A Variety of Gifts

This past week we celebrated St. Nicholas Day, a day much loved by children and adults alike. The tradition, one that started in northern Europe and has spread around the world, is that children place their little shoes out in their home the night before St. Nick's and then awaken to find them filled with chocolate coins or other treats in the morning. It is from this tradition that our modern tradition of Christmas stockings developed.

     Much of what makes the traditions associated with St. Nicholas Day so meaningful is that they are, in fact, based on a real person. Nicholas was a fourth-century Christian saint and also the Greek Bishop of Myra (now in modern day Turkey). Many stories and legends are told of us life, but the one that is probably most well known is his habit of giving secret gifts to others in need. It is his habit of secret gift giving that forms the basis for our modern day celebration of St. Nickolas Day and of Santa Claus.

     The daily readings in our Living Compass Advent book for this year focus on practicing patience, and so I have been spending time each day reflecting on how I can practice more patience in my life, both with others and with myself. As I was going through the daily readings this week, I found myself thinking of St. Nicholas and his practice of secret gift giving in a new way. I starting thinking that while the giving of chocolate coins and other material gifts this time of year can be a joyous experience, perhaps there are other wonderful gifts we give to one another as well. Gifts that are not material, but spiritual. A gift like patience, for example.

     So a few days ago I thought of a few friends and family members with whom I sometimes feel impatient. They may not sense my impatience, but I know it is there, and left unchecked it is something that could, over time, compromise our relationship. I thought at length about ways I could secretly give them the gift of my being more patient with them. I have now, in fact, challenged myself to do so the last few days and it is amazing how my feelings and attitude have changed already. I have also discovered that one of the people who also benefits from my offering this gift of patience is myself.

   Gift giving is on many of our minds this time of year. However much effort you choose to spend on finding the right material gifts for others, I invite you to also spend an equal amount of effort focusing on the spiritual gifts you can give to others this year. Perhaps there is a friend, family member, neighbor, or colleague to whom you would like to offer the gift of patience, or some other spiritual gift, right now.

     There are many ways to be generous with one another, many kinds of gifts we can share. Some require money, some require a change of heart and a change of attitude.   Whatever gifts we choose to give this season, whether chocolate coins or the gift of patience, may we all draw inspiration from the generosity of a humble, secret gift-giving man named Nicholas.

Light One Candle

Have you ever had the experience of the electricity going out at night, leaving you suddenly alone in the dark? It happened to me just a few months ago and because all of the street lights outside of our house had also lost power, I found myself alone in the kitchen, barely able to see my hand in front of my face. I would like to think I am not afraid of being alone in the dark, but that night proved me wrong.

     Fortunately, I was able to feel around and find a book of matches in a drawer and a candle that we keep on the kitchen table. I lit the candle as quickly as I could and was amazed at what a relief I felt. It is incredible how bright the light of one candle is in a totally dark room. I found that I could easily find my way around the house with this single candle, allowing me to find other candles to light. My fear of the dark was extinguished with the help of the candles, and I was able to patiently wait until the power returned a few hours later.

     This story came back to me today for two reasons. The first is because for those of us who are Christians, we have just this week begun to observe the season of Advent. The season of Advent is a time of preparation for the celebration of Christmas and one of its primary symbols is a candle. Each night this week my wife and I have lit a candle and taken a few minutes to sit in quiet reflection about the true spiritual meaning of this time of year. The candle we have lit each night is the same candle on our kitchen table that became my beacon of hope in the midst of the darkness a few months ago, when the power went out.

     The second reason that I remembered my experience in the midst of the power outage was because of the unspeakable darkness of violence that has erupted in our world again these last few days. I find myself now, as I did in my kitchen a few months ago, afraid and feeling overwhelmed by the darkness. At first I'm not sure where to turn or what to do. But then I remember the difference that lighting a single candle made in the midst of such darkness and it inspires me to light candles again . For me now, lighting one candle means doing something kind and loving for someone else, some act of service to another that will bring a small amount of light in to their world and thus, little by little, brightening our world as a whole.

   It has been said that, "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." I know that to be ultimately true, but I have to admit that at times I still struggle not get stuck wringing my hands and cursing the darkness. I firmly believe there is much that needs to be done by all of us, both socially and politically, to address the darkness of violence in our culture. There is much that needs to be changed--within our homes, our communities, and within our hearts. Working for change is another way of being a force for good, a light of hope for our world.

Darkness is real. It is powerful. However, the power of love is still greater. If, during this dark time in our world, you need a reminder of this powerful and hopeful truth, turn off all the lights in your home tonight and light a single candle. And as you do, take a few minutes to reflect on what you can do next to make a positive difference in the darkness around us. How can you light a candle of love and hope?

The Importance of Pausing

Earlier this week I read an article that gave advice on how to practice mindful eating on Thanksgiving Day.  The holiday has now passed, but but I would like to reflect on two highlights from the article that provide helpful advice for living mindfully as we now enter into the potentially stressful holiday season. The first point the article made about eating mindfully was the importance of pausing on a regular basis while eating a big meal.  The “Eating Pause,” as the article referred to it, is important because it takes time for our brains and bodies to realize that they have had enough to eat.  If we fail to take an “Eating Pause” from time to time, we are likely to eat too much, only realizing that we have over eaten when we finally stop.

This struck me as good advice, and a good metaphor, for how to live during the next four weeks.  To live mindfully, we need to remember to create times to pause, times to reflect on whether we are trying to do too much, buy too much, or eat too much.  Creating “living pauses” will help us to not arrive at Christmas  “stuffed” and exhausted.

The second point the article made was how important it is to learn to recognize one’s “hunger signals.”  This is related to the “Eating Pause” as it helps us to listen more closely to our bodies and to separate out true hunger signals from other feelings, ones that may drive us to eat more than we really want or need.

Again, this is great advice for living mindfully through the holiday season.  Take some time now to listen to your own “hunger signals.”  I know for myself that what I really hunger for this time of year cannot be satisfied by something bought at a shopping mall or by filling up my schedule with a multitude of activities.  I know that my deepest hunger is for spiritual, emotional, and relational connection and satisfaction.

Whether you chose to eat mindfully or not on Thanksgiving, I invite you now to join me in living mindfully as we approach Christmas, which is just four weeks away.  Taking time to pause and recognize what will feed our deepest hungers is what will help us create a meaningful holiday season, one where we are not uncomfortably full, but are indeed well satisfied.

Let Gratefulness Overflow Into Blessing

The title for this week's column comes from one of the most beautiful videos I have ever seen. The video is a TED talk and the focus of the video is nature, beauty, and gratitude. Watching and reflecting on this video seems like a powerful way to prepare for the celebration of Thanksgiving. In fact, you might even want to share the video when you gather with family and friends next week. The video brings the stunning time-lapse photography of Louie Schwartzberg together with words spoken by a Benedictine monk named Brother David Steindl-Rast. Brother David invites us to pay attention, really pay attention to the simple gifts and blessings of life that can be so easily taken for granted. He points out that paying attention to the wonder of nature and the wonder of the people we encounter in our life is the basis for authentic gratitude. I could not agree more.

You can view the video at https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude?language=en

You will not regret investing the ten minutes it takes to watch this video. Brother David's words begin four and half minutes into the video. If you want to read along as Brother David speaks, the text for his words is printed below.

     We at Living Compass wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. And in the words of Brother David, "May your gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you". 

     You think that this is just another day in your life... It's not just another day. It's the one day that is given to you - today... It's given to you. It's a gift. It's the only gift that you have right now... ...and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. 

     If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is... If you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life and the very last day then you will have spent this day very well. 

     Begin by opening your eyes, and be surprised that you have eyes you can open. That incredible array of colors that is constantly offered to us for our pure enjoyment. Look at the sky. We so rarely look at the sky. We so rarely note how different it is from moment to moment, with clouds coming and going. We just think of the weather, and even with the weather we don't think of all the many nuances of weather... We just think of "good weather" and "bad weather." 

     This day, right now, with its unique weather, maybe a kind that will never exactly in that form come again.. The formation of clouds in the sky will never be the same as it is right now...       Open your eyes. Look at that. 

     Look at the faces of people whom you meet. Each one has an incredible story behind their face, a story that you could never fully fathom. Not only their own story, but the story of their ancestors. We all go back so far... 

     And in this present moment on this day, all the people you meet, all that life from generations and from so many places all over the world flows together and meets you here like a life giving water if you only open your heart and drink. 

     Open your heart to the incredible gifts that civilization gives to us. You flip a switch and there is electric light. You turn a faucet and there is warm water, and cold water, and drinkable water... a gift that millions and millions in the world will never experience. 

     So these are just a few of an enormous number of gifts to which you can open your heart. 

     And so I am wishing you will open your heart to all these blessings and let them flow through you. That everyone you will meet on this day will be blessed by you, just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch, just by your presence. 

     Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you. Then it will REALLY be a good day.

Words by Brother David Steindl-Rast

Nature, Love, and Gratitude

I am currently on a week long spiritual retreat in the mountains of western North Carolina.  Rather than take time away from the retreat and write a new column for this week, I am choosing to repeat a column from a few years ago about beauty, love, and gratitude.  The timing is good for the this column as Thanksgiving is less than a week away. The timing is also good, perhaps, given how much pain and darkness we are witnessing in the world right now.  The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, facing the kind of horrible violence we are seeing today, taught us that, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”   May the video referred to in this column be a much needed source of light and love for us all.  

"Let Gratefulness Overflow Into Blessing"

The title for this week's column comes from one of the most beautiful videos I have ever seen. The video is a TED talk and the focus of the video is nature, love, and gratitude. Watching and reflecting on this video seems like a powerful way to prepare for the celebration of Thanksgiving. In fact, you might even want to share the video when you gather with family and friends next week.

The video brings the stunning time-lapse photography of Louie Schwartzberg together with words spoken by a Benedictine monk named Brother David Steindl-Rast. Brother David invites us to pay attention, really pay attention to the simple gifts and blessings of life that can be so easily taken for granted. He points out that paying attention to the wonder of nature and the wonder of the people we encounter in our life is the basis for authentic love and gratitude. I could not agree more.

You can view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2egMSliB8DE

You will not regret investing the five minutes it takes to watch this video. If you want to read along as Brother David speaks, the text for his words is printed below.

     We at Living Compass wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. And in the words of Brother David, "May your gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you". 

     You think that this is just another day in your life... It's not just another day. It's the one day that is given to you - today... It's given to you. It's a gift. It's the only gift that you have right now... ...and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. 

     If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is... If you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life and the very last day then you will have spent this day very well. 

     Begin by opening your eyes, and be surprised that you have eyes you can open. That incredible array of colors that is constantly offered to us for our pure enjoyment. Look at the sky. We so rarely look at the sky. We so rarely note how different it is from moment to moment, with clouds coming and going. We just think of the weather, and even with the weather we don't think of all the many nuances of weather... We just think of "good weather" and "bad weather." 

     This day, right now, with its unique weather, maybe a kind that will never exactly in that form come again.. The formation of clouds in the sky will never be the same as it is right now... 

     Open your eyes. Look at that. 

     Look at the faces of people whom you meet. Each one has an incredible story behind their face, a story that you could never fully fathom. Not only their own story, but the story of their ancestors. We all go back so far... 

     And in this present moment on this day, all the people you meet, all that life from generations and from so many places all over the world flows together and meets you here like a life giving water if you only open your heart and drink. 

     Open your heart to the incredible gifts that civilization gives to us. You flip a switch and there is electric light. You turn a faucet and there is warm water, and cold water, and drinkable water... a gift that millions and millions in the world will never experience. 

     So these are just a few of an enormous number of gifts to which you can open your heart. 

     And so I am wishing you will open your heart to all these blessings and let them flow through you. That everyone you will meet on this day will be blessed by you, just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch, just by your presence. 

     Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you. Then it will REALLY be a good day.

Words by Brother David Steindl-Rast