An Unwritten Year: An Immense Responsibility

We stand at the end of another year: minutes ticking by as we anticipate 2023; waiting to revel in new beginnings; ready to celebrate... what?  If it weren't for the calendar year changing and our traditional or cultural expressions of Endings and Beginnings, I would wonder WHAT are we celebrating?

After all, look at our responses these past few years to COVID, our political divisions, and our social unrest!  Are we celebrating these... or the desire to be released from them and begin anew?

Are you experiencing turbulence in your life?
(Photo: Storm at Sea - Larry Gardepie)

I don't want to be too negative on this final day of 2022, but I am trying to understand why we think things will be any different next year if...

• We make resolutions that we don't intend to keep, or
• We aren't more civil and understanding to one another, or
  
• We don't put thought and time into changing the turbulence in our lives.

After all, there are individual and social responsibilities in starting anew:

• Accepting our role in past misunderstandings.
• Realizing that change cannot happen without self-transformation.
• Creating a better future that begins with each decision we make.

 

Where can you create beauty?
(Photo:  Rouen Cathedral,
Rouen, France - Larry Gardepie)

As I reflect on this past year -- those areas where improvements are needed -- and what I want to accomplish during this Year Unwritten, I yearn to discover beauty, seek peace, and work towards harmony.  I don't need to give up what I believe in or my value system.  Instead, I must stay open to the opportunities that present themselves: seeing people as Gifts Unopened and Surprises Awaiting.

How will you build peace and harmony?
(Photo: Two Bridges, Dartmoor National Park,
England - Larry Gardepie)

Walking along a mist-shrouded roadway to take a picture of Two Bridges -- where the guide told us about the bridge and most people stayed on the roadway to take their pictures, I chose to wander off-course down the incline... and was surprised by a new perspective of the bridge's reflection in the serene waters below.

 

Being willing to go off-course, allowing biases and prejudices to soften, and anticipating a surprise will create an experience much different than if we remained where everyone else is rooted in what was told to them.  I can discover beauty...  I can seek peace...  I can work towards harmony... if I am willing to change... and expect to be surprised.

 

May this New Year invite each of us to go off-course enough to move past turbulent times and reflect new beginnings in our hearts and minds.

Blessings to 2023!

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

Becoming Sanctuary

Walking around Pu'uhonua o Honanau south of Kona, Hawaii, I took in the sites of this sacred place... the people reveling in the beaches nearby, snorkeling in the calm bay, the ocean breezes cooling the warmth of the early morning, and the swaying palm trees.  An idyllic scene of beauty and tranquility.

Today, this place is a refuge from our busy, daily lives, but in the not-too-distant past, the journey to this location was a matter of life or death.  Breaking the Hawaiian code of conduct or law (kapu) meant death... unless you could reach one of these sanctuary sites.

Finding refuge allowed the individual to be safe... as long as they remained in the confines of the sanctuary.

Where is your place of refuge?
(Photo: Pu'uhonua o Honaunau,
Hawaii, Larry Gardepie)

The last two years have been a matter of life and death for many of us.  Our social networks have been stretched as injustices and inequities have come to light.  Some see government overreach; others experience safety in knowing how to protect loved ones and their community.  Stay-at-home orders isolated and confined us, but some noticed a calming effect as they were forced to slow down and retreat into life's basics.

Where is the refuge or sanctuary that will protect me... or us... when we no longer know how to balance individual and societal needs?

When do you comfort others?
(Photo credit:  Baby Blues, July 26, 2020,
Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott)

Rather than seeking sanctuary -- looking for a personal place of solitude -- I wonder if we are being invited to become sanctuary for ourselves and others?

• Am I able to set aside differences and see shared challenges?
• Will I sit with the pain of injustice and accept that I have not noticed?
• Can I work toward a broader understanding of common unity (community)?

How will you emerge from the pandemic?
(Photo: San Pedro Harbor and Channel, Larry Gardepie)

In essence, we have an active role and responsibility in re-creating norms as we emerge from these years of strife and division.  We can escape to our place of refuge or we can become a place of comfort and peace for others.  We can choose to argue or we can choose to come together.  The choice is ours, as individuals and a community, to to seek and become sanctuaries for safe dialogue.

 

May we become the sacred or holy place that people seek in moments of life or death.

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)

Peace and Goodwill to All

Traveling during the holidays sheds a different light on how people celebrate the December holy days and holidays.  I have found that many countries, cultures, families, and individuals have similar traditions... but with a personal twist that has been passed down and altered.

Most people recognize the Man-in-Red whether he is called Santa Claus or Father Christmas (English, American), Kris Kringle (American), Père Noël (French: Father Christmas), Papa Noel (Spanish: Father Christmas), Babbo Natale (Italian: Daddy Christmas), Weihnachtsmann (German: Christmas Man), Ded Moroz (Russian: Grandfather Frost), or Święty Mikołaj (Polish: St. Nicholas).

Last year during the pandemic, I came across a San Diego version:  Santa Claus on a paddle board!

How do you experience the holidays?
(Photo:  Mission Bay, San Diego - 2020)

We see decorated trees, manger scenes, and lights brightening the darkness.  Christmas or holiday music plays nonstop reminding us of religious beliefs and memories of Christmases Past.  I have experienced Christmas in the dark winter months (northern hemisphere) and the long, bright evenings of summer months (southern hemisphere).

The spirit of Christmas permeates many of the countries throughout the world.

What brightens your life?
(Photo:  Fed Square, Melbourne Australia - 2018)

Our beliefs and symbols may come in contact and in conflict with others.  For instance, I have heard some people reacting strongly when they see the word Xmas -- assuming that X is replacing Christ.  "Keep Christ in Christmas" becomes the rallying cry!  This is where we might stop, ask questions, and listen to what is in another person's heart and understanding.

In the early days of the Christian church, the letter X (Greek letter for Chi) was used as a secret symbol by Christians.  It was the first letter of the Greek word, Christ, and was used to identify believers.  Knowing the Greek meaning of X allows us to understand that Xmas and Christmas are synonymous:  we are each pointing to the Christ Mass celebrated.

How do you balance your beliefs and symbols?
(Photo: The Malecon, Ensenada - 2017)

Therefore, knowing the similarities and differences in our beliefs and symbols allows us time to reflect on our cultural or familial celebrations.  Replacing judgment with curiosity invites us to see where we feel at home... or where we might be uncomfortable.  The important question when we are ill-at-ease:  Why?

Where do you feel at home?
(Photo: Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Puerto Vallarta - 2019)

These December holy days and holidays require one thing of us:  we are invited to see and celebrate the humanity that is gifted in each person we encounter.

May this holy season bring a Pause into our lives.  May we embrace the exhortation:  "Peace and Goodwill to All!"

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

(click on link for website)