My Christmas Eve meditation continues, in a way, today.

Christmas Day is past. The season is not. There remains a peaceful stillness in the air conducive to — intended for? — reflection. In my earlier post, I referred to “the primitive rituals of the earth reborn beyond the Winter Solstice”. By that terminology, I meant to imply the mythological underpinnings of all of humanity’s attempts to explain itself, its place in the world, the seasonal changes of that world, the initially inexplicable vagaries of a planet that was, by turns, warm and cold, nurturing and hostile.

Though they don’t constitute light reading, I recommend these two books — one by Jessie L. Weston, the other by Joseph Campbell — as elaborations on those underlying mythological notions. They help us place ourselves and our individual perceptions of spirituality and religion in historical perspective. They illustrate the ways in which humanity has explained itself and its circumstances through the ages. And they comfort by showing that all such explanations — across all time, all places, and all cultures — have been the same. Variations on a theme, our stories define us, rather than divide us. We need to share those stories.

So, let our ongoing meditations this week include this article. It reconciles our mythological past with our disconnected present. It thereby encourages us to bridge our perceived divisions with the spiritual connections that define us.

Related posts:

1. Oh, Holy Night
2. Avoiding Holiday Stress
3. The Rush to Rushmore
4. Joe Willie, Santa, and Sisyphus
5. Offensive Defense