The Disney world of princes and princesses makes us think of castles as romantic places of luxury and wealth, the very definition of a happy ending. But castles were largely built as strongholds, as a place that you could wall yourself in when under attack. Sometimes the fairy tale life you envy in someone else is merely the fancy walls that they have built to protect the vulnerabilities they don’t dare show.
Who do you allow to see the truth of your inner life?
A baby harp seal in its fluffy white coat blends in with the snow, making it almost invisible to predators. But to its mother, each little seal is instantly identifiable, and she is drawn to the scent of the one baby, amidst all the others, that belongs to her. So long as its mother is alive, no young harp seal is really alone.
Who will you find, so long as they need you? Who will come find you if you are in need?
Advent begins today—a time of waiting with joyful anticipation. Which is not how we usually think of waiting. More often we regard waiting as tedious or annoying or an interruption to our carefully planned life. But it doesn’t work to hurry the growth of a plant or the birth of a child—some things only come when the time is right, and one might as well celebrate the time that leads to fulfillment.
What do you wait for with joy in your heart?
World AIDS Day is a day of awareness, a time to remember those who are living with HIV and to work toward continued progress in prevention, treatment and access to life-saving medical care. Perhaps it is also a day to be aware of the many things that make our bodies and psyches less able to resist the dangers that come at us from within and without.
What helps you resist assaults on your emotional, spiritual or physical well-being?
In the world of Harry Potter, there are Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans – jelly beans in every flavor, from buttered rum to vomit. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to risk eating jelly beans when you never know if you’re going to get mocha or mucus, but isn’t life pretty much like that? Any day might be the day you meet your one true love, or the day you get hit by a car, and there is no choice but to reach into the bag and see what you get.
How do you prepare yourself for reaching into the bag of a new day?
