The Work of Christmas

I sincerely wish you Happy Holidays, with the full awareness that, with all the festive celebrations going on around you, sometimes the holidays can bring difficult emotions to mind: loved ones who are no longer with us, loneliness and isolation, worries about your financial situation, concern for the health of your family and friends (and perhaps yourself), and just general uncertainty about the future.

This was my list of concerns four years ago at the beginning of the Covid pandemic and still holds true. I am sure you have your own concerns during this time.

One effect of these emotions, that we are able to notice in our meditation practice, is that these feelings tend to make us feel isolated from others. We may feel that we are the only ones under the influence of these states of mind, furthering our feelings of loneliness and isolation. I want you to know that you are not alone. You can see from my list above that we may share some of the same emotional feelings in this very moment.

The practice we did before Thanksgiving is my way of engaging with these difficult situations and emotions. The practice of On-the-Spot Tonglen allows us to visualize and experience several ways of connecting with our feelings.

First, we notice that the feelings are present in our body, not just in our mind. This begins the process of holding these difficult feelings in a broader awareness. 

Then we have the sense that many others feel just these same feelings, even right now, in this very moment. 

We then recall that we are always already held in the wish of love and compassion by our benefactors and we rest in the qualities of that field of loving care. 

We imagine sharing those qualities of care and compassion with all those who are suffering in the same way and envision that their suffering is relieved. 

We share in the joy they must feel to be free of suffering.

Finally, we relax deeply into the compassionate radiance of our field of care.

This trains the mind to see our own suffering in the light of others who suffer in a similar way and to remember our connection with those who hold us in love and care.

I leave you with a poem by Howard Thurman which, to me, expresses the essence of the spiritual path.

The Work of Christmas

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.