What makes human beings different from animals? We share so much with mammals: warm blood, ability to move around, biological processes. Yet, we’re different. Are we really just the logical next step in the evolution of matter?

Observing the world events, one may say that we’re worse than animals. Humans are destroying nature, and killing each other, not for food, but just because the other is of a different creed, color, nationality. Strange species indeed, valuing money over Life.

In cities and suburbs, floods of us are moving around like zombies in the jungle made of concrete and metal and glass. We’ve constructed skyscrapers that block us from the heavens. We’ve invented airplanes that can crush us to the ground with vengeance. Our machines penetrate the Earth and dive into the oceans. Yes, we have brilliant minds. Alas, we’re still slaves to our egoistic unconscious drives, living predominantly out of the lower senses. Can we finally walk on our home planet as human beings? Or will we choose to completely annihilate all Life?

Human souls breathe with the Soul of Gaia, and awaken when touched by her expressions in the seasons of Nature. We’re bathed in the sunshine during the day, caressed by the Moon, the planets, and the stars at night. We feel the monthly lunar cycle in the flow of our bodily fluids, women and men alike. The Sun’s celestial energy colors the Earth as the Sun passes through the constellations on its journey through the four key positions in the dance between the Sun and the Earth: Winter and Summer solstices, Spring and Autumnal equinoxes.

O, how many of the celestial dances have we, the post-modern humans, forgotten! We tend to ignore the seasons; we adjust the climate of our surroundings with heaters and air conditioners. The “advanced” hum of technology pushed the magic of the Universe into the shadows. We stay up late at nights, not to watch the stars, but to stare at the television and computer screens. We cannot even see much of the planets and the stars in the electricity-powered urban centers anyway. We’re sealed in office and residential buildings with artificial lights and climates: heat lodges in the Winter, ice cubicles in the Summer. And most of the time, we cannot even open the windows: “For your own safety,” we are advised. The more the über technological society tries to structure our lives into rigid boxes, the more we yearn for the organic flow of nature. I don’t want to drown in matter. I don’t want to live in darkness, groping around blindly. I know there’s more to my existence here on Gaia than the race fueled by Greed and Pride. I feel a spark in my heart that belongs to brighter worlds. And I see the same spark in others. Only humans can be compassionate and create loving environments. Home is not a cubicle where we can sleep, but a nourishing space exuding the warmth from human hearts.

My heart is ardently impelled

to carry spirit light into world-winter-night,

that shining seeds of soul

take root in grounds of worlds

and Word Divine through senses’ darkness

resounds, transfiguring all life.

~ Weekly Verse 37 by Rudolf Steiner from The Calendar of the Soul
(trans. Ruth & Hans Pusch, with a slight revision by Marta Stemberger)

My heart yearns

to shine Light

into dark nights,

to encourage every Soul

to seek its Spirit roots,

and sing the words of Love.

~ Soulful Spark 37 by Marta Stemberger

Light and Love within our Soul are always present. Yet, we shun this amazing grace. We forget about our inner world of peace, as we’re running around from one appointment to another, hastily checking the latest news, hurriedly typing emails and social media messages, attending as many holiday parties as we can squeeze into the 24 hours.

We seek satisfaction without, when the only true fulfillment lives in the quiet of our Spirit-imbued chamber within. If we tune into its loving vibrations, we can find kindness to replace harsh words. We can find strength to slow down and breathe. To notice a fellow human being and smile. “Love is the last thing we need to ration in this world,” wrote Brené Brown.

Perhaps we can make a conscious decision to offer truly human presents this holiday season: a gentle word, a smile, a hug, time to spend together in person, attentive ear to listen to each other. Experience anew the Life-sustaining glow of healthy human relations. And most of all: Give yourself a gift of regular quiet time to tune in and commune with your Soul. The inner peace you’ll find and cultivate will reverberate outward through your warm presence and kind actions.

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Over to you, dear Soulful Reader:

HOW WILL YOU CULTIVATE PEACE WITHIN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON?

I invite you to share your thoughts + impressions below.

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Treat yourself to insightful name analysis…

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