and chanukah/hanukkah & advent shall share the light together . . . .

on this first night of chanukah/hanukkah, the first candle is lit.  it is the second week of advent, and two candles are lit.  and so hope and peace join forces with the light, that our world may grow brighter; that we can live together in this miracle we call life.

see the glow of this light . . . as the days grow shorter and the nights become longer, we can hardly believe that in santa cruz today, it was 66 degrees!  i wore short sleeves and short pants; it felt lit early autumn this morning when i was walking.

the strangeness of our weather pattern is a reminder to me that life is just never the same.  there are so many causes for this phenomenon, and i don't want to get into a debate about the cause and effect of what we are doing to our environment.  rather, my point today is that as we live in this moment, the light is shining amidst the gloom, reminding us that life, indeed, is a sacred gift.

 and so as these two different lights shine from two different traditions, i share one of the symbols from my tradition in advent; the nativity.

i shared in a sermon/message once about leaving out one's nativity throughout the year as a reminder of our story of faith, and all that goes into the struggle and beauty of life.  this nativity was given to me as a gift, and is made of soapstone.  it is not the one i leave out each year, but i've included that one at the end of this blog.

yet this nativity reminds me that i live amid many cultures; many beliefs.  together, we live in hope for a better/kinder/more compassionate world, where gunfire does not occur every single day, and where children are cared for and people are sheltered in safety.  we live in a time of hope, where peace will find its way into our hearts and minds, and be extended by our actions into the world, where our sisters and brothers will lay down like the lion and the lamb . . . .

this ungainly tree was just a wee twig in a 2 inch pot when i rescued it on the clearance rack at safeway my first advent in santa cruz.  i have planted it in my backyard, not knowing if it would survive the california drought; but it has, and while it may look like charlie brown's christmas tree, i am thrilled to be able to look out upon it and know that there is life that comes from the struggle to survive; i am filled with hope, and empowered by such peace when i gaze upon it each day.

as advent began, i started reading hanya yanagihara's novel,
a little life.  OMG, what a move and powerfully-disturbing book that sharing the insight of what i might call "the secret that none of us really want to know about".  while it is a novel, what i have read so far (page 561 of 720) and what i know, tells me this story is true . . . or true enough.  i commend this book to you, and will remind myself with each waking moment, that each person is of sacred worth, and that abuse of any kind SHOULD NEVER BE TOLERATED!

and so chanukah/hanukkah and advent blend with the light of possibilities; of hope, of peace, of joy, and most especially of love.  if every the world could use a strong dose of love, it is now.  may light surround you this season, and may the love in your life shine forth as we strive to make peace . . . .