Mystical Spring

Here in Advent, we move forward toward the darkest night of the year. As the days grow shorter, it is tempting to stay in bed. Why bother to get up?

One day is just as gloomy, rainy, ice filled, snow filled as the next.

I have to force my mind to think of sunny, better times. After all, the sun is shining somewhere in our world and where it is shining is most certainly beautiful. In sunny locations, there are usually blooming flowers, blue ocean water, sandy beaches, and lots of green trees. But out my window, I am as far away from that pleasant atmosphere as I am from the moon–or at least, that is what it appears like.

So, I have to think of other things to motivate this writer. I have to remember that even in sunny places there can be war, famine, disease and poverty. Just because there is sun, doesn’t mean there aren’t problems.

And that is my point exactly.

We all have problems. Everyone in the world–no matter whether the sun is shining or snow is falling or ice is sleeting up your windows, we all are on this planet together worrying, working, not working, existing, all of us with our problems together.

How nice it might be to just entertain this thought?

What would happen, what might just happen, if we put ourselves aside and came to the table with all of our problems? Could one person be of help to another?

These are also just thoughts as we celebrate the one document whose birthday is now the big 60–the Declaration of Human Rights.

And as we approach its ideas, still fresh and green, from our positions here in the snow and ice, maybe it is good that we are still traveling toward it in the dark.