This is the sixth day of Christmas, and time to wrap things up for this old year! Today I have time to myself, and the energy to sink into revery, and begin to bring thoughts of the New Year into focus.
Agenda today:
1. Christmas retreat
2. Kwanzaa principles
3. Read from Root and Ritual
4. Service and activism goals
1. Christmas retreat:
I am again celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with a mini-retreat for myself, and using the Soyal Way of Being as a guide for my days; that is, I'm keeping Mother Earth in my thoughts as I move quietly and respectfully about my days, in order to establish the right mood for the coming year, and reach a unity of everything in the universe.
Two days left of 2023; it's time to see it out, and welcome in the New Year! This is an introspective time- standing at the door of the year, looking backward and forward. It's my habit to reflect on the past and also to ponder the year ahead- consider my true purpose and envision hopes for myself and my world.
Today I am honoring community service and activism:
What are my responsibilities to my wider community, and what do I want to gain for myself? How can I be of service? How can I better speak truth to power?
What things can I do in the New Year to actively help my family, my community, and my society to solve our problems? What group or cause do I really want to work for, be around, impact, and inspire?
What can I do to teach or support freedom, equality, and dignity for all people? What do I need to learn?
How can I show my thankfulness for the blessings in my life in tangible ways? How can I “pay it forward” with my time, talent, and money? What resources do I have that I could share?
2. Kwanzaa principles:
The fifth day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to the principle of nia (NEE-ah), which is purpose. Purpose allows me to dream of the best future, to look within and set personal goals that are beneficial to me, my family, and my community.
3. Read from Root and Ritual:
Today I'm reading again from "Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self," by Becca Piastrelli (2021). I'm circling back to Part 3: Community, because I want to find something to guide me in my service and activism.
Chapter 8 is called Gathering, a challenging concept for me and my communities, post-pandemic. Is a zoom gathering effective in the same way as in-person is? And, am I willing to put myself back into a diverse community that threatens my feelings of security?
"In order to preserve diverse communities, we need to remember that at the end of the day, what we have is each other. ... We owe it to one another to be curious about our differences and where those roots stem from. But this does not mean that we need to sacrifice our individual wellness or values for the collective."
She goes on to talk about establishing habits of integrity to protect the relationships I develop: No gossiping, no judgement.
4. Service and activism goals:
I'm finishing up the work of setting goals and resolutions for the New Year, focusing on my priorities. My theme for today is service and activism, all the ways I show responsibility and give back to the world for the gift of my life.
Service and activism goals might have to do with raising my level of integrity in some way, raising my energy and tenacity level for responsible action, using my talents to support a cause, growing as a leader and activist, or educating myself and others.
- Show up in-person more often, to Meeting and other events, to witness and form new connections.
- Continue to work to re-build our children's program, phasing myself out and helping to find a new clerk.
- Work to build integrity in my public relationships, to show respect to all people (less gossip, less judgement).
- Witness to a Quaker process of leadership.
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