits is the same, once we wish something positive or negative on someone else, that energy mirrors back on us. Equally, by forgiving others we forgive the parts of ourselves we may not be able to reach otherwise.

Forgiveness does not give our enemies license to hurt again, nor does it excuse the acts already committed, but rather it frees us from the influence those acts still have on our lives, and gives us back the power we forfeited in the past.

Forgiveness is the lighter we loan to another soul to light their inner flame, while kindness is the fuel that keeps the fire alive. By forgiving we cripple the ego of those who hurt us.

If we refuse to forgive and be kind we lose the right to complain when our enemies continue to walk in darkness and step on others on their blind journey. Shadows can only be dispersed by turning on the light.