I played one of those word games on Facebook where 'the first three words you see are your mantra for this month'. Light, inspired, liberated were the three words that I saw first. I do not usually play games on Facebook and I do not normally attribute any special meaning to any results from such games. But given that we are finishing up another dark pandemic year, I would like to apply these words to January 2022, and to 2022 in general, especially since the first word I saw was 'light'. I'd like to think that means something, even if only to me. The word 'mantra' itself is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning a “sacred message or text, charm, spell, counsel.” Even better.
Light. Lys in Norwegian. I hope I can be a light in the lives of others in the coming year. Perhaps a light in their darkness. And I hope they can be lights in mine. We all experience periods of darkness, where life seems joyless, meaningless, hopeless. Sometimes we can be enveloped by that darkness because of sickness and/or death. There are many people I know who are sick; one of them, who has been declining gradually for several years now, found a light inside herself this Advent, and for the first time since she was diagnosed with her illness, took an active part in setting up Christmas decorations in her home with the help of her aide. When I spoke to her on the phone, she sounded happy. I have not experienced a darkness of the soul this year, despite the pandemic all around us, despite the sickness all around us. I am trying to focus on having hope because it seems as though it is in short supply. I am trying to 'light one candle rather than curse the darkness'. Literally. I understand the value of candlelight and soft lighting in the home during the darkest time of the year. I am comforted by the lights I see in others' windows. I try to find the joy and light of my childhood in this season. I seek out the memory bubble that allows me to live there, peacefully, remembering my parents and our childhood Christmases. It means bittersweet memories, but I treasure them. I cannot sing the Christmas hymns and songs that my mother liked without tears, but I treasure those songs and the lyrics. So much of Christmas reminds me of my mother and my father. They were guiding lights in my life, each in their own special way. Those lights remain lit in memory; they bond me to them across the vast expanse of time.
Inspired. Inspirert in Norwegian. I find inspiration in writing. Writing inspires me to want to write more. I hope I am reasonably good at it; I don't attempt to measure my success in the traditional ways--money and fame. They don't inspire me to write. I am inspired to write by someone like Georgia O' Keefe who wrote:
“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing--and keeping the unknown always beyond you.”
I find inspiration in the writings of others--favorite authors whose words have shown me different aspects of life, who have shown me the underbelly and the beauty of life, the sadness and the joy of life, who have described life's mysteries without solving them. I am inspired by the creativity of others, be they writers, artists, actors, filmmakers, bakers, gardeners, parents--by any person who makes his or her unknown known. Creativity is the experience of bringing something into existence; anything that nurtures that is light-filled and inspirational. Creativity inspires more creativity. I remain fascinated by for example, the creativity of putting a record album together as Pink Floyd did with Dark Side of the Moon. I watched a documentary about how that album was made, and awestruck is the only word that begins to describe the feeling of watching a creativity unfold that nearly reached perfection. I would go so far as to call it a divinely-inspired album--one of my favorites.
Liberated. Frigjort in Norwegian. Strange (but nice) that this word should be one of the three mantra words, since I was recently liberated from the standard work world when I retired at the end of August. Liberated is a perfect way to describe the feeling of being free from the expectations of an employer, and a perfect way to describe the feeling of being free from the constraints of workplaces defined by trendy buzzwords, concepts, unnecessary changes and a host of other factors that in the long run did nothing but irritate me. Retirement is liberation from one type of life and a liberation into another kind of life--one of one's choosing. The feeling of freedom is inviting after over forty years of following the wishes, plans, and strategies of others. There is nothing wrong with the latter, but at some point it's nice to be able to freely choose to follow your own wishes, dreams, ideas and plans.
