Christmas
Birthday
“The
two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you
find out why.”
Mark
Twain
Baby Jesus
was born as innocent and unknowing as any other baby. He had no idea why he was
here or what would happen in his lifetime. He didn’t know that his teachings would
still resonate in the 21st century, that wars would be fought in his
name, that an international church would be established around the idea of him
as messiah, or that billions of people would come together every year to
celebrate his birth. He was just a baby—completely dependent on the mother who
gave him life.
We are
all born equally innocent and unknowing. We are given life, and the rest us up
to us. Now, I happen to be a believer in both Jesus and fate, so I like to
think every soul has a mission here in the earth school. The problem is that we
have to figure out what our mission is on our own. Just as Jesus did, we follow
our own instincts and the norms of our culture until we begin to ask questions.
Then we experience a rebirth. We ask, Why am I here? What do I want to do with
my life? What am I good at? What calls to me? What makes me happy? Suzy Kassem
wrote a poem about it called, “Coming Forth Into the Light.” The first
verse is:
“I was born the day
I thought:
What is?
What was?
And
What if?”
Over
the course of a lifetime, if we’re lucky, there will be many rebirths, and many
questions and many fits and starts. Transformation will occur each time we shuck
off one identity-skin and grow another. In the words of Suzy Kassem,
“I was transformed the day
My ego shattered,
And all the superficial, material
Things that mattered
To me before
Suddenly ceased
To matter.”
Unlike
butterflies who emerge from a cocoon only once, spread their wings and take
flight, we will go through many metamorphoses—change our wings, change our
names, change our doings in the world. The cycle of life plays out in us many
times. And each transformation gets us closer to the original plan for our
purpose, our mission. Eventually, if we keep looking, keep asking questions, we
discover who we were born to be.
“I really came into being
The day I no longer cared about
What the world thought of me
Only on my thoughts for
Changing the world.” (Suzy Kassam)
That is
our purpose, no matter who we are, no matter when we were born, or where. We’re
here to change the world for the better—just like Jesus. We do that by being
the very best “Me” we can be. I hope the Christ-light is shining on you today. And
I hope your light is shining on me, and on everyone else.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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