Fwd: [AboutGreenplanet] We Are More the Same than Different

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--- samo chew <samochew wrote:

> AboutGreenplanet

> <AboutGreenplanet >

> samo chew <samochew

> Mon, 23 Dec 2002 00:13:12 -0800 (PST)

> [AboutGreenplanet] We Are More the Same

> than Different

>

>

> Healing Our World

> By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.

> We Are More the Same than Different

> “Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth

> find reserves of strength that will endure as long

> as life lasts.

> There is something infinitely healing in the

> repeated refrains of nature — the assurance

> that dawn comes after night, and spring after

> winter.

> -- Rachel Carson

> " Time is Too slow for those who wait,

> Too swift for those who fear,

> Too long for those who grieve,

> Too short for those who rejoice.

> But for those who love, time is not. "

> -- Henry Van Dyke

> " There is an appointed time for everything.

> And there is a time for every event under heaven.

> A time to give birth, and a time to die;

> A time to plant and a time to uproot what is

> planted.”

> -- Ecclesiastes, 3:1-2

> While the administration of President George W. Bush

> tries to convince the world that cultural

> differences irreparably separate us from one

> another, and, in fact, are grounds for war, the

> Earth has quietly, as it has done for billions of

> years, passed into a Solstice. This important time,

> when the night is the longest in the Northern

> Hemisphere, and the day is the longest in the

> Southern Hemisphere, has been recognized and

> celebrated by every culture on Earth, since the dawn

> of time.

> On Saturday, December 21, the Winter Solstice will

> occur at 8:14pm, Eastern Daylight Time, which is

> 1:14 Universal Time on December 22. At this time,

> the Sun will be the farthest from the celestial

> equator, the imaginary projection of the Earth’s

> equator on the heavens above, and the north will

> experience the longest night of the year.

> Sunrise in Southeast Alaska (Photo by Commander

> John Bortniak, NOAA)This has been a powerful time

> throughout the ages. Known as Yule in the pagan

> cultures of old Europe, the Winter Solstice has been

> a time of contemplation and celebration for

> religions and cultures of the world.

> Because the Earth is tilted on its axis in space,

> this is the time when the Sun is the farthest south

> in the sky that it gets during the year in the

> North. The day is very short, and the beginning of

> Winter is upon us.

> In an age not so long passed, when we were

> intimately aware of our connections to this planet

> and our dependence upon the Sun for light and life,

> this time of year was recognized for its power.

> How many of you in the Northern Hemisphere have

> noticed that since the Summer Solstice on June 21,

> the Sun has, each day, risen a little farther to the

> south of east and has remained in the sky a few

> minutes less?

> The days have been getting shorter and shorter until

> on Yule, the Winter Solstice, we experience the

> shortest day of the year.

> Recognition of this time of year can be a powerful

> healing and unifying tool for us. Imagine how the

> ancient peoples of the Earth felt as they observed

> the Sun, the orb that gives us heat and light, kept

> getting lower and lower in the sky and the days kept

> getting shorter and shorter. The fear must have

> arisen that the night would get longer and longer

> and that the Sun would eventually disappear

> completely.

> What could they do but surrender to this fear and

> prepare themselves for the Winter. They gathered

> food, they made their families as safe and warm as

> they possibly could, and reflected on the bounty of

> the past harvest and the joys that might be taken

> away.

> People must have felt that they were receiving the

> incredible gift of life when the Sun began

> journeying higher and higher and the days got longer

> and longer as Winter faded. Eventually, this time of

> year became a part of the Wheel of the Year, the

> earthly representation of the cycle of life, a time

> to slow down, reflect, appreciate the bounty of the

> harvest, and to appreciate the need for death - the

> darkness - as well as life.

> While the dominant holiday offered by the media

> appears to be the Christian celebration of

> Christmas, this season is not defined solely by the

> birth of Jesus. There are a wide variety of faiths

> and cultures who celebrate also around this time of

> year. In fact, the day for the birth of Christ was

> chosen to be around this time of year because of the

> pagan and Roman celebrations of rebirth. Some

> historical records indicate that Jesus' birth may

> have occurred in the year 4 or 6 B.C., but the exact

> date is unknown. Although historians cannot provide

> the date, they are certain it was not during the

> winter solstice. This is a powerful time of year to

> reflect on the assumptions that pervade and define

> our lives.

> Jews celebrate Chanukah at this time of year. This

> eight day festival commemorates the recapture of the

> sacred Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. by a small

> band of warriors led by Judah the Maccabee. The

> temple had been taken by Syrian Greeks who were

> using it for their own rituals.

> Inside the temple, a flame was supposed to eternally

> burn, but the Syrians had desecrated the temple and

> used all but a one day supply of oil for the flame

> by the time it was recaptured. By some miracle, the

> flame burned for eight days on that oil, until a new

> supply could be found.

> The eight-candle menorah symbolizes those eight

> days, the triumph of light over darkness - what the

> winter solstice is all about.

> The holiest period in the Islamic year occurs around

> this time. It honors the lunar month in which the

> Qur’an was revealed by God to humanity. According to

> the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at the

> University of Southern California, the Qur'an is a

> message from Allah to humanity.

> According to the MSA, the Qur’an “was transmitted to

> us in a chain starting from the Almighty Himself to

> the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad. This

> message was given to the Prophet in pieces over a

> period spanning approximately 23 years (610 CE to

> 622 CE). The Prophet was 40 years old when the

> Qur'an began to be revealed to him, and he was 63

> when the revelation was completed.

> The language of the original message was Arabic, but

> it has been translated into many other languages.”

> God decreed that this Book would be the last Book,

> it is said.

> Ramadan is the “host month for the inauguration of

> the final revelation” of the Qur’an. While not tied

> directly to the solstice, it is interesting that

> this holiest of months occurs around the time of

> year when the balance of darkness and light are

> examined on Earth because of our journey around the

> Sun.

> Christmas tree (Photo courtesy Freefoto)The ancient

> Celts worshiped evergreen trees as symbols of the

> universe. The trees were considered sacred because

> they did not lose their leaves and die from year to

> year as deciduous trees do. Their lush greenery was

> a symbol for the hope that the Sun would return to

> green the Earth once again. They decorated the trees

> with all the images of the things they hoped the

> coming year would bring. It is believed that wreaths

> have been part of this season’s celebrations for at

> least 4, 000 years.

> The stories of many Native American tribes contain a

> number of references to solstice celebrations.

> Lakota astronomers write on their website, " Around

> the end of December, the sacred circle of stars

> climbs to the very zenith of the skies - directly

> above the viewer around midnight on December 20-21,

> and for the week of winter solstice, the longest

> nights, it rises due east, sets due west, and stands

> directly overhead with its promise of spring,

> summer's warmth and good living. "

> " This year's winter solstice is quite special in

> another way, " says the Lakota website. " The moon is

> dark for it, it will wane to a narrow crescent just

> before the solstice, and wax thereafter. An absent

> moon means the Milky Way will be visible, traversing

> the sacred circle northerly. "

> Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day this time of year.

> Usually observed December 8 or the Sunday

> immediately preceding, this is a time honoring the

> day in 596 BCE, when the Buddha achieved

> enlightenment, escaping the endless cycle of birth,

> death and rebirth through reincarnation.

> These themes, observed in many religions during this

> time of year, all relate to the balance of light and

> darkness in our lives. It may be no coincidence that

> these holy days from seemingly disparate religions

> all occur around the time of the solstice.

> Feasting was part of the many solstice celebrations,

> but only after a time of fasting and prayer. In the

> gluttonous celebrations so popular today, we seemed

> to have forgotten the fasting and praying.

> The celebrations many of us get wrapped up in have

> little to do with honoring the Earth or our culture.

> Rather, the holidays present a huge challenge to the

> environment, our pocketbooks, and our health. A

> recent study by Environmental Defense calculated

> that 3.6 million tons of paper were used to produce

> the roughly 59 catalogs mailed to every man, woman,

> and child in the United States last year.

> According to the Worldwatch Institute, only three of

> the country’s 42 leading catalog companies surveyed

> reported using recycled paper in the body of their

> mailings, “even though by switching to just 10

> percent recycled content, the entire catalog

> industry would save enough wood to stretch a six

> foot fence across the U.S. seven times.”

> Sunset and moonrise under Washington's Mount

> Rainier. Gig Harbor, Washington. (Photo by Carol

> Baldwin courtesy NOAA)The Worldwatch Institute also

> reported this month that, “This year, the average

> American household will budget an estimated $1,656

> for holiday spending, of which $1,073 will be used

> to purchase gifts, according to the American Express

> Retail Index on holiday shopping.”

> It feels so hard to decide what is right and what is

> wrong, what is death and what is life, and whether

> or not to worry about global warming or

> deforestation.

> I think it feels so difficult because for

> generations, we have been taught not to feel, taught

> instead to feel apart from the cycles of the Earth.

> Maybe it's not so hard after all. Maybe it's as

> simple as noticing the shortest day and night of the

> year - and knowing that the day will get longer and

> the darkness will recede.

> Following the cycles of life can be powerful

> medicine. Whatever culture you are from and whatever

> religion you practice, reflect upon its relationship

> to the Earth and celebrate the common themes we all

> share.

> Happy holidays and remember that wanting peace is

> not being unpatriotic.

>

>

>

>

>

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=====

" A modest garden contains, for those who know how to look and wait, more

instruction than a library. "

 

- Henri Frederic Amiel

 

 

 

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