The first of January is another day dawning, the sun rising as the sun always rises, the earth moving in its rhythms, with or without a certain as the day of new beginning, separating the old from the new. So it is: everything is the same, bound into its history as we ourselves are bound.
Yet we also stand at a threshold, the new year something truly new, still unformed, leaving a stunning power in our hands:
What shall we do with this great gift of Time, this year?
Let us begin by remembering that whatever justice, whatever peace and wholeness might bloom in our world this year, we are the hearts and minds, the hands and feet, the embodiment of all the best visions of our people.
The year can be new ground for the seeds of our dreams. Let us take the step forward, together, onto new ground, planting our dreams well, faithfully, and in joy."What shall we do with this great gift of Time, this year?" I love that question, and I've actually come to think of it as two questions. The first is asking us what we're going to do with the gift of Time that is the year to come. The other asks what we plan to do with the gift of time this year. Both are very important questions, and the somewhat subtle distinction between them seems like fertile ground to explore.
One of the things I'm doing with the gift of Time at what feels like a new beginning for me is (re)launching Pathways of Spirit, an at-a-distance Spiritual Direction practice. In coming posts I'll say more about what I think "spiritual direction" is (and is not), what "spirituality" is, and why we'd have to "practice" any of this. For now, in this first post, let me just say that these questions of what we are going to do with the gift of this coming year's worth of time, and what we're planning on doing with the gift of time this year, are just the kinds of questions we might explore together.
That brings me to another line from Kathleen's piece that stands out for me: "Let us take the step forward, together." While it is true that no one can walk the path of our lives for us -- only you or I can walk our particular path -- it is also true that we can walk with one another, walk near enough to one another that we can offer each other companionship. The Spirit, however you may understand that term, travels many pathways. I offer my companionship as you find yours.
Pax tecum,
RevWik
