Next Calendar Orbit

 

Reflection over one’s shoulder or seeking it in a mirrored pond can be deceiving. Akin to a form of nostalgia, it might make a person homesick for the good old days. Where everything felt rosier and restorative. Reflection is a necessary part of the process of living as is the continued intake of breath. 

As we endeavor to reveal what was, in order to produce brave thoughts of what is to come, let’s enjoy the evening together as we pilot in the new year for the next calendar orbit.

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Spirit of Christmas Present Rings True from Christmas Past

 

~Spirit of Christmas Present Rings True in 2024 from Christmas Past 1843~

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Stave Three ~ The second of the Three Spirits ~ near the end of the chapter

"From the foldings of its robe, it brought two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment.

“Oh, Man! look here. Look, look, down here!” exclaimed the Ghost.

They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude.

“Spirit! are they yours?” Scrooge could say no more.

“They are Man’s,” said the Spirit, looking down upon them. “And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want [greed]. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!” cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. “Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And bide the end!”

“Have they no refuge or resource?” cried Scrooge.

“Are there no prisons?” said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. “Are there no workhouses?”

The bell struck twelve."

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Holiday Notions for a Peaceful World

Rhythms of repetition circle our days. The sink full of dishes, empty only moments ago. The elusive laundry basket of holding transforms full to empty to full again. Spherical embroidery of life winks in the corner of our eye.

The moon overhead. Buttons. Cylinder heads. Plant pots. Time. Love. Loathing. Radio knobs. Birch logs.

Amid the chaos, random rhythms become smooth at the edges. Repetition folding in on itself till the beginning and ending collide.

Unable to find where we begin or where the other end might be, we continue doing the dishes. Washing the laundry. We take round things apart to put them back together again. And we watch the moon wax and wane with mysterious delight.

In the midst of this plenty many are in want. For peace. For quiet skies absent of artillery. Unshattered homes snug inside warm beds. A gleeful breath resolute and fearless. For want of an unbroken heart.

When the wrapping paper lay in shreds and the twinkling lights are packed tightly in their boxes, may we share our plenty in the days ahead with those in want.

Unswayed by the season.

Written by Julia Mist D'June ~ December 2024

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May the holiday season be joyful and filled with thoughtful intentions. 

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10 Tips for Parents from John Marsden

10 Tips for Parents by Australian author John Marsden

1. Give children space. Back off. Let them roam. Let them be bored. Don't over-plan their lives. Cut way back on the after-school activities programs.

2. Keep away from all those ghastly, soulless, sterile playgrounds. Keep away from shopping malls. Look for real places. Wild places.

3. Be an adult. Say no to your children at least once a day. If the role of Adult in your family is vacant, then one of your children will fill it. And it won't be pretty.

4. Don't take up all the space. If you are dominating, loud, forceful, your children are highly likely to become passive, lacking spirit and personality … and/or sullen.

5. Believe about 40 per cent of the dramatic stories your children tell you of the injustices, corruption and satanic practices happening at school.

6. Teach them empathy. For example, after their jubilant victory celebrations when they win a sporting match, remind them that their jubilation was only possible because someone else – the losers – have been made to feel awful.

7. Help them develop language skills. Don't finish their sentences for them. Don't correct them when they mispronounce a word – they'll work it out sooner or later. Ask them open-ended questions, that need a detailed answer, not Yes/No questions.

8. Make sure they have regular jobs/duties at home and that those jobs are done to a consistently high standard.

9. Don't whinge endlessly about the miseries of your adult life. A lot of children now are fearful about growing up because their parents paint such a grim picture of the awfulness ahead.

10. Teach them to be very wary of people who Absolutely Know the Absolute Truth about Absolutely Everything! The colour of truth is always grey. Extreme positions are for the ignorant. Every creature, every person and every situation is complex. The universe is a wonderful mystery.

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Number 10 is a home hitter for me. While I am no longer an active parent raising the next generation, we all interact daily with humans of all ages and these are great tools to keep in our tool box of what it means to be kind humans to each other.