Luckily, advent is four weeks long, allowing us to grow slowly and steadily towards the light. Let yourself go inward now, at the start of advent; be like the bear in her cave, saving your strength and relishing the darkness. Don't celebrate Christmas too soon; allow yourself to experience the darkness of winter, against which it shines.
Agenda This Week:
Monday-
1. Make Luminaries:
1. Make Luminaries:
Later on in the Advent season, we will add Christmas tree lights and more candles around the house to symbolically experience the growth into light.
Supplies:
- glass jar with straight sides- peanut butter jars work well
- scraps of tissue paper in many colors
- watered white glue or acrylic medium (I used acrylic medium because I had a big bottle of it.)
- glue brush
- waxed paper or freezer paper
1. Tear the tissue paper into the shapes you want. I used strips.2. Brush glue in one area and cover with tissue. Leave a bit at the top to fold over the rim. Keep brushing more glue and adding more strips, overlapping each by a little, and folding the tops over the rim. (This is a good chance to talk about additive color, since the two colors that overlap will create a third color.)
3. Gently brush more glue over the top of the tissue. Don't worry about the extra at the bottom- you can trim that off later.4. Let the glue dry, and add a tea light or a small candle, using melted wax to stand it up in the bottom of the jar.
2. Evening Meditation:
Light your luminary candle and set it outside, where you can see it from a window. Settle into silence, and focus your attention on the darkness and the small flickering light.
Tuesday-
Seeds and bulbs are a fitting symbol of expectant waiting at Advent. Like the bulbs in the ground and all of nature in the winter, let your energy grow gradually within you so it may be born anew when the time is right.
1. Plant tulips:
I have a bag of tulips that I didn't plant at the proper time, and I figure- better late then never, right?
2. Plant paperwhite bulbs:
Light your luminary candle and set it outside, where you can see it from a window. Settle into silence, and focus your attention on the darkness and the small flickering light.
- Breath in the calm darkness from the depth of the earth.
- Breath out the rainbow light of the Spirit of Love.
Tuesday-
Seeds and bulbs are a fitting symbol of expectant waiting at Advent. Like the bulbs in the ground and all of nature in the winter, let your energy grow gradually within you so it may be born anew when the time is right.
1. Plant tulips:
I have a bag of tulips that I didn't plant at the proper time, and I figure- better late then never, right?
2. Plant paperwhite bulbs:
Supplies:
- pretty rocks and glass pebbles
- a glass or pottery bowl
- paperwhite bulbs
- paper bag
1. Collect pretty rocks and glass pebbles of different sizes, and clean them.2. Fill a bowl partway with the rocks, and nestle the bulbs on top, close together but not touching each other. Wedge more rocks in around them to hold them in place.
4. Put the bag in a dark, cold place, like the cellar or refrigerator. Water the bulbs every week if needed, and check for top growth.
5. When the roots begin to take hold and the shoots are 2 to 4 inches tall ( in 2-3 weeks), take the bowl into a cool room with indirect light.
6. When the leaves are well formed and the flower buds are showing, move the bowl to a warm, brightly lit room to encourage the buds to open.
Wednesday-
My aim this advent is to celebrate simply and consume less. The modern way of observing the winter holidays supports an increase in waste; one statistic says that Americans throw away 25% more trash– an additional 5 million tons- between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. A fun holiday season doesn't have to be a wasteful one!
Simple Holiday Tips:
- Simplify my expectations. Think about which traditions are most important to me. Find meaning and fulfillment in spirituality, and my relationships with my family and friends.
- Be frugal and spend less money this year; reduce my purchasing of wants.
- Make my own gifts or buy simple, durable gifts; avoid the latest fad; buy gifts made locally and made from recycled materials.
- Use cloth napkins and reusable plates and cups for holiday parties.
- Make reusable bags out of pretty fabric to use as gift-wraps for family; they can save the bags to wrap their own gifts next year. Make tags from last year’s Christmas cards.
What are the most wasteful things I do at advent?
What can I change to show solidarity with the poor, respect for the earth, and a desire to live more simply?
2. Make bottle cap magnets:
Bottlecaps are easy to save and have many fun uses. This year my art class is making refrigerator magnets out of bottle caps to give as gifts. We talked about ways to make the gift suit the receiver- some have decided to spell out words, and some are using photos from home and from magazines.
Supplies:
- bottle caps
- photos and artwork
- scissors
- thick cardboard
- Mod Podge
- magnets recycled from ads
- strong adhesive
2. Cut a slightly smaller circle from thick corrugated cardboard, to help raise the artwork up. Pour some Mod Podge in the botlecap, and stick the cardboard in place.
3. Place the art work on top of the cardboard, and pour Mod Podge in to completely cover the art work. Let it dry for 2 or 3 days.
4. Glue a magnet on to the back of the bottle cap.
1. Spend a day outdoors:
I try to stay connected to nature during the winter, no matter what the weather. Winter is when nature rests before reproducing and growing anew; it’s a good time to observe the basics because there are fewer things going on.
I decided to spend today outside as much as possible- Here's my plan:
- Take a longer morning walk then usual- go down to the creek to see how the ducks are doing.
- Rake leaves in the back yard.
- Refill the bird feeders.
- Bike to and from my art class, and go a different way to visit different trees.
- Go for an evening walk and try to see the almost full moon.
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