Holy-Days vs. Holidays

Happy Holidays !

In the month of December specially,  our minds could get busy  around planning our holidays, shopping and  preparing the gifts and food for special gatherings. but what is really the meaning of Holidays ?

While I was writing Holiday messages I noticed every time I read Holidays Holy-days instead. That brought the idea of Holiness of Holidays  along with questions of how we can make it as much Holy as well.

How can we make family gathering truly Holy time rather than just having a good prepared party? How can we give a gift of love and appreciation rather than just some thing wrapped beautifully which has no meaning by itself .There is nothing wrong with gifts but could we give the gift of our heart which is unconditional love to every one . Could we release judgments and see everyone as they really are in truth? Could we release the belief in good and bad and see perfection in everyone and everything including imperfections?

Could we take our time and truly listen to someone , either in our close relationships or at work , could we listen with our heart not just hearing their words while our mind is on something else . Could we give words of upliftments , love and appreciation to everyone who appeared in our path somehow , for being part of our journey ? Or when looking at them could we look in their eyes and connect to  see their true self beyond their physical eyes , the one soul that is in all.

Could we make a difference in someones life and help them to get something that they wouldn’t or couldn’t do on their own ?Could we release and forgive the past and visit someone who we have disconnected for any reason ?Could we forgive our parents for what they did or didn’t do since they didn’t know any better .

Could we share what we have with someone else and make them happy so they will remember that they are not alone. Or could we visit someone we don’t know or someone in the hospital that have no visitor , so they don’t feel forgotten?Could we bring smile to someone’s face by our gift of humor , joy by our gift of love and hope with our gift of faith?

Could we be a friend to someone lonely , a parent to someone who doesn’t have one and a cheerleader to someone who feels inadequate and not enough and help for someone who needs it.

Also could we give our selves gift of love as well and listen to our body , our mind and our soul. Could we take some time for ourselves and take care of ourselves as well. Could we take time to be still and  commune with our source and Higher power and receive gifts of guidance from our creator. Could we take some time to listen to yearning of our soul and do at least one thing that we love to do that we haven’t done so far.

In order to have Holy-days we need to be Holy and to be holy is to think and act Holy.To act Holy is to act from the heart and that is love. We need to treat everyone as Holy including ourselves since we are all one . We need to move beyond appearance and see the essence of one whole  life in all.

Although it could be challenging but we could do our best and make our holidays Holy as well. In what ways  are you going to make yours more Holy?

Happy Holy-days !

Shohreh

Beyond Uncertainty

We all go through times that we experiece fear and uncertainty which could be intimidating . A lot of times it is not as easy to overcome it or release the fear or think positive at those times and there is tendency to worry.

One day that I was going to watch the sunset by the ocean I came up  with this idea as I was walking. It was a heavy fog and I could barely see in front of me . At the same time I had a good feeling since it was different from other days. I realized as I was walking and moving through the fog it disappeared . Although there was a sense of uncertainty but as I stepped into it , it disappeared. Still I could see faded colors from  sunset which was covered by the heavy fog.

I recognized it is the same with fogs of fear . It may look intimidating , but as we keep moving and step into it , the fear dissipates. This could be true for any situation that makes us worried or fearful. If we look at it as fog then there is no power to it. When we look at the fog from distance it looks like a thick layer or a block but moving through it shows it is nothing but fog.

It is the fear of unknown. Only because we don’t know or we can’t see , we are afraid. As the unknown becomes known it loses its effect . Just as the fog disappears as we move forward , so does the fear as we step into it.

I also knew that beyond the fog was clear sky with beautiful sunset and I could see it as I was driving from the coast to home. It was just an illusion of block .I could also hear the sounds of waves even if I couldn’t see the ocean. Later the moon came out with the two stars next to it. It was so beautiful and magestic . I realized it is the  same in  life . Beyond the fogs of fear or any negative emotions is always clear sky of peace . The sun is always shining even if we can’t see at the moment. The stars always sparkling in clear sky.

Walking through the fog not only was insightful but I felt that universal energy even more . I felt I was embraced with love . Since fog, moon , stars and sun are all expressions of one life in form. Just as how we are. We too are expression of the same life in form. That life of truth, beauty and love. This is who we are . And if that life is everywhere , then there is no fear . The unknown becomes  known by our knowing the truth that there is only” love”. There is only light.

Let us remember that there is always peace beyond the fogs of fear , clarity beyond confusion and light beyond uncertainty even if we can’t see it at the moment. Let us see through the impermanence of fog. Let us recognize the Supreme life in everything including ourselves.

Let your light  Shine !

Shohreh