Follow Your Star

The journey into a new year seems to hold tension for so many people.  There are high expectations that I will be different or my life situation will be different and that a new year has magical powers to make all of that happen.

Recently I saw a picture of a sandy ocean front.  The waves were ebbing and flowing and, as I gazed at that picture, my thoughts went to the anticipation of this new year of 2012.  Like the ocean, our lives ebb and flow.  There are some things we leave behind as we begin our journey into a new year and there are things that leave us behind flowing out into the sea of Life that is much bigger than each of us.

The ocean responds to a gravitational force much greater than itself and so do we.  There is a movement within us and outside of us that pushes us to become more than we could imagine possible.  We face the circumstances of our lives with a love that engages life–not to have power over it but to truly relate to it from the Life we call God.

The ocean  has an energy that can be destructive as well, just look at the  damages that recent storms have exerted upon our world.  That energy also lies within us as we make demands on people in our lives or on situations in which we find ourselves.  And what a difference this could be if that energy could be harnessed into Compassion.

There is a saying attributed to St. John of the Cross which says: “Where there is no love, put love and you will find love.”  May this be a guiding star for your journey into and through 2012.  May the Ocean of Love fill your life today and always.

Happy New Year!