The Birth of Jesus Releases a Quiet, Radiant, Golden Version of Oneness into the World

Each of the world's spiritual traditions specializes in a different aspect of wisdom. We might think of each as a unique COLOR suffusing the world-landscape with its own particular hue. I tend to think of Buddhism in terms of a a cool blue sky, Sufism as a hot red fire, and Indigenous spirituality as the beautiful green color of Life's Web, for example. Others might envision each of these hues in a different manner.

Each tradition - at its best - reveals the world's underlying Oneness or Union in its own particular way. In the case of Christmas, Jesus' birth releases a QUIET, RADIANT WARMTH onto the Earth, which I envision in terms of a golden or orange light. This warmth embodies a GENTLE LOVE that melts all of life and every creature into a correspondingly quiet, radiant version of Oneness. A Buddhist version of Oneness, for example, might emphasize a more cool and detached form of compassion, while a Sufi version might feel more passionate. In any case, each, I believe, added to all of the others, is needed to complete the picture of Oneness that we all are seeking on our journey through this life.

Because of Christ's self-emptying humility - symbolized by his appearance on earth as a baby, in a feeding trough, set up in a stable - we often don't experience Jesus' reality directly. However, what we DO find is that all of life - embraced within his humble, hidden presence - becomes suffused with that quiet, radiant, golden love which accepts all things just as they are.
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May all of us - Christian and Buddhist, Sufi and Hindu, Native, Taoist, Jewish or Atheist - embody this quiet, radiant, golden warmth today. For Christ belongs not just to Christians, but to ALL of us

Photo: Mesa Arch at sunrise, Canyonlands National Park, UT, December 1, 2014