January is a month that seems to drag its feet, a month that seems to bring sadness after the celebrations of Christmas if you follow the secular understanding of Christmas and believe it is done when the sun sets on 25th of December. From a religious and traditional Christian practice the season of Christmas doesn’t end till the 6th January when the season of Ephany starts and carry’s on to the 2 February with candlemass a celebration of light and the remembrance of the presentation of Christ in the temple and the blessed Virgin Mary’s Purification. All of these observances and celebrations are points in the new year to remember the divine is with us, revealing himself to the world and recreating our nature in his image, by his incarnation we are a new creation.
January is a slow month but I think it is intended to be slow, giving us a feeling of getting nowhere fast. That is the perpose of the month and it’s effect on us. January says slow down, breath, thinking and contemplate the new year from a new beginning a new creation if you will. January is the month of introspection a time to go into our selves and make changes if you choose to or to reenergise our motivation for a new year.
This month was named after the Roman god of thresholds, beginning and endings the two faced god Janus. He looks both to the past and to the future and represents the stop gap or slowing and dragging nature of January. January says stop make peace with the year that is gone it has passed, remember the joy and learn from the sadness. January also says look to the future of the new year and the new creation move forward with hope and mindfulness take the lessons of the last year and grow in this new year. Always remember the centre of it all the present moment, that small narrow point between the two faces of Janus. That mindful moment of right now.
Christ’s incarnation is about right now the new creation is not just a hope for the future or a belief of something to come. It is right here right now. The blessing of love is right here right now what we seek is right here right now God is truly with us right here right now. Right now is within us and part of us the whole time. God is within us and part of us the whole time.
As January closes remember what you are seeking is already within you. Let us move into February ready to be purified and put our contemplation into loving action ready to grow as the first signs of spring reveal themselves and the new creation is born through us.
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