The decorations were not quite as elaborate as in years past. Decorating felt more like a chore this year, a duty to be carried out with (at best) three-quarters of one's heart. Favorite ornaments, yes. The snow globe collection...one or two only.
And so, let our hearts be the snow globes this year. Look at your own, and you will see: peer deep within, deeper, deeper still. Who is that little figure there amidst the swirl of glistening flakes that will not settle? Dickens knew that too many hearts harbor likenesses of Ignorance and Want. Does yours? Hannah Arendt tried to warn us that evil finds a very comfortable home in banality—certainly that isn't what you see within. For too many of us, it is simply Fear, the old nemesis, the paralyzer of all that is good, enabler of Despondency, close relative of Hate.
If one is fortunate, one sees a Questioner. Did I allow Ignorance and Want to have the upper hand? Did I court that very evil I profess to abhor? Has Fear become my alter ego? And then, How can I not simply turn towards what seems like Light, but create Light of my own, share it with others?
Who is it who resides there in your heart of hearts? Who are you looking at right now in your mind's eye as you read this? Whom do you seek?
*
another
waning
year—
resolve
in
favor
of
light
(This blog post is dedicated to Linda and Ted; may next year be worthy of snow globes.)
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