Spending time with my Dad who is now 85 has its ups and downs, it can be challenging at times, and he drives my patience, but, it is also so rewarding. I like it when he brings me back down to earth and re-opens my eyes to what is truly important; even if that was not his intention. Without realizing it he gives me food for thought and reflection. Like the other day, he was feeling hard done by, in the fact that in rural Ireland in the 1930s they did not receive much of an education. He felt that he ‘learned’ nothing in life, and therefore felt a bit inadequate. Well, this got me thinking and I told him that what you need to know in life is in your heart; this is not taught in schools, colleges or universities. Anything of real value you learn from the university of life and the most important lesson is ‘love’. Academia has its place and is all well and good, but, if you do not know how to love, then nothing is of any good for you. Again, it was only the ego-mind equating and confusing materiality (lower-self characteristics) with what really counts in life (higher-self characteristics). There is no point in being a heart surgeon earning thousands of dollars if you do not have a charitable bone in your body; basically, without being an embodiment of love our lives are wasted. And Daddy is one person who has learned life’s most valuable lesson, and that is how to love. Daddy knows how to love unconditionally and no school could have taught him that; I wish I was more like him. I felt after all my education do I actually love as much as possible? We all try to do the best we can, but we could all also consciously try to do a little bit more. And this is something that we can bear in mind as we enter into the holiday season. Can we give more of ourselves this Christmas and into the next decade? Can we consciously learn to love that little bit more? be that proper self-love or love of others or love of our planet and creation? Can we take more time out of our material world just to reflect on how much we love each day? Or do we still have a lot left to learn? If so are we willing and open to learning? Open to love? The Christmas rush may be on, the count down to the new decade is just around the corner, all this exciting stuff is coming at us. But, don’t forget to remain grounded in love and bathed in Christ’s light as we go forward fearlessly into these grace-filled days. Otherwise we as an “educated” generation have learned nothing!
