Four Lights of December🌟

Joy and Hope, Peace and Love are not ideals we strive to attain, but living energies that awaken, breathe, and rest within us each day.

Courtesy of WFranz / pixabay.com

The other night, I lay in bed contemplating how I might reshape my December stories. For the last few years, I've written about the memories of my childhood celebrations and the gatherings that followed during these festive and holy times, which were wonderful to share. 

Each month of the year brings traditions and holidays we cherish and look forward to, filling our lives with rich memories and heartfelt experiences that shape who we are today. But in recent years, world events have worked relentlessly to divide families, friends, and nations—keeping us small, powerless, and more divided than ever before.

This year, I would like to move toward renewed ways of bringing our gatherings a presence that feels authentic when we "break bread" together. It is a courageous step outside the familiar to bring the sacred, the magic, and everything in between to our celebrations with those we love, and I think it deeply aligns with the current vibration of the world, a collective longing to rediscover authenticity behind our rituals. 

We are also experiencing life changes in our outer and inner worlds, and the sensitivity we carry, especially with each other, can be complex, at times uncomfortable, and seems to happen daily. What if we approached our gatherings not merely to celebrate Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love but to embody them?

As I ponder these thoughts, I feel weary. Surface-level celebrations aren't working for me, and I'm not the only one who feels this way. 

After a few minutes, I heard my Heart say, "It is not how you celebrate that matters, but how to be the celebration of Joy and Hope, Peace and Love , that will change the dynamics of the season." I thought it was time to get up and write these powerful, reflective words down.

As I quietly went to the other room, my desk was waiting. The full moon spilled its soft light across it, and when I lit a candle, the flame instantly brought a warm, peaceful ambience to my surroundings. And as I sat comfortably with a pencil in hand, I asked the question from deep inside, where Love lives: what does it wish for me to know about Joy and Hope, Peace and Love?

I took a few slow breaths and then the answer drifted gently on the page as I wrote:

"Terry, you are all of these, wrapped in a one-of-a-kind box with no sides, no top, no bottom. Nothing to contain or confine the flow of sharing with the world, the gift that you are. Each one of you is a rare and beautiful gift, but most have forgotten."

I felt those words settle deep, not as something new, but as something from long ago I had forgotten. Joy and Hope, Peace, and Love wake with me each morning. They walk beside me through the day, whispering through the faces I meet, the woods I walk, and the stillness between heartbeats. And when the evening folds its arms around me, these energies return to the Love that lives within, to rest, to renew, to gather their light for another dawn.

As I thought more about these incredible emotions/energies within us, I realized that Joy and Hope, Peace and Love, do not arrive because of the season; they are the season. Hope is the spark that rises with our first breath in the morning. Joy is the 'real' smile of the Heart remembering itself. Peace is the quiet courage to speak truth, even when the voice trembles. And Love, Love is the gentle warmth that holds it all together, reminding us to care for ourselves so we can care for the world.

These four powerful and precious words aren't just words; they are a part of our being, like our legs and arms. We came into the world with them to explore and ponder ways to live them during the holidays and throughout our everyday lives. As I read what I wrote, I became emotional. How could I forget this? 

Joy and Hope are not visitors who come and go depending on how bright the day feels. They are the steady pulse of the Heart — sometimes felt as emotion, sometimes known as energy. When we cry, it is their ebb and flow to soften us. When we laugh, it is their light breaking through. Even in silence, they move with the current of the room, reminding us that being alive is itself a reason to hope and to be joyfully present.

Peace and Love do not ask for effort. They are not earned by doing enough or being enough. They dwell beneath the noise, waiting for us to remember them. Sometimes they arrive as a hush between words, or the warmth that lingers after a gentle touch. When we stop striving to keep the peace or prove our Love, we discover that both are already breathing within us, the gentle rhythm of a heart at rest in its own truth.

As we prepare for the Hope of a beautiful new day, the Joyful celebrations, the Peaceful evenings as the day has settled down, and feeling the Love of all those we interacted with during these days of fullness, may we untie the ribbons of each day and find the gift of waiting inside — the quiet Joy of simply being here.

Wishing each of you a uniquely beautiful holiday season — however and whatever you celebrate — filled with Hope and Joy, Peace and Love.

Remember: you are these very energies, wrapped in a one-of-a-kind box with no sides, top, or bottom, allowing your light to flow freely into the world.

Thought to Ponder:

Do you remember the last time you untied the ribbon around the gift that is you and released Hope and Joy, Peace and Love into the world? If not, wouldn't this be the perfect time to do just that?🎁

© 2025 Terry Pottinger