Happy Soul Food Friday!
This week: Gems for the Solstice and Christmas Week
T’was the week of Christmas,
And all through the town,
People wore masks,
That covered their frown.
The frown had begun
Way back in the Spring,
When a global pandemic
Changed everything.
They called it Corona,
But unlike the beer,
It didn’t bring good times,
It didn’t bring cheer.
Airplanes were grounded,
Travel was banned.
Borders were closed
Across air, sea and land.
As the world entered lockdown
To flatten the curve,
The economy halted,
And folks lost their nerve.
From March to July
We rode the first wave,
People stayed home,
They tried to behave.
When summer emerged
The lockdown was lifted.
But away from caution,
Many folks drifted.
Now it’s December
And cases are spiking,
Wave three has arrived,
Much to our disliking.
It’s true that this year
Has had sadness a plenty,
We’ll never forget
The year 2020.
And just ‘round the corner –
The holiday season,
But why be merry?
Is there even one reason?
To decorate the house
And put up the tree,
Who will see it,
No one but me.
But outside my window
The snow gently falls,
And I think to myself,
Let’s deck the halls!
So, I gather the ribbon,
The garland and bows,
As I play those old carols,
My happiness grows.
Christmas is not cancelled
And neither is hope.
If we lean on each other,
I KNOW we can cope ❤️💚
My Favorite Holiday Commercial of the Year– Take Care of Yourself: Take Care of Yourself | Doc Morris Christmas Advert 2020 – YouTube
Run Run Rudolph with The Full Strength Funk Band: https://youtu.be/tLdIFTYYDnw
Winter Solstice Musings with Billy S:
Aloha Friends,
The winter solstice is on Monday, December 21, 2020 at 2:02 am PST
This begins the winter season.
It is a pivot point from which the light will grow stronger and brighter.
The longest night and shortest day of the year are followed by a renewal of the sun as days get longer.
On this day the sun takes its lowest arc across the sky.
On this day the sun sets farthest south on the horizon.
Creating a meaningful winter solstice celebration can help us cultivate a deeper connection with nature, family, friends and community.
The winter solstice can be a beautiful reminder that our lives are part of a larger order that’s always changing and renewing.
A way to bring warmth, light and cheerfulness into the dark time of the year.
For many millenniums humans have marked this sacred time in the yearly cycle of life.
The winter solstice can serve as a touchstone to help us cultivate an attitude of receptiveness and appreciation that will carry us through the holiday season.
Reflect on the stillness of the day by cultivating stillness in yourself.
Spend more time listening, watching and honoring the slower, quieter rhythm of the season.
Darkness and night are times of rest, dreaming, healing and growth.
Seeds must be put into the dark earth in order to send out roots and push up new shoots.
Native plants bloom now so that their seeds will be formed and fall to the ground early enough in spring to take advantage of the rains.
Plant a seed for a more intuitive, simpler and natural holiday season.
If you want to change something in your life or something about yourself the winter solstice is a good time to work on it.
This longest night can be a time of journeying deep into our inner dreamtime to bring forth a dream that can help us in the new year.
A new year with fresh possibilities reborn in us all.
The Winter Solstice is:
A chance to clean house, both inner and outer.
A time for reflection, rest and renewal.
A time for feeding the spirit and nurturing the soul.
Stay in tune with nature and wellness,
Billy
Ready For An Epochal Shift?
The ‘great conjunction’ kicks off a new astrological epoch. So what now?
On December 21st, the planets Jupiter and Saturn – which are actually more than 400m miles apart – will appear to come together in the night sky, forming what is called a “Great Conjunction”. “I’ve found that astrology, which tracks data from the motion of stars and planets and tries to extrapolate trends and meaning from it, is a useful, evocative model for pattern recognition. I’m not alone in this fascination: Astrology is absolutely booming among millennials and Gen-Z, led in part by a renaissance of scholarship around the subject over the last ten to fifteen years, which has restored a great deal of classical legitimacy and rigor to the admittedly woo-woo new age astrology of the 1960s and 70s.”
The ‘great conjunction’ kicks off a new astrological epoch. So what now? | Emily Segal | Opinion | The Guardian
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.
She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three
times, even.. The total had to be exactly perfect… No chance here for mistakes..
Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she
slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.
Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat
with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a
quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter.. That did it!
‘And what do you want?’ the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of
voice. I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,’ he
said without waiting for a reply to his question.
‘Well, I want to talk
to you about my brother,’ Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone.. ‘He’s
really, really sick….and I want to buy a miracle.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ said the pharmacist.
‘His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?’
‘We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,’ the pharmacist said, softening a little.
‘Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.’
The pharmacist’s brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, ‘What kind of a miracle does your brother need?’
‘ I don’t know,’ Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money..’
‘How much do you have?’ asked the man from Chicago.
‘One dollar and eleven cents,’ Tess answered barely audible.
‘And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.’
‘Well, what a coincidence,’ smiled the man. ‘A dollar and eleven cents—the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.’
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said ‘Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the miracle you need.’
That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,
specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it
wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
‘That surgery,’ her Mom whispered.. ‘was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?’
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost…one dollar and eleven cents…plus the faith of a little child.
In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.
A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.
I know you’ll keep the ball moving!
Here it goes. Throw it back to someone who means something to you!
A ball is a circle, no beginning, no end. It keeps us together like our Circle of Friends. But the treasure inside for you to see is the treasure of friendship you’ve granted to me.
Today I pass the friendship ball to you.
Pass it on to someone who is a friend to you.
MY OATH TO YOU…
When you are sad…..I will dry your tears.
When you are scared…..I will comfort your fears.
When you are worried…….I will give you hope.
When you are confused……I will help you cope.
And when you are lost…and can’t see the light, I
shall be your beacon…shining ever so bright.
This is my oath…..I pledge till the end.
Why you may ask?….Because you’re my friend.
Signed: GOD
In the Holiday Giving Spirit?
Here is a Together San Diego Interview with our local partners that are helping so many San Diegans with food insufficiency.
The matching campaign runs through the end of the year, matching your donation dollar for dollar, if you are so inspired at Mission Fed Holiday Giving Fundraiser | Mission Federal Credit Union, San Diego
Together San Diego Union Tribune Interview:
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/togethersdlive
Thanks this week go to Elyce D, Charles B, Arman S-B, Billy S, Ron M, Larry H, and to Generous Souls Everywhere!
Will you pay it forward?
Love,
Neville
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria
Happy Soul Food Friday! 