I lied. All this time I was under the mistaken impression that Christmas Eve and the last night of Hanukkah collided this year. Not so. High School algebra was of no use to me after all. Eventually I would have figured this out. It would have been a clue when the candles ran out.
This might be a good thing, now we get to celebrate 9 nights in a row.
I’ve cleaning news and progress to report, but that’s boring. I’ve let go of a lot of cleaning. The basics are done and we all will have to live with what didn’t. There were no plans to eat off the floor anyway.
Let’s get right to the Ta-Da Moment! Barbara Sue, it’s you for the 2 truffles.
And for the Lighting of the candles tonight:
Written by Ellen Bring and adapted by us:
With this candle of Peace and Justice, tonight, we light the candles of Compassion and Empathy, Love, and Respect. May compassion and empathy, love, and respect burn brightly in our hearts and manifest in our daily lives.
In this time of the miracle of Light, let the message, the mission, and the action be enlightenment. May humans open their hearts and immediately cease their war against other animals, Mother Earth, and each other. May we cease our ignorant, arrogant, unconscious, and violent ways, and become our highest selves, filled with love and respect for all who are here, committed to gentle coexistence with Mother Earth.
May those beings who are suffering be released from their pain and terror.
May those beings who are unjustly imprisoned and enslaved be freed and unshackled.
May those beings who are anxious and scared know peace and courage.
May those beings who are cold and hungry know warmth and plenty.
May those beings who are lonely and depressed know love and joy.
May those beings who are lost and abandoned be found and loved.
May the waters run pure and free; the flowers bloom; the trees grow old; and the Earth renew and reclaim herself.
May the Light of the universe shine upon everyone and everything, and through everyone and everything, so that all beings experience their highest, truest selves.
May kinship with all life blossom and flourish in our hearts, and may peace and justice for all living beings and things be now.
This is so beautiful, Marianna. Thank you for the much needed light.