Happy Holidays!

I remember being a teenager, and thinking anything even resembling responsibility seemed so far in the distance. "In the year 2000 I will be 28," I would marvel with the naivety of a pimply young girl with no clue. And now, as we are preparing for 2006, I find myself finally adult enough to joyously reminisce. I remember my beautiful parents, my friends then, my little brother clinging to my thigh, but most of all, I remember innocence. It almost had it's very own smell somewhere between baby powder and fresh cut grass. That's not to say, I am longing for that innocence now. At thirty three, the world seems controllably smaller and experience has been my classroom, providing me with invaluable lessons in life, suffering, and love... all of which seem to go hand in hand. All of which are no less miraculous than a purple rose.

Remember the days you would marvel at the sight of the ocean? I would put a sea shell to my ear and wonder how it echoed the sounds of the waves. Do you remember the days when you would vacation with your family and look out the traveling window while your dad drove? Everything seemed unknown, foreign and new. Do you remember looking at a mountain in the distance and thinking "That's so far away that mountain." Only to later learn, you live right by that mountain and it's only a few miles down the highway. Remember the moments you would discover some little nugget of life and have an epiphany? I remember seeing my first shooting star and thinking "Oh my God, what's out there?" I still don't know, but that's the beauty of creation and I have surrendered to the idea I will never know. I think what we all share, no matter who we are or where we've come from, are the momentary epiphanies that cultivate our curiosity. What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of my life? Is there a God? Who is my God? These are questions, we have all asked ourselves at some point. And like the mountain, maybe we are closer to the answers than we think. Maybe we live by the answers.

In the last year, humanity has suffered a Tsunami, the monsoons of India, Hurricane's Katrina and Rita, deadly earthquakes in Pakistan and East Africa and many fallen hero's (military and civilian) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands have died in one year. And for every one of the dead there is a story of mourning that affects many more. With the exception of a chosen few spiritual masters, most of us won't know the imbalance of losing that many souls and what kind of impact that has in the greater, undefinable scheme of life's mysteries. Most of us will never know why humanity has suffered such loss...... but I guarantee...... we've all asked the question.

In asking this specific question, I was led by curiosity to reminisce and ask every question pertaining to living a purposeful life. Through the tedious quest I grew. By allowing myself to search via my past and innocence, the journey alone has given me a gift. The gift, wrapped in red glory, is the meaning of life or I should say, the meaning of my life. These things are of course relative. The words life and love mean the same thing. There's no difference between what love is about and what life is about. It's just how we use life and love that determine the meaning. To find the meaning of life I had to find an unconditional love of life, a life of love, despite devastating (personal and global) hardships and struggles. My life is about the realization of that love and the manifestation of that realization.

May you and your loved ones have the most beautiful holiday and a happy new year filled with all the life......love has to offer.

*Alyssa*