As we approach the year’s end, there seems to be a different cast on this holiday season.  Things aren’t necessarily going the way we would like, or expect them to, and erratic energies are conjuring disparate reflections.  It feels like we’re being pushed to the edge and, indeed, we are.

We are at the edge of a span of belief that has existed for eons of time and is now threatening our sustainability.  We are at the edge of what no longer works in our lives, personally and collectively, and unless you’re in denial, you’re looking at your future and facing the reality of what has to change, inside and out.

We’re facing the shift point, and if we don’t confront the levels of violence and mistreatment of one another, the daily destruction of our planet and the species who live here, and our fear-based beliefs that keep us separate and weak instead of united in the strength of our Oneness, we won’t realize the need to stand up and command our ability to change course.

Many of us have been working for decades to heal ourselves, our relationships, lives, and planet.  We’ve experienced awakenings, changed core beliefs, cultivated our inner strength, learned to access and trust our inner wisdom, developed our ability to stay connected within, to Source, and Mother Earth, and move beyond judgment and fear.  We’ve learned to accept our value and power, and we’ve learned to forgive.

The transformational shifts we have made are the shifts humanity must make now, and we are the ones who need to shine our light brighter and stronger than we have ever been willing to do.  We are the teachers, leaders, and helpers for this rite of passage because we understand the principles and practices that yield transformation.

I am no different than you.  At 61, single, and working for decades as a spiritual counselor while dealing with serious health challenges from time to time, it’s much easier to imagine winding down and minimizing  my efforts, than envision myself with the energy and resources to create new projects of expansion and further my reach.  It would be easier just to give in.

Thankfully, I was reminded of some powerful truths recently, via Marianne Williamson (www.marianne.com) and a documentary called Racing Extinction  (www.racingextinction.com).  Marianne’s message in a recent lecture was, “everything before 2016 has been a dress rehearsal and this is not a time to be weak, think you’re weak, or pretend you’re weak… or be distracted by meaningless things and the craziness of life.  This is a time to stand up in the truth of the light of who you are and radically lead in love.”

Racing Extinction shines an exquisite lens on the beauty of the life we are wiping out, so as to inspire us to stop and be aware.  It reminds us that the light of each one of us is enough to start a movement if we do just one thing to make a difference (www.startwith1thing.com).   “It’s better to light one candle than curse the darkness.”

The power of love is the truth we all share, the home we all long for, and the only real possibility for changing our world.  The full moon in Cancer on Christmas day will serve to open our hearts even more, at a time when many are joined in faith and hope.  We can rise higher in the illumination of our love, and commit even stronger to the paradigm shifts at hand.

We can light candles for the miracles of peace to blanket this Earth, bring comfort to all, and inspire us to lead from wisdom and love.  The candles we light could be just the ones needed to tip the scale for a universal shift; and every smile, act of kindness, or teaching we contribute, could be the gift that saves a life.

Thank you for being a gift in my life, for blessing me this year, and joining me in blessing others throughout 2016.

Today’s ocean walk in Malibu