Shape Of Silence

Christmas Eve Tonight of all nights I appreciate silence. Though I suspect much of the Christmas story and message is mythical, there seems to be a tiny kernel of truth in it. What it is I'm not sure. If we could explain it, then the universe is in a lot of trouble, I suspect, if its wisdom can be comprehended by the bipeds currently scurrying around a minor planet on the edge of a nondescript galaxy. No, I'm not putting us down. We're just not finished yet, it seems. Nothing wrong with acknowledging that. Christmas. What is it, really? A dear friend implies it's all about gift. Gift is all about relationships. I give to you, you give to me. Maybe more than that. We receive from the universe. Do we give to the universe? What is the universe other than a bunch of us all connected? Us, meaning you, me, rocks, mountains, planets, crickets, elderberry bushes, the whole nine yards. I look closely at gift. What does that mean? It gets fuzzy the closer I get to it. Gift is…acknowledgement of the basic goodness of life? Maybe? I can't generalize that at a superficial level. I don't live in Iraq. Or Darfur. I dare not speak of the inherent goodness of life to my brothers and sisters who are stuck in a hell not of their choosing. So coming back then to silence. Mystery. Gift. Love. Acceptance. What is this thing that tugs at my heart and yearns for audience? I don't know. A child. A Child. Every child. Those who are young, and those who live in old and worn out bodies. Those who wait for their first appearance, those who have traveled the human path and have returned to the spirit world. The I AM that we ascribe to God? Perhaps that's what I hear in the silence. The voice of "God", spoken from the heart of every child, human and otherwise, throughout the universe, singing the song of "I AM." Dancing the dance. Trying to make eye contact with each of us. I'm very grateful for the gift of presence that some dear friends have given. You know who you are. I look forward to that gift of presence from those of you I haven't met yet. You know who you are, too, even if I don't. I love the mirror dance of I AM/YOU ARE. Goodnight, now. May silence find you and embrace you. May mystery's song lure you onto strange and wonderful paths and dance with you.