Seasons greetings everyone!  Due to the recent ice storms spanning across Ontario, Toronto experienced a severe power outage.  The power went out initially on Saturday the 21 and 300,000 people were left with no power.  Sadly, up to 80,000 Torontonians are currently spending their holidays without electricity and water.  During the last few days, I too, had to deal with the inconveniences of not having power.  We did not have running water or heat and all restaurants, malls, street lights and signs were shut off.  This ice storm couldn’t have come at a better time and was much needed at a time like this.  I do not wish this type of suffering on anyone but this dose of reality is the kick in our pants we all need from time to time.  I saw first hand how miraculously the universe conspires to teach us the value of life over the value of things.

What I learned in the past few days is immeasurable.  I witnessed kindness, calm, organization, thoughtfulness, consideration and most importantly hard work and dedication.   I also witnessed chaos, clutter and recklessness all in the name of technology.  We are so consumed by our smart devices that we’ve become antisocial and quite panicky and almost useless beings.  Living a few days without power gave me some much needed time away from the clutters of this world.  I was able to meditate in complete stillness and darkness with no outside distractions, including light.  I was able to see how the media, propaganda and the collective ignorance of society created a convoluted perception of what Christmas and the holidays are all about.  I saw how consumed we’ve become because of technology and how instead of it helping us extend our lives it has now become something that’s taken over our lives.

I didn’t grow up celebrating Christmas so I was never exposed to the madness of gift giving and shopping.  But, as an adult, I learned to love the idea behind Christmas; designated and official dates to spend quality time with family, friends and those you care about.  It is also a time to extend a helping hand to those who are less fortunate.  The generosity that people feel during the holiday season is unbelievable, it’s as if the world and mankind is almost and finally simultaneously conscious and aware on a deeper level.  The vibrations of positivity and love resonate with such a high frequency that our inner light beams as bright as the Christmas lights we put up.

Christmas and the holidays is supposed to be a time of true and inner reflection.  It would take too much time and I would write waaaayyyy too much and bore you all with my explanation about the true meaning of Christmas.  So let me present to you what someone wrote on Instagram.  I have been following this life coach on Instagram by the name, @thebachbook.  Once the power came back on, in Toronto, I was able to read his post about Christmas and honestly, his explanation must be shared.

What interests us spiritual seekers isn’t so much religious stories themselves, but rather the spiritual principles that underpin them.  We’re less interested in empty, meaningless ritual and more interested in transforming the way we see our lives and the world around us.  We’re interested in powerful stories that change our hearts.

Albert Einstein said, “I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.  No myth is filled with such life.”  Ditto, Albert.

Enter Jesus of Nazaraeth, a radical Middle Eastern mystic revolutionary who is widely misunderstood, but “came only to be a brother to the world.”  The “Prince of Peace” didn’t have anything we don’t have.  He just didn’t have anything else.  Stripped of fears, illusions, and the world’s ideas of who he should be, he freed himself to become a full expression of the bright light that’s within all of us.  He’s what we really are in truth.  Cool story, bro.

Christmas isn’t a time.  Christmas is a state of mind.  May we enter it now, releasing all that is unreal: our dark fears, our flimsy illusions, our painful judgments of ourselves and each other.  In this profound act of forgiveness, may we reveal our own higher selves and birth into the world the love we’ve all been waiting for.  

The saviour is born.  The saviour is us.

So, I end by not wishing you a Merry Christmas, but rather, a Merry Everything!  This is a time to celebrate and be grateful for all that we have and all that can be lost in a matter of seconds.  Even if we have nothing we should use this time to be grateful for the small things, which ultimately are the ONLY things we truly need.  We must look inward and find the positive from within, then we can experience positivity in abundance from the outside.  Stay safe and again, Merry Everything to all spiritual beings!