4th Day of Christmas

This is the fourth day of the twelve-day festal tide - a sacred, festive season. My retreat today will again embrace the disposition of a pre-schooler ... a busy kind of retreat, with lots of short projects and (hopefully) a long nap!

Agenda:
1. Christmas retreat

2. Kwanzaa principles

3. Earth care reading

4. Service and activism goals for 2023

5. Prayer candle ceremony

6. Make end-of-year donations

7. Winter nature table

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.

I'm also doing some reading and writing every day, focusing on my priorities and what I'm called to do (or not do) next in my life. My plan is to contemplate, honor, and practice a different one of my life priorities on each of the 12 days, and set some goals and resolutions for 2023, based on guidance from God.

Today I am honoring my service, activism, and integrity: 

What are my responsibilities to my earth and my world? 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? How can I educate and work for earth care and climate justice? 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? What changes could I make in my buying habits?

 

2. Kwanzaa principles:

The third day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to the principle of ujima (oo-JEE-mah), which is collective work and responsibility. Ujima is teamwork, working together for others and helping your neighbors.

3. Earth unity reading:

Today I'm reading again from "Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self," by Becca Piastrelli (2021). 

In Chapter One, Tending the Land, she says, "We were all born into a system where dominance and ownership had the highest value, so it takes some time to unlearn those old paradigms and reprogram our perspectives to steward land rather than use it. ... So much of the modern world has been deeply impacted by the forced (and often violent) taking of lands. ... The effects of colonization still very much exist today, even inside of us. The unconscious ways that we take what we want without thinking about consent or our impacts on others plays out all the time in our day to day lives".

She follows this statement with the simple image of picking a flower without considering what the flower wants, or the needs of the ecosystem around it. When I multiply that by billions of us, and broaden it to include every part of the natural world, I want to cry. 

How can I remember to put limits on my sense of entitlement? 

4. Service and activism goals for 2022:

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, activism, and integrity, all the ways I show responsibility and give back to the world for the gift of my life. Integrity is the quality of being whole and undivided, and acting promptly on what I am called to do. When I am honest, virtuous, and loyal my integrity lights the dark places of 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.

My ideas for activism and service goals for next year so far are:

• Continue to lead the Quaker Earthcare Support Group; research and post weekly and monthly information, and find creative ways to educate the Meeting on plastics.
• Continue to work to re-build our children's program.
• Use art and craftivism to spread a message of peace, social justice, and environmental responsibility into the world.
• Find tangible ways to root myself in this land I live on, so that my service comes from a place of stability and power.

5. Prayer Candle ceremony:

I'm enjoying a daily prayer candle ceremony throughout my extended Christmas retreat, using small candles and candle ends, and will choose a new candle to add each day.

Today I light a green candle for earth unity, and ask the Spirits to bring the rain of loving care down upon the whole world.

6. Make end-of-year donations:
Today I look at my yearly budget and decide who to make donations to, generally my Friends Meeting, kids and schools, human rights groups, environmental groups, and those who help the homeless.

This year I'm donating to 350 Eugene, Community Supported Shelters, Friends of Trees, and Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice.

7. Winter nature tray:

Nature trays or tables are a place to celebrate the changing seasons, and the natural cycle of the year. We put away the Autumn nature tray at the start of advent, and yesterday we cleared away the advent candles and set up a Winter tray.

We enjoy two parts: Collection and observation (this is Medicine Collecting for kids!) Our grandson loves to collect nature objects - sticks, leaves, pinecones, rocks - not all beautiful, but who am I to judge? Our nature tray is a display of his collection with some additions from me. Eventually our walks will help him to sharpen his observation of what goes on in nature, and he will become more discerning about what to collect.

Observation is rather ceremonial - we visit the table when he is here, light the candles and touch or play with the objects, but they live on the table.

Supplies: Tray or low table, candle or two, natural objects (feathers, sticks, nuts, pinecones), appropriate seasonal figures (snowman figure), and a word for winter (peace).