By KM Huber
Autumn is my favorite time of year, and in the years when Thanksgiving is all but-on-the-doorstep of December, I start my review of year in preparation for a final toast on December 31. But the in-between time, right now, is my holiday season.
For me, the entire idea of the holidays is about reflection, about writing a note or making a phone call just to say “I am thinking of you.” The older I get the more I know that having compassion for all sentient beings is peace on earth.
A while ago, it was in these weeks between Thanksgiving and December that I first explored consciousness or “being aware of being aware.” The concept of consciousness is found in the ancient traditions of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam for consciousness is compassion’s counterpart.
So it was during the darkest days of the year—as nature moves to slumber– that I explored awareness through meditation. The holiday season is a time for starting traditions as well remembering them, a time for trying on and letting go as we learn to accept life.
Consciousness allows us to experience life as it is without labeling a moment as good or bad. We learn to accept what we are given, appreciating that life is impermanent–ever changing for everyone–all pass away and all are renewed. It is the undulating cycle of life.
Nowhere is impermanence more apparent than in meditation. When we meditate, we connect to “the gap between thoughts”—the stillness that follows one thought and precedes the next—it may last no more than a nanosecond. Such is a moment of pure being.
Early on in my meditation practice there were days the chatter was almost nonstop but there was always that fleeting moment of stillness. And every moment “in the gap” seemed to seep into my daily life. I reacted less and responded more, viewing my life as a series of experiences without the labels of up, down, good, bad.
Last year’s Christmas Eve was more about death than life yet that particular Christmas Eve is remembered with great love and gratitude. Love allows us to let loss go.
In other years, and this year is no exception, awareness is integral to my everyday reality. My consciousness is ever changing. It is not positive thinking for a change in consciousness has nothing to do with thinking and everything to do with being aware of being aware in every moment.
Autodidact that I am, I continue to seek the wisdom of the ancient traditions. Mine is a rest-of-life study of which a regular meditation practice is integral for my body, mind, and spirit. Every holiday season, I remember when I became aware of being aware.
“In one atom are found all the elements of the earth; in one motion of the mind are found all the motions of existence; in one drop of water are found all the secrets of the endless oceans; in one aspect of you are found all the aspects of life.”–Khalil Gibran
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KM Huber is a writer who learned Zen from a beagle. She believes the moment is all we ever have, and it is enough. In her early life as a hippie, she practiced poetry, and although her middle years were a bit of a muddle, she remains an overtly optimistic sexagenerian, writing prose. She blogs at kmhubersblog.com, may be followed on Twitter or contacted by email at writetotheranch[at]gmail[dot]com.
© 2013 KM Huber. All content on this page is protected by copyright. If you would like to use any part of this, please contact me at the above links to request permission.
