Are You Complete?

• When we complete the year with honorable closure, we take into account what we have learned, 
•  the gifts received, accomplishments made, challenges experienced and gratitude for all the blessings.
• When we have completed any relationship, job, friendship, marriage, adventure, class or any other  rite of passage, we are at peace and feel benefited by all that we experienced.
• When we have experienced completion, we feel peaceful and enriched by the experience we chose.
• When we are truly finished, all is forgiven and is seen as a blessing for greater understanding and Love.

What have you experienced in 2011?

What have you learned in 2011?

What goals have you completed?

What challenges have you overcome?

What regrets do your have?

Are you holding onto any unforgiveness?

What do you seek to change or choose again in 2012?

Have you counted your blessings from the year 2011?

With honorable closure, (see below), there is a simple effective process you can do for yourself that will bring completion to whatever you are ending.

Remember whatever is not complete, is simply repeated or carried over in the next experience.

Whenever we continue to hold negative feelings, we set up the next experience or relationship to experience the same, until it is forgiven, healed, understood and brought to honorable closure.

It benefits us to always bring every relationship or experience to a close before moving on.

Take some quiet time:

Complete what you started this year. (Set a timeline for intended finish)

Let go of the projects you do not intend to finish.

Make amends and apologies where you have regrets.

Acknowledge promises you have not kept with yourself and with others.

Change agreements overtly where you have changed your mind.

Forgive conscious and unconscious errors of commission and omission.

Communicate directly verbally or in writing all withholds.

Acknowledge where you are learning and growing.

Create a step by step plan for healing and growth.

Notice all areas where you intend to take better care of yourself and your affairs.

Remember: 

·     What you leave undone, may be your undoing.

·     Where you hold secrets or withholds are areas of vulnerability.

·     Unfinished business is a source of guilt and fear.

·     When we hold judgments against ourselves (unconscious guilt), we set up unconscious punishment. 

The end of the year is a great time to forgive all and choose again.

The New Year is a time to  use ritual to clear, complete and finish the year past.

Create your own complete tradition, so that the canvas is clear to begin anew.

Loving you in loving you!

Betty Lue

Honorable Closure        

How do you complete a relationship, a marriage, a teaching-learning experience, a job, a friendship? How do you know you are really complete?

Often people walk away without really finishing the spiritual work, because it is easier emotionally.   People don’t know how to come to a truly peaceful place, where “good-bye” is really “God be with You.”  

When we are complete, we are at peace and in love.  

We have no regrets, no resentments, no unhappy memories. 

Honorable closure acknowledges:

1)   the learning and growth received, 

2)   challenges and difficulties experienced, 

3)   appreciation of gifts and blessings, 

4)   forgiveness and amends made. 

Acknowledge within your self and with the other person all that you have learned and how you have grown and benefited from the experience. 

Honor and express the challenges and difficulties that occurred and perhaps were endured during the time together. 

Offer your gratitude and appreciation to the other for the benefits you received.

Share your forgiveness and/or make amends for those places of unconscious or conscious errors of omission or commission.  Often neither party is aware of what went unexpressed until the two have an opportunity to talk together.  This is very valuable when done with the conscious intention for a peaceful conclusion.  

And lastly, give your full appreciation and blessings to those whom you are leaving.   

Honorable closure always includes a face to face or heart to heart connection so that all parties have a full opportunity to express their piece of the whole. Incompletion is never one sided. If one party loses and is in grief neither person is at peace.  

Do your part when you part. 

When we complete a relationship, job, living situation with honor for all, we are free to choose again without being haunted by the past or unconsciously repeating the same patterns. 

To move on, to create anew, to be fully inspired requires honorable closure.  Begin now.

Saying good-bye can be done with love, respect and profound gratitude and inner peace.

Betty Lue

Grandpa's Love

Love Is Patient.  Love Is Kind.

Love understands the heart of a child.

Love takes time to listen and care.

Love goes the extra mile and takes an extra minute.

The grandchildren were here at the Lake House this week.

Lila, age 6, has had her “Brown Bear” since infancy.

She sleeps with him every night and he always comes on sleep overs.

When the family left with extra kids in the car, he was forgotten.

Oops!  

Grandpa Robert took the time yesterday to take care of Brown Bear.

The picture story below was so Lila would know Brown Bear was being loved.

Can you imagine the joy of  the child in having her heart be heard so well?

********************************************************

I write these Loving Reminders just for you,  to remind you to Love You!

Are you taking the time to listen to your own heart?

Are you trying to be tough when you just need to understand?

Are you tender and gentle with yourself and your needs and wants?

Do you really care enough to give yourself the attention you deserve?

Love isn’t about gifts and just saying “I love you.”

Love is really about feeling the Love you have in giving the gift.

Love is really felt when you mean the words you say.

Love is about caring enough to go the extra mile and take extra minutes.

When you love you, you will give yourself what you really need to feel loved.

When you love yourself well, you will treat all of yourself, Mind, body and Spirit with respect.

You will say ‘No” when you know something is not really good for you, but you won’t be unkind.

You will find ways to indulge yourself in time, attention, enjoyment, affection and affirmation.

And when you need quiet time, you will take the time.

When you need something special, you will indulge yourself in that special treat.

You will remember your own birthday and other “special” days to celebrate you.

You will take yourself to the places you want to go and give yourself time off to relax.

Treat yourself with the best as much as you dare.

Talk to yourself in ways that show you really care.

Be willing to learn new things that interest you.

Share your excitement only with those who will listen.

Do not devalue your accomplishments today, this year and this lifetime.

Make sure you give yourself credit for all the good that you do.

This life you are living is yours to enjoy so give yourself reward and kudos.

And when you want a special treat, make time to spoil yourself like a loving Grandparent!

No time like the present to begin really loving YOU.

I do.

Dear Lila,

Brown Bear wanted to let you know he is having a good time at the Lake House. I took some pictures of his day so you would know he is happy and doing well.

Love,

Grandpa 

     

   

     
He really liked hanging out on the back porch. Great view of the backyard and the lake  (and I think he liked being higher up than everything else.) 

      

   

     
I think he’s working on his sun tan. Your bench is a great place to sit in the sun. 

      

   

     
Here he is meditating with Buddha for a bit. It helps him relax and keeps him happy. 

      

   

     
For some reason, he likes the garden. (I think he was sneaking some of the rosemary while I wasn’t looking. It’s very tasty.) 

      

   

     
Later in the day, he went up to the gazebo (you know, the tent on the platform in the side yard.) It is very relaxing to just sit and swing. 

      

   

     
By the end of the day, he was definitely ready to relax. Here he is sitting on the front porch waiting for me while I put some things away in the garage. He will be ready for a good night’s sleep. 

Time to Spiritualize Your Life

Inspire your Self.
Inspire your life.
Inspire your workplace.
Inspire your family.

To spiritualize means to inspire.
To inspire means to fill with life energy, with Spirit.
When you are inspired, you are inspiring others.
When you are inspired, you are enthusiastic, grateful and encouraging.

Take time for quiet.
Even 5 minutes a day of simply sitting in stillness, gives an opportunity to fill up.
Give your day to the “Highest Good”.
Be willing to ask questions and for guidance, and then listen, pay attention and write down what you hear.

Often inner listening and inspirational thoughts are erased and forgotten unless we make note of them.
It is essential that we act on our inspired thoughts to open the consistent flow of guidance.
It is important to follow the openings, moments of clarity and joy and inspired ideas.
It is key to forgive and release the negative blocks, fears and faulty thinking.

To be inspired at home and work everyday is a choice we make.
To be a source of inspiration to others, we must model inspired living.
To stay inspired requires daily reminders with inspiring people, projects and preferences.
Use your time and energy wisely and stay focused on positive possibilities.

Plan your day with the end in mind.
Set simple goals for what you want to experience. (Peace, happiness, gratitude, etc.)
If you hit a roadblock, stop, listen within and choose again for the open positive direction.
Remember the images in your mind, the words you speak all have impact on the outcome.

End your day with gratitude in mind.
Be willing to give thanks to yourself for stying on course.
Appreciate all the help (Wake up calls and reminders) along the way.
Every “missed take” is an opportunity to learn something and choose again.

Use attitudinal healing to reveal where you may have gotten lost or confused, fearful or defensive.
Practice changing your mind quickly and easily.
When you develop the ability to observe thoughts and words with neutrality, you will master easy change.
When you judge “mistakes” or errant thinking and actions, you will get stuck in repeating the problems.

Life is a truly miraculous opportunity to choose again and again.
Success or failure.
Inspiration or depression.
Freedom or stuckness.

Take time to choose to be inspired today and everyday.
This is a gift to you and all those you encounter.
Loving you,  
Betty Lue

Are You Ready for 2012?

Some say this will be an intense year.  

Some say this will be a challenging year.

Some say this will be a transformational year.

This year will be exactly what we create this year to be.

Every year, every month, every day is a choice.

We choose what we want to experience.

Every moment can be a gift or a curse, depending on our beliefs.

Every relationship can be healing or destructive, depending on what we choose.

Believe it or not, we believe what we see..

We perceive what we look for.

We experience what we expect.

We ask for consciously and unconsciously what we get.

So what do you want to create for yourself?

What do you want to create for your family?

What do you want to envision for your work?

What do you want to imagine for your world?

What we think, say and do, we are teaching everyone everywhere.

“As a man thinks, so is he.”

Thoughts create.

What we conceive and believe, we can achieve.

We are creating our own experience everyday in everyway.

When we give our thoughts, words and activities to Good, we are creating Good.

When we are focused on what we can “get”, we open to “getting” whatever is available.

When we think solely of meeting our own needs and what “we want”, we have limited experiences.

We are creating with how we respond to whatever comes our way.

We are creating by the vision we hold in our imagination.

We are creating with affirmations of gratitude and acceptance.

We are creating by the company we keep.

We are creating with the media we watch and the books we read.

We are creating with our unconscious guilt, our fears, judgments and worries.

We are creating with how we treat others and how they treat us.

We are creating with our gossip and what we share about our history.

We are creating with our life style choices and our financial expenditures and investment.

We are creating with every choice we make.

Simply remind yourself of what you really want everyday.

Forgive yourself, when you choose what you don’t want.

Remember you are experimenting to see what you really value.

Let go quickly and easily of everything that is not IT.

Affirm:

I know what I want and I go for It.

Letting go is fun, safe and easy.

Life works when I do the work.

I easily forgive and choose again.

My current affirmations:

2012 will be a great year of choosing for the highest good for all.

I choose for peace and love and gratitude for all the Good.

I am open and willing to trust in Love and freely share the Love I Am with everyone.

Loving you in remembering to choose what you really want.

Betty Lue

Honorable Closure

(Two processes below for your healing use!)

Whatever is left over, unfinished and undone, comes with us into the New Year.

Whatever is not healed and complete, is carried on into the next relationship.

Whatever is waiting continues to wait, until we stop procrastinating.

Unforgiven stuff waits for our forgiveness and blessing to be done.

This is a fail-safe learning laboratory.

We cannot fail to finish what we started.

We cannot sweep ancient material under the rug forever.  

So we might as well do our work right now.

Running away might work for a little while, until it all catches up with us.

Avoiding the inevitable is like waiting for the next big wave to come in.

Seeking solace in addiction, busyness or trying quick fixes is temporary.

The real healing work that needs to be done waits for our willingness.

There is no time like the present to begin.

Everything must be forgiven, especially ourselves.

We need to purify our thoughts and intention, sanctify our words and our deed.

There is a call to clear all unconscious guilt, resentment and hurt.

How do we begin?

Whatever makes you unhappy, afraid, worried or envious is a call for healing.

Whatever you avoid, resist, depresses or disappoints is calling for forgiveness.

Whatever you demand, expect, complain about or criticize is a call for clearing.

When we are in the judging habit, what we see and hear and feel is distorted with our lack of neutrality.

When we have truly forgiven, we see and feel differently and are will to be truly helpful.

When we have undone our previous unhealed and misperceived experiences, we can choose again.

When we relinquish all attack on ourselves and others, we begin to understand how to heal.

Honorable closure is a gift to ourselves.

It sets us free to choose again with wisdom and love.

It blesses our lives with healthy and conscious choices.

It fills us with gratitude and grace in our affairs.

True forgiveness is a gift to ourselves.

It sets us free from repeating the same mistakes.

It allows us to choose from the highest and best possibilities.

It releases us from the negative feelings that imprison us in fear and anger.

When we are complete, we feel peaceful and open.

When we have forgiven, we feel blessed and grateful.

When we are loving and happy, we choose wisely.

When we are living in integrity with our values, we trust ourselves and feel free.

Life is an opportunity to learn how to finish what we start,.

We can learn from everything and everyone.

We know we are blessed by every experience when seen with right perception.

We trust the process and free ourselves to be fully alive.

Loving you in all you are and do,

Betty Lue

Honorable Closure        

How do you complete a relationship, a marriage, a teaching-learning experience, a job, a friendship? 

How do you know you are really complete?

Often people walk away without really finishing the spiritual work, because it is easier emotionally.  

 People don’t know how to come to a truly peaceful place, where “good-bye” is really “God be with You.”  

When we are complete, we are at peace and in love.  

We have no regrets, no resentments, no unhappy memories. 

Honorable closure acknowledges:

1)   the learning and growth received, 

2)   challenges and difficulties experienced, 

3)   appreciation of gifts and blessings, 

4)   forgiveness and amends made. 

Acknowledge within your self and with the other person all that you have learned and how you have grown and benefited from the experience. 

Honor and express the challenges and difficulties that occurred and perhaps were endured during the time together. 

Offer your gratitude and appreciation to the other for the benefits you received.

Share your forgiveness and/or make amends for those places of unconscious or conscious errors of omission or commission.  Often neither party is aware of what went unexpressed until the two have an opportunity to talk together.  This is very valuable when done with the conscious intention for a peaceful conclusion.  

And lastly, give your full appreciation and blessings to those whom you are leaving.   

Honorable closure always includes a face to face or heart to heart connection so that all parties have a full opportunity to express their piece of the whole. Incompletion is never one sided. If one party loses and is in grief neither person is at peace.  

Do your part when you part. 

When we complete a relationship, job, living situation with honor for all, we are free to choose again without being haunted by the past or unconsciously repeating the same patterns. 

To move on, to create anew, to be fully inspired requires honorable closure.  Begin now.

Saying good-bye can be done with love, respect and profound gratitude and inner peace.

 Betty Lue

30 Days to Enlightenment  and Waking Up

30 Days to Healing and Seeing things Differently!

This exercise has a profound impact on how we see and live our lives.

This daily practice will heal and transform your life

With continued practice, there will be a spiritual awakening.

Forgiveness heals our perception and gives us Response-Ability.

Choice empowers us to Create our Experience Consciously.

Gratitude expands what we Choose and increases our Joy.

Daily Practice:

Begin each morning with a pad of lined paper and a pen.

Write and say 30 forgivenesses as they come to mind. 

Simply write “I forgive”…and let the rest just come from within. 

(No need to understand or feel anything.)

I forgive you for being mean.

I forgive myself for letting anyone hurt me.

I forgive my body’s limitation.

I forgive myself for being late.

I forgive everything.

Make the sound “AAAH” for 1-2 minutes.

Imagine that you are opening your mind.

Now write and say 30 Choices. 

I choose to be happy. 

I choose to be free.  

I choose to do what I love. 

I choose to forgive….

In the Evening (before bed)

Write and say 30 Gratitudes

I appreciate the energy I have.

I love being happy.

I am grateful I have you in my life.

I thank God.

Make the  sound “OM”  the Universal sound for Love and God for 1-2 minutes.

PS Even a few of each is better than none.  

Do what you can and trust it is working.

Loving You always, 

Betty Lue

Why So Scary to Love?

You might fall into Love?

You might disappoint?

You might be disappointed?

You might lose your whole Self to Love?

Love is fun.

Love is safe.

Love is easy.

Love is our Natural State.

Try it and you will see you like it!

Love brings energy and vitality.

Love offers joy and happiness.

Love gives forgiveness and peace.

Love is the way to clear fear.

When you give with Love, there are no expectations.

When you truly Love, there are no limits.

When you really Love, there are no conditions or rules.

When you let yourself Love, you are blessed with unlimited Love.

Love knows the way.

Love lights the path.

Love leads us Home to ourselves.

Love delights in Loving.

Love may look like a smile, a kind word, a hug.

Love may be a prayer, a welcome greeting, a handshake.

Love may be a gift, a meal, a warm bed.

Love offers rest to the weary, comfort to the sick and friendship to the lonely.

Love takes no time and gives all the time.

Love makes way for always and only Good.

Love is a mistake-forgiver and gives us new life.

Love is the new dawn on everyday.

Love takes nothing and gives everything.

Love is rich with flavors and simple in its giving.

Love is the gift that never stops and includes all.

Love is the real work we have to do here and is always fun.

I am loving everyone, as I love You.

I am loving me, as I am loving You.

As love expands inside us and is shared with everyone,

We are realizing the Greatest Love of All.

Loving the Love You Are,

Betty Lue

The Week After Christmas

T’was the week after Christmas and all through the land

Things were all settled, it was all pretty bland.

The gifts put away, the sales all complete

Settled down by the tube in my favorite seat.

I had my awareness written down in my book

Had my insights, ideas and whatever it took.

The spiritual lessons had been easy to share

They were all filed away (I’m not really sure where).

When deep down inside me there arose such a clatter

It was really unfair. Now what was the matter?

Away from my chair I flew like a flash

I looked in the mirror and then came the crash.

My life was unsettled with nothing the same

And the worst of it all—there was no one to blame.

When what to my wondering eye should appear

But a glowing white light, from behind my left ear.

With a little old angel so lively and quick

I’d seen him before. I was going to be sick.

More rapid than eagles his pronouncements they came

And he whistled and shouted and called me some names.

“More action and faith and tolerance and trust

Now listen within and be responsible, you must.

To topple complacency and breach the fear wall

Now dash away, smash away, drop away all.”

As leaves caught up in a hurricane fly

All of my thoughts were thrown up to the sky.

And as they were jumbled and tumbled and swirled

I knew when they landed, it would be a new world.

And then in a twinkling, I felt it all start

The seeds of awareness awakening my heart.

As I came to my senses (picked myself off the floor)

I saw in my mind’s eye, a picture of more.

A world bathed in light, from the south to the north

With every one on it aware of his worth.

No one was waiting for others to do, 

Or to fix or to heal or to make it all new.

Their eyes how they twinkled, their dimples how merry

When they each played their part, the world was easy to carry.

The smile on each mouth was drawn up like a bow

Shining laughter and love wherever they’d go.

The aura of kindness bespoke inner peace

Letting each individual experience release.

Oh the bright shiny faces, wherever you’d look

It seemed—to be willing was all that it took.

To start with ourselves, from deep down inside

To give our true gifts, not to withhold or hide.

With no blame, shame or guilt for our seeming mistakes,

A little forgiveness is all that it takes.

To clean up our world from inside to out

It was simple and happy and I wanted to shout.

Once I see the Christ presence in each person’s face

We all become one, with no distance or space.

I recalled in that moment just what my gift was

To love all of my brothers, with no “why” or “because”.

And I’m here to exclaim as I set myself free

I remember the truth—It all starts with me.

Adapted by Robert Waldon

Written 1988

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  Happy Holy Days!  Feliz Navidad!  Mele Kalikimaka! 

On Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of Jeshua, Jesus of Nazareth, and the coming of a new age of true forgiveness and unconditional Love.  When we put away childish, immature and ineffective ways of relating, we find the effectiveness of compassion, forgiveness, empathy, harmony, respect and cooperation. For some this may require lifetimes of learning, and for others it comes simply by trusting in the truly great spiritual teachings.  While this date is symbolic, it has become synonymous with giving, caring and sharing the best we have with others.  We awaken to the Love in us!  This is the birth of Christ, Christus, the Light and Love within us all!

It is on Christmas that I reach out to those who are forgotten, forsaken, alone and often discarded. I invite others to join me for caroling in local convalescent hospitals where patients and caregivers are usually alone for the day. I remember the ones who need encouragement, a warm smile, a song to here, a hand to hold.  It seems that we sometimes forget those who are too old, too young, too poor or too sick.  And yes, those who care for them preparing food, giving medical or nursing care or simply being there….just in case there is a need.  This is a gift to me to let the Light shine and the Love embrace All humanity.

As our troops come home, let us make sure they have a home for their families, jobs to pay the bills, adequate medical or therapeutic care for the mental and physical wounds of war.  Let’s see that their families have a safe place to raise and educate their children.  Let’s always treat them all with respect for they served their country well.  It does not matter what our political beliefs are about war. What matters is that we respect and care for our brothers and sisters, no matter what.  We are learning to Love everyone!

And yes, it feels important during the holidays, especially, to make sure we appreciate those who serve us anonymously.  The ones who keep transportation, utilities, hospitals running so that the rest of us can have heat and water, electricity and can travel.  There are so many who serve everyone, even on holidays, to ensure our safety, health and happiness.  Huge gratitude to those individuals who are on the job 24/7 to contribute to our well-being.

And to all of you who pray, meditate, participate in spiritual and religious practices, we are so grateful for your faith, your hope and your love.  Love does make this world go round.  Love heals and reveals the Light within.  Love is the basic glue that keeps us together as a family of humanity.  Love enfolds us and holds us in the palm of His Hand……Or my mental image….we are all puppies in a nest suckling, playing and sleeping together assured of our Creator’s eternal Love.  No one special, but everyone loved equally whether rambunctious or runt.  Yes, all of us are Loved wherever we are and whatever we do.

The gift of Christmas for me is in the giving.  

For when we give, we realize we have.  

It is in giving that we receive.  

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.  

And so it is, we recognize the Christ in us.

And so it is we know the Santa is in us.  

And so it is we realize the healer, the teacher, the beloved within.

Give and receive.  Teach and learn. Heal and be healed.

We are not separate one from another.

We are truly One, sister and brother.

Every child is our child.

Every elder is our own.

One family, one .

Love and you will know love lies in You.

Love is the Gift you have.

Love is the Gift you give.

Love endlessly and you will know endless Love.

May you know the Light in You. 

May you realize the Love You Are. 

May you be blessed in your blessing.

May you receive the gift of your Love.

Loving you this day and every day,

Betty Lue

Christmas Eve

This holiday (holy day) is honored around the world, in many cultures, in many ways all designed to celebrate. Whether we see it as symbolic of the birth of Yeshua, the birth of Light, the birth of spiritual family, the beginning of forgiveness or simply an opportunity to love little children, it is all about sharing the Goodness within. 

Just as we have confused ourselves with buying too much, eating and drinking too much, doing too much and somehow over-indulging in conflicting feelings of needing too much and giving too much, we have allowed the urgent commercial messages and our conforming beliefs to interfere with our joy and gratitude.

Perhaps we can stop just for a moment or two to be silent.

Perhaps we can remember only the Love we have for one another.

Perhaps we can share meaningful words of true appreciation .

Perhaps we can remember the real gift is in the giving.

Can we encourage ourselves to stop wishing for more?

Can we help our children say thanks for what they receive?

Can we be kind to one another with genuine gentleness and love?

Can we respect our own needs for rest and moments of peace?

Can we look around at those we love and truly value them?

Can we notice how much we have rather than what is missing?

Can we play games and listen to good music and enjoy our company?

Can we turn off the TV and video games and talk together?

Can we create, perhaps for the first time, a loving holiday without heavy drinking?

Can we share our positive feelings as though we might not ever have another chance?

Can we make a difference this holiday by demonstrating self discipline and real caring?

Can we be truly helpful to the ones who did the work and lend them a hand and lots of gratitude?

Family times usually have history, good, bad or mixed.

What was is gone and needs to be forgiven now.

When we start anew without old memories, we can design what we really want.

When we create new traditions, help people learn to expect and enjoy new opportunities to love.

Christmas for some is deeply sacred and meaningful spiritually.

Christmas for others is a time of family sharing and caring.

Christmas may be a time of giving to those who are less fortunate.

Christmas often is an opportunity to help children believe in Santa, the Spirit of giving anonymously.

Whatever this holiday means to you, give it your best. And be blessed.

Everyday is a special day of loving, giving and enjoying when you remember.

Know there is one Betty Lue who is loving you, now and always.

Everyday for me is Christmas, because I delight in the Love within us all.

Loving you,  

Betty Lue

The Night Before Christmas

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the earth

Was the light of love shining, a holy new birth.

Forgiveness completed, all judgments aside,

My conscience was clear with no hint of pride.

My worries behind me (I'd put them to bed)

While visions so heavenly danced in my head.

The job and the family, all routine, a snap.

Unaware, I was into a spiritual nap.

When out of the calm, there arose such a clatter.

My life was unsettled.  Now what was the matter.

Away from my habits I flew like a flash.

I threw off attachments, and then came the crash.

The feeling was alien, nothing the same.

I couldn't describe it or give it a name.

When what to my wondering eye should appear

But a blaze of white light, and coming so near, 

With a little old angel so lively and quick

I knew in a moment, I was going to be sick.

More rapid than eagles his values they came

And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"More honesty, tolerance, gentleness, trust,

Faithful and generous, with patience a must.

To topple defenses and breach the fear wall

Now dash away, smash away, drop away all."

As just as the leaves in a hurricane swirl,

Or a dancer will leap or will jump or will twirl,

So up in the air all the pieces they flew

And I felt when I looked, I'd see everything new.

And then in a twinkling, I felt with a start,

The growing and glowing, expanding my heart.

As I came to my senses and was turning around

I saw in the mirror an image profound.

He was bathed in bright light from his head to his toe

(His clothes were quite common so no one would know)

The weight of the world had just dropped from his back

And he danced like a peddler devoid of his pack.

He moved and he walked with a sense of great ease.

His lack of self-judgment made him easy to please.

The smile of his mouth was the shape of a bow,

It would light up a crowd wherever he'd go.

His relative silence bespoke inner peace

Letting all in his presence experience release.

He had a bright face and a happy, strong laugh

Which touches the heart, cuts resistance in half.

He was loving and kind, a right jolly old elf

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.

A wink of his eye and a nod of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work.

He listened within (a somewhat strange quirk).

But touching his hand to the side of my face

We joined, became one, with no distance or space. 

I knew in that moment just what my gift was

To love all of my brothers, with no "why" or "because".

And I'm here to exclaim, as I grow in Love's light,

Merry Christmas to all, it will turn out all right.

Adapted by Robert Waldon, 1988