O CHRISTMAS TREE OF LIFE
Beautiful
fir tree,
fresh
scent of pine and the bitter outdoors from which it was uprooted,
now
domesticated, a center piece of the family room, warmed by videoed hearth,
waits
to be adorned and adored for the Christmas season.
First
come the lights, woven intricately through its needled branches,
the
starry night cosmos begun so many millennia ago,
its
fire and energy birthing this Christmas Tree of Life and
illuminating
emerging species since the first burst of dawn.
Next
are the shiny red balls, the Sun Star that sustains Earth, and
Grandma’s
heavy blue ball, Earth our Common Home.
White
and gold Chrismons weave another narrative
of
this Tree of Life: Creationing,
prophesying,
incarnating,
sacrificing, restoring, communing,
resurrecting
Earth and All that is in it.
Red
bows proclaim the gift of this wondrous, sacred, extravaganza of time and
space.
And
simple, mostly gifted ornaments of all sizes, shapes and colors
celebrate
the surging uniqueness, diversity and cooperation
unfolding,
enfolding our universal story and
permeating
our individual and family memories,
propelling
us into the future unknown.
Sunflowers,
walnut-shelled-cotton-bearded Santas, God’s Eyes, Dream Catchers, and Nut
Crackers;
candy
canes, crosses, chullos, and steepled churches;
photo
pins of children, friends, MLK Jr., and Mandela;
ceramic
Peruvian cherubim playing flutes, violins, horns and harps;
homemade,
hand-cut and shaped metal snowflakes and stars;
a
single purple blown glass tear drop that weeps for lives gone too soon or too
far;
and
fragile, delicately and intricately painted Slavic eggs;
nativity
scenes, origami creatures, peace doves and frogs;
human
figures, Earth balls, bells, and Tibetan prayer flags.
At
the foot of the trunk, a babe’s manta cloth robe of many colors embraces this heritage
and legacy,
and,
at the top, an angel keeps watch like the eagle hovering over the Great White
Pine Tree of Peace,
its
streams of mercy gracing the branches as scotch plaid ribbons flowing to the
four directions.
But,
not alone, this Christmas Tree of Life extends its diorama
to
cloth, ceramic, glass, and wooden nativity scenes in this and neighboring
rooms;
to
windowsill welcome candles, peace and cosmic Advents wreathes and Feliz Navidad
trees;
to
ivy light strands, greeting cards, manta stockings with llama bells, and gifts
under the boughs.
And
gathering as friends and family among, within and around this Tree of Life,
we
feast, sing, dance, play instruments, make joyful noises,
exchange
gifts and plunge with open hearts and eyes into the swirling silence and
stillness of
the
Promise of New Life and Light amidst an often dark and threatening world.
Surrounded
and joined by a cloud of witnesses—
visible
now or invisible in your metamorphic mulched return to the Earth—
O Christmas
Tree of Life, you proclaim:
Hope
beyond hope, Peace passing understanding,
Joy
and Thanksgiving unceasing, and Love unconditioning—
Evermore
and evermore….Amen… ejhs:
1/02/2018