An old year is winding down
like a top that’s run out of spin.
A new year is gearing up
like a cyclist raring to win.
Who were you this time last year?
What secrets were caged in the dark?
What fears did you dare to release?
What strengths await birth in your heart?
Obviously, I’m no poet so I’ll stop while I’m ahead! Instead, in this last post of 2011 I’d like to share a real poem by Tim Rice about the Birth/Death/Rebirth cycle of Life. In combination with Elton John’s exquisite music, it never fails to send my soul soaring. But before you watch and listen to the video below let me set the stage, so to speak.
Last week my husband and I took our children, their spouses, and their children to New York City for a Christmas treat. It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, and this year the grandchildren were old enough to appreciate and remember it. We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and in the four days we were there did all the things tourists do, including attending the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, taking a carriage ride through Central Park, gaping at the gigantic video screen ads and scrolling news flashes in Times Square, ice-skating in Bryant Park, riding the subway to the American Museum of Natural History where we stood in awe beneath the giant whale and compared our heights to dinosaur skeletons, selecting dolls and matching outfits for the girls at the American Girl Store, letting the boys design and order their own basketball shoes at Nike, and buying a few final Christmas toys at the vast Toys R Us mother store.
As if this weren’t enough, we saw two Broadway plays. Spider-Man’s amazing flying feats over the audience dazzled our grandchildren, but for me, the highlight was watching Lion King through their wonder-filled eyes while my own spilled over with tears.
I know what I’ll be thinking about on December 31st as from the comfort of our home we watch the crystal ball descending in Times Square. Along with the birth of Baby2012 I’ll be celebrating the births of my children whose lives fill me with joy, and of my grandchildren who have brought new blessings of hope and love into my life. I’ll be celebrating all the little psycho-spiritual Births I’ve experienced as I’ve grown through despair and hope, faith and love to find my place on the path unwinding in the Circle. I’ll be celebrating all my little Deaths too, and the Big One yet to come. And I’ll be celebrating the Rebirths I’ve already experienced as well as the ones that await me on the other side. I’ll be celebrating the Circle of Life.
If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll notice the archetypes of King, Queen, Divine Child, Wise Elder, and Shadow in the picture above and video below. They’re in this story because they’re in us. Like baby Simba, they’re waiting to become conscious, mature and healed so they can find their place in the path unwinding in the Circle. May 2012 bring you closer to your place in the path. Enjoy the video!
http://youtu.be/vX07j9SDFcc
What’s the Point of the Three Kings?
December 24, 2024
24 Comments
Those of us raised as Christians know this holiday is about a lot more than rushing about, partying and shopping, and many of us enjoy warm memories and nostalgic feelings this time of year. But why are the moments of love, joy and peace so difficult to find during the holiday season? Where do the feelings of exhaustion, anxiety, disappointment and depression come from? Why do we keep missing the point of Christmas? How can we recapture it?
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Just stumbled upon your post and loved it.
Perhaps you are an ‘old soul’ playing your part in this Game called Life on Earth? I think you are very much part of the Great Shift in human consciousness. 🙂
Have a wonderful 2012.
Dear friend,
Am I an old soul? I don’t know, but I certainly share your passion for truths as I move through what I think of as Earth School! It does feel to me that I’m living in the exact place and time where my particular set of passions and skills can be best offered and utilized. I’m extremely grateful for that and, like you, I’m doing my best to make a difference during this time of monumental change.
Thank you very much for stopping by, and I wish you a wonderful 2012 as well.
My best,
Jeanie
Jeanie,
Thanks for sharing this blog post. It is very meaningful to me. At this time each year, during the holiday season, I think of my beloved husband Harold whom our family lost to cancer three and a half years ago. The Lion King/Circle of Life motif is especially meaningful because it was the last play we saw together in Tampa in June of 2008 before he died in August of that year. When we attended the play, Harold seemed to be thriving on a combination of traditional and alternative treatment and possibly beating the terrible odds of the disease. He looked and acted full of health and happy…what a gift at that time…as our whole family gathered to watch the play together. As the play unfolded, Harold and I held hands and cried for what we both knew would come…eventually. If not from the current disease, from the normal progression of life and death. It was to come sooner for Harold than we had planned.
As you know I am a watcher of those special events known as synchronicities, and believe that we are all connected in A Circle of Life on multiple levels. On the first anniversary of Harold’s death, I was driving to work and the song “May the Circle Be Unbroken” came on the community radio station I listened to when living in the Tampa Bay Area. Not only that, but I happened to look at the clock and it read 8:14 am. August 14 was Harold’s birthday!
May your New Year be blessed on many, many levels ~
Jenna
Dear Jenna,
Thank you for sharing the beautifully relevant synchronicities that are accompanying and nurturing you on your soul’s journey. They are such a wonderful example of how everything in life supports us when our thoughts are not restricted to what we “believe” about life, but when instead, we’re open, awake, and aware of the “realities” of life without trying to force them into preconceived belief systems. The reality is that everything in life has meaning and everything supports our growth to spiritual maturity. Thank you for sharing these examples from your own life which so beautifully illustrate this truth.
Blessings, blessings, and more blessings to you in the new year, my sister,
Jeanie
Thank you for this.
You are so very welcome.
May you be blessed with greater awareness of who you really are in the new year.
Jeanie
Jeanie,
One more thing relating to “The Circle of Life” just came to me:
Our newest member, Luna Carol Cowles, was born in Oakland, CA this summer on the anniversary of my first husband’s death,July 20th. Three days before his death in 1993, our first grandchild, Lexi was born to cheer our grieving family. We have always associated Lexi’s birth and Gene’s death in a very positive “Circle of Life” kind of way. It so happens that Lexi’s graduation-from-high-school present was a trip to California to visit with us in the San Fransisco Bay Area. She arrived the very morning that Luna was born. This was a special synchronicity, because Luna was born 2 weeks early!
Jenna
Dear Jenna,
I truly love how awake and aware you are. It’s an inspiration and another perfect example of how sacred life and matter are, and how meaningful life is meant to be for every soul. Your family is so lucky to be blessed with the wisdom of your consciousness. Thank you for sharing it with me.
Jeanie