MYSTICAL HOPE AND A CHRISTMAS EXPERIMENT

With Advent on the doorstep I want to share a short poem I wrote in our Falling Upward course with Fr. Richard Rohr (CAC Fall-Winter 2024).

Today I put the star
at the bottom of
the Christmas tree.
Is this hope--
Falling upward?

For me, "trusting what is needed right now" is having the star at the bottom of my Christmas tree-- It's like hope has fallen this month with the result of the U.S. election but it's closer too.

In feeling powerless to change anything happening in politics, family, and the whole wide world right now-- I feel a Secret Garden kind of "agency, surrender, and embracing of life's unfolding journey" by moving my Christmas tree star to the bottom of the tree.  Amen!

Someone observed this is "mystical hope."

... "Of course there must be lots of magic (and mystical hope!) in the world... but people don't know what it is like or how to make it.  Perhaps the beginning is to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.  I am going to try and experiment." --Frances Hodgson Burnette, The Secret Garden.

With Frances's quote in mind I say my Christmas tree is going to be a Secret Garden this year.

I'm going to try and experiment too!

Cb
Amen
image:www.gardenersdream.co.uk




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