Category: UCP

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
my personal account of my life, my experiences, my thoughts … the way I see things

On my spiritual education

In this blogpost I discuss why it is important that educational institutions learn to serve the people attending the institution rather than following an intellectual idea of what education should be about.

Aka enthusiasm vs disappointment

In this blogpost I express my distress, upset and sense of helplessness with regards to the educational organization where I am studying. 

If you believe that spirituality and spiritual people are supposed to be free of negative emotions, pls do not read this post. Thank you.

I am someone who loves studying and leaning new things. I often go from one course to another because I always feel the need to expand my horizons, learn new skills, and go with the times.

It is partly because I am an educator and I believe that in order to serve my student the best, I need to know about the latest. I must be up to date with the times, the trends, how teaching and learning changes, and about the latest gadgets of learning support.

As I see it, teaching must serve the student. Not vice versa. About a hundred years ago, we all believed that teachers were some kind of authority of knowledge who had power over us. Today, teaching is more about guidance than knowledge. Knowledge is attainable at every corner but trustworthy guidance is still a commodity. 

Apart from being an educator, I am also a ‘traveller’. I have lived in about 5 different countries in 3 continents and worked in many more. Over the years I learnt that though we are similar in our humanity and one in our spirituality, we are also very different in our cultures and race. All of these need to be respected equally. 

When I started my spiritual education I did not know what I got myself into. While in the US in about 2017, a minister – and beloved friend – suggested a school that she thought would provide me with the spiritual foundation that I needed. 

On her advice, I started my M.A. in Divinity at a well known institution. After a year, however, I did not feel that I was on the right path and so I left. Though the courses  were interesting and practical, I felt that I was still looking. As I understand now, I was looking for connecting with God more deeply though my studies.

A year later, I started to attend a set of courses that launched me into a completely new sphere of life that I had known nothing about. This set of  18 courses gave me an in-sight into a level of spiritual understanding that I had been searching for decades. I suppose, the student had become ready to start her journey. 

The courses, their structure and the additional support I received from the Urban School were exemplary. By the time I finished with the foundation courses, I  had became an enthusiastic convert who found her calling. I decided to become a minister, what’s more, I decided to work with children and families. 

I could not wait for my ministerial education to start. Little did I know then about the confusion that I was getting myself into. 

During the first year, I was in heaven. 🙂 I was taking courses that open me and my spirit to new heights. I studied and learnt skills I never knew about before! I simply loved every course I was taking. 

I will be forever grateful for the opportunity and the amazing support The Unity Urban Ministerial School gave me. I am thankful for every course I took and the additional support I was offered at every turn. 

After about a year on the ministerial path, I suddenly learnt that because I wasn’t a resident of the US, I was required to move from the American school to another one that ‘dealt’ with foreigners. The so-called IMP course structure and content was very different from what I had gotten used to. After about a year studying at two institutions, one for quality and one for the ‘paper’, I completely lost my enthusiasm.

The entire educational program that is supposed to prepare me to become a shepherd of souls and a guide to the lost, has became a nightmare of paper pushing and dealing with general ignorance about cultural differences, and the needs of Generation X, Y, and Z!

It became apparent to me that the educators who create the ministerial educational program for foreigners (international program) – those outside of the US – have forgotten to check out WHO they prepared this program for and why. 

To my knowledge, the educational advisor who is in charge of the international program has never been to Europe and knows nothing of the general standard of education or the structure of the educational systems in Europe. This program lacks focus and a general understanding of what issues a minister in Europe may face. This ministerial program offers some understanding of the principles of the church and its organizational structure, however, it offers nothing to enable a minister to work with real issues, particularly that of the younger generations. 

Each time I have attempted to gain an audience with the person in charge of the international program, I was ignored. I have worked as an educator for over 30 years so I suspect that I could contribute to the formation of an international ministerial program that is relevant and practical. I may not know what makes a great minister but I am sure I know what makes a good school. 

A good school listen to its students and responds to their needs. A good school prepares its students for the future, not glorifies the past! A good school is relevant and current. 

I won’t even mention, the importance of a good teacher who would come as a  matter of course  with a good school. 

Recently I encountered a teacher who failed me three times in three different subject. First time, it is understandable. The second and third time I felt that I was picked on. Naturally, this incident can be conceived as a great example of a caring teacher who wants to make sure that you learn your lessons so you can become the best of yourself.

I used to believe that, too! Not any more!

The best way to teach someone is to inspire them to do well. I am still a believer of tough love but not too tough. Appreciating and respecting differences create an openness in the students that allows them to perceive and embrace the material presented to them. Condemnation and failing create friction and closedness that prevents absorption of the material presented.

When it comes to spiritual studies the worst thing a teacher can do is, after enabling a student to become open and vulnerable, to take advantage of this vulnerability and judge the student for ‘negligence’.

Another thing I noticed with this particular teacher was ‘assuming the worst’. Assumption is a silly human contrition where we fill in the gaps with our own imagination. Where she lacked facts on the reasons behind my actions, she seemed to fill these in with ‘judgements’. 

As I teacher, it is true, that I prefer studies and obliging students who follow my advise. However, it is not my job to enforce that they do! My job is to offer support, tailor the material in a way that my students find it interesting and engaging, and that I am inspiring enough as an educator so my advice is being followed.

Where there is force, there is resistance!

I still hope that I will find the courage and the willingness to finish my education at IMP because I would like to be the minister and educator I have been blabbering about above. 

Being and acting as as spiritual advisor and educator is the most responsible job, I can imagine. Supporting and enabling people to become aware of their unique essence that is a spark of the all-encompassing Divine Presence, is 

Compassion is HARD!

Audio of the post below

Why being compassionate is hard to do?

The answer is actually rather simple. It is because of our lack of self-care and lack of responsibility. 

Let me explain it!

When we suffer in our lives and our needs are not met, we find it hard to feel compassion towards others’ needs and hearing others’ issues with openness and understanding.

Let me tell you about my journey of discovery!

One day,  I was sitting through a six-hour meeting where people kept on forgetting to mute themselves so they caused a lot of background noise; some peoples’ audio was so bad that they were hardly audible; most of the time I could not figure out what the conversation was about because there was no structure to the meeting at all; people kept on interrupting each other (there were not guidelines introduced at the beginning) and the topics changed so abruptly that I could not follow the meeting. It was utterly chaotic.

Because I am on a practical journey of discovering compassionate insight, before the meeting, I decided to participate fully regardless of the challenges. I promised myself to stay compassionate and interested. I meditated and moved myself out of expectations and into a place of openness just before the meeting started. 

An hour and a half into the meeting, however, I found myself extremely frustrated and exhausted. I was outraged at the way the meeting was conducted and how pointless my attendance was.

It made me think. How could I bring compassionate insight into this situation? What do I need to know now? What am I frustrated about? What are my unmet needs? How am I not taking care of my own needs right now?

I  became aware of the following:  I am constantly short of time. I have different jobs and responsibilities that leave me very little personal time. I am very particular about what I am willing to spend my time with. When it comes to education, I expect good level of education for my money. I need the meetings that I attend to be informative, well-organized, and well-conducted by an expert educator. This meeting, in my experience, was none of these. I was also frustrated because I was in no position to communicate my needs.

Hey! It sounds like a victim story!

I had to remind myself that I create my own reality and I am responsible for my experiences. Non-violet communication, or NVC in short, says that we need to fulfill a request like a child feeding ducks, with joy. In short the request was that I attend this meeting and participate fully. The truth is that I could not attend this meeting with joy, so I shouldn’t have! NVC also says that we always have choices and by knowing that we can stop playing the victim. 

I was angry and frustrated because I felt like a victim. My needs for getting a good education was not met. But the truth is that my needs must be met by me. It is my responsibility to take good care of myself by making different choices.

Compassion must start with me!

 

From Fury to Compassion

Listen to the Vlog

One of my greatest achievements as a human being on a spiritual journey is the conscious movement from fury to compassion. 

I grew up in a country where disagreements were retaliated with dreadful consequences and children were train to be insensitive militarized robots. The education system were to take our will, our personality and our humanity. I was told numerous times what a worthless piece of sh*t I was. Mistakes were punished severely and we were only shown an imperfect and intolerant world that wants to shed our blood.

As a result, most of the people I know chose quiet desperation,  I  moved into resistance and fury. All I heard inside of me was: HOW DARE YOU?!? My fury was fueled by criticism and helplessness.

I spent decades criticizing the world around me with the conviction that this is my job to do that. I am a creative with fresh ideas, now I have a voice and I  want to used it. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with communicating a need for change. However, there is a great difference between how this need is communicated. I learnt judgement so I used criticism. And the result was upset and disconnection.

Each time I criticized someone’s ideas or actions, they got upset with me and did not want to work or be with me any more. It is not to say that I did not have the right to express my disagreement but the way I did it was so harsh and critical that people moved into resistance, exactly the same way I did when I was a severely criticized child. 

It took me a long time to understand that if I wanted to generate lasting change I needed to come from a loving and accepting place within myself that gives the other person the right to do what s/he thinks best. I don’t have to agree with it, but I must respect it. 

Compassion is not giving excuses but knowing that everyone at any given moment in time is trying to do their best to meet a need regardless of my opinion on how they may attempt to do that. 

Compassion assumes that everyone wants to meet their needs by the means available to them. These means usually steam from the beliefs systems that they grew up with. 

Moving from anger to compassion removes the judgment. My inner critic who feeds on events that appear to be unjust or not good enough is now replaced by an observer.

In compassion, the observer wants connection instead of separation. The observer wants to generate change in ‘ togetherness’ which also means that it may not be possible. This topic is for another post! 🙂

Moving from fury to compassionate understanding is actually moving from separation to connection. In this action, I released anger about the way I was treated as a child and my fear of people. At the same time, I started opening to connecting and collaborating. 

The Essence of who I am

People around me, my life experiences, my successes and failures, the shape of my body or the colour of my hair do not define me.

I don’t know why I chose this life. Neither do I know why I chose these particular circumstances and experiences. They are mostly difficult, challenging and often lonely. And still, none of this changes the fact of who I am both as a Soul and as a person. Not even my flaws dim the essence of who I am: the fascinating and loving person that I am.

I grew up with deep seated fear and hatred around me. I learnt to believe that people are nasty and vicious because I did something wrong to hurt them. In return, naturally, they blamed me for feeling wretched. It took me 40 odd years to know that none of this has anything do with me.

I may live in (with) it but I am not of it. At all. I never have been. My experiences do not say anything about who I am, they just remind me of what I need to learn or let go of this lifetime.

In life, we are mostly judged by our appearances but I do not need to buy into that. What I am learning is that all of ‘this’ – the way the world sees me, experiences me, and reflects itself back to me – is irrelevant to who I truly am.

I spent most of my life proving myself and wanting the world to recognize me and see me for the wonderful and unique person that I am. I am now realizing that I chose the wrong crowd because my uniqueness is not of this world.

As an artist, my most precious audience is my source: the indwelling Divine power that supplies both the inspiration and the applause.

I chose a burdensome life but it does not mean that there is anything wrong with me. Actually, my life is teaching me to see what an absolute gem I am.

Featured image is by Kandinsky

This blogpost was originally published on 25 Dec 2021

My Lenten revelation

(Note: this post was originally posted on 22 March 2022)

So, how is your Lenten season going?

Mine is going pretty well. Rather interesting! Honestly, it is beyond my expectations!

I am once again surprised at what different focus means. Just by setting an intention to ‘release’ any limiting beliefs during this season, suddenly, I am made aware of different patterns that I run within myself that do not serve me.

During my contemplations this Lenten season I became very clear of a pattern that I learnt as a child and also a pattern that I developed as a child in order to protect myself.

When I was a child under the communistic and socialistic ideology of a central European country, we were basically drilled to become soldier like creatures. The first and most important qualities of a human being were to be obedient and disciplined. We had to recognise authority, especially the authority of our superiors and the leaders of the party. We were even discouraged to think for ourselves but blindly follow command.

As a result of that, I became resentful but I still adopted to a great extend to the belief system of my environment. On the other hand, however, I became painfully aware that I was not a good soldier. I simply did not agree with the ways we were treated. And so, I became rebellious in an artistic way which meant that I was troublesome and so I was in detention constantly.

As a response to that and in order to protect myself from the constant scolding, I adopted a ‘service like’ attitude towards my main carers or people in a ‘caring’ position, figures of authority, so to feel safe in the world that seemingly detested me for who I was.

As my ‘service’ to those whom I needed to take care of me, I allowed to let their fears, frustrations and other unmanageable feelings down on me. I basically became a punchbag.

I suspect that I felt strong enough to take it all on. At the same time, I am sure that I was also afraid of being rejected from society and from the groups of my peers because I wasn’t able to get in line with all the other silent sufferers.

So, the other day, I had this painful experience where I noticed how I actually go about running this pattern. I found myself in a situation where I was in disagreement with a figure of authority whom I felt, I was dependent on for something. I noticed, how I made the conscious choice to allow him to run his fear and disagreement down on me using abusive language. I also realized that I was doing that in order to smooth out the discord between us. I’d rather hurt myself so the other person can feel better, hoping that this way he would accept me and support me.

I lived most of my life with this limiting belief and behavioural pattern.

On one hand, my learning is to know and understand that people have the ability to deal with their own issues, problems, fears, and challenges and I don’t have to step in and ‘save the day’. On the other hand, it is time for me to let go of the fear that I can be harmed or I won’t be taken care of, just because I think differently or disagree.

So this is my Lenten season revelation so far. As my release and renewal affirmation, I affirm that

I let go of my need to feel safe by diffusing situations with figures of authority. I let go and release feelings of inadequacy the drives me to take on more than my share in any situation. I embrace myself knowing that I am good in God just as I am. I am lovable, acceptable, and I don’t need to take over any additional burdens in order to be loved.

 

audio version of the above

Attitude

Listen to the text below

When you travel a lot, you start noticing certain aspects of the country/region/locality that are unique to a culture or a group of people. Each country and culture I lived in offered me a wide spectrum of vivid customs. If you look closely enough you start noticing ‘shared attitudes’ that creates a level of comfort for those living there. I also noticed that people who shared these attitudes are rarely aware of them. These little customary ways of ‘doing things’ runs like a current underneath the culture undetected. As a foreigner it is easy to notice them because I am not part of that culture. 

Yesterday, I bought a highway ticket that I won’t be using because my plans have changed. I called customer services to ask if I could move the ticket to a new date or simply cancel it. I was told that the ‘ticket’s validity has started when I bought the ticket’ so no refund is applicable. Honestly, I was surprised at how a ticket can have validity without being used but apparently in Hungary this is the case.

Yes, I should have checked the regulations before I bought the ticket. My bad! This is not important. This situation made me think about mistakes, punishment and the attitude of treating mistakes in general. 

I give you another example so you can see the difference. A few weeks ago, in the UK, my friend dropped me off at Heathrow Airport. As soon as we arrived, we bought a parking ticket on line. A few days later she received a parking violation ‘fine’ for non-payment. We sent the confirmation of the payment via email and a few days later, my friend received a response saying that when she had entered the car’s details she had made a mistake with the letter  ‘O’. She had entered a ‘zero’ by mistake. She was reminded to make sure to enter the correct details to avoid any issues in the future. The case was closed without any punitive actions.

Though the two incidents are not the same, they are both great examples the attitude each society shows towards ‘mistakes’. 

Hungary is a culture that does not tolerate mistakes and takes every opportunity to  punish the party at flaw. Whereas, in the UK the attitude is ‘educational’. One society keeps its members in constant fear of punishment for any mistakes. Whereas the other society educates its inhabitants so they can do better next time.

Where do you prefer to live?

Unapologetic

MEMENTO/MEGEMLÉKEZÉS

Az utolsó frizura – Eulógia Krisztinek/ Krisztina Riener

Talán 13-14 évesek lehettünk amikor megismerkedtünk. Azt hiszem valami bulin ismertem meg. Azt hiszem akkor már a Drentyével jart. De lehet idősebbek voltunk. Nem emlékszem pontosan. Ugy emlékszem hogy nem igen klappoltunk akkor. Lehet épp valami sajátos befelé forduló időszakomat éltem éppen.

Arra sem emlékszem hogy mikor kezdtem el hozzá járni fodrászhoz, de akkor már a Mester utcai üzletben dolgoztak. Hát ezt se most volt! Éveken át jártam hozzá, figyeltem ahogy fejlődik a szakmájában, ahogy mindfelé kurzusra jár, egyre elmélyűltebb és egyre profibb.

Majd egy jó pár évig nem találkoztunk. Én egytemre mentem aztán külföldre. Ő közben férjhezement. Szült. Elvált. És újra találkoztunk. Elkezdünk beszélgetni.

Miután rengetek közös ismerősünk van, nem tudom már pontosan, hogy mit honnan tudtam meg róla, hogy ő mesélte-e el, vagy én szedtem fel az infó morzsákat másoktol. Annyi biztos, hogy az egyik alkalommal mikor nála jártam – jó pár évvel ezelőtt – azt mesélte, hogy férjhez ment újra egy sráchoz, aki évekig élt Kanadában, és most együtt vissza mennek oda és új életet kezdtenek. Emlékszem ebben az időszakban még levelezgettünk is, erről-arról, mert kérdezgetett, arról, hogy én hogy csináltam a dolgaimat, amikor külföldön éltem.

És elindult világnak. Itt-ott a kanyarban taliztunk, kicsit mesélt, kicsit én is meséltem, de már nagyon nem voltam képben. Figyelgettem a FB megoszásait is, de nem értettem merre jár, kivel és mit csinál. Mégis lelkesen nézegettem a képeket, mert tudtam boldog és szabad!

Most júliusban úgy alakult, hogy Pesten jártam megint. Kriszti már évek óta nem vágta a hajamat, mert nagy távolságok választottak el egymástól. Azonban, most júliusban úgy alakult, hogy a fodrász akihez az utóbbi években jártam nem ért rá. Hát ráirtam Krisztire, mert úgy tünt, hogy ő is épp Pesten volt. Hamarosan megtudtam, hogy bár még mindig sokat utazgat, már évek óta főleg Pesten él és a rákkal küzd.

Azt hiszem sejtettem a FB képeiből, hogy valami ilyesmiről lehet szó, de ismerve őt, azt is átfutott az agyamon, hogy csak bolondságból vágatta rövidre a haját. Sajnos, nem erről volt szó.

Amint leültem nála elkezdett mesélni. Az utazásokról, az élményekről, a nehézségekről, töviről hegyire. Talán azért nekem és ennyire részletesen, mert én igazán értettem a történeteit, hisz magam is megéltem hasonlókat.

És csak mesélt és mesélt, hadarva, mint aki úgy érzi, hogy nincsen elég ideje mindent elmondani, amit csak szeretne. Azt hiszem nem voltam képes befogadni minden információt, mert úgy tűnt, mintha tizen év távlatát próbálta volna belepréselni másfél órába. Csak hallgattam és ámultam. Micsoda vagány nő! – gondoltam.

Alig emlékszem valamire, olyan infó tultengés volt, de talán nem is fontos, hogy pontosan mi volt a történet, hogy merre volt és mikor, hogy kivel dolgozott vagy épp kivel élt együtt. UTAZOTT és ÉLT. FULL ON! Világot látott és magára talált. Ez volt a lényeg.

Sok inspiráló történetet hallottam az évek során emberekről, nagy fordulatokról, felfedezésekről. De az ő élet története, talán a leginspirálóbb számora, mivel igazán közelről ismertem azt, aki megugrotta a gátakat és megmászta a falakat (szó szerint). Ő mert egy nagy fordulatott venni, és mindenki szemébe mondtani, hogy: Akkor most leléptem, majd jövök! Inspiráló, mert ki mert lépni a kényelmesből, az ismertből az abszolút ismeretlenben, és helyt tudott állni. Egyedül. És mindeközben szemben találta magát önmagával és a félelmeivel, de ugyan akkor azzal a ’baromi’ erős, kisugárázással teli nővel is, akit talán soha nem ismert volna meg, ha nem indul volna el. Good on you, girl!

Az élete kezdete, már amennyit tudok az élete első másfél évtizedéről, valószinűleg úgy zajlott mint az enyém. Suli, bandázás, cigizés és kazettás magnó hallgatás a téren. Házi. Vacsi a családdal. Az élet nagyon egyszerű volt. Hétvégente ’házibuli’ valakinél, akinek a szülei elég ostobák voltak ahhoz, hogy a tizenegynéhányéves gyereküket egyedül hagyják a lakásban. Nálunk is volt ilyen buli. Oh, Jézus!

Azt hiszem, hogy a kor és a közeg, amiben felnőttünk rányomta a bélyegét a választásainkra. Ő is mint szinte mindenki, akit ismertem abból az időből, középsuli után, mind hasonló pályára állt: meló, házasság, gyerek. A válás utan pedig bulizás és pasizás … útkeresés.

Mindig vagány, talán kicsit vad csaj is volt legalábbis önmagamhoz mérten. Mindig csodáltam a vadócságát és a rengeteg energiáját. De ami miatt igazán csodáltam, az a mereszsége volt, amivel belevágott a világ és önmaga felfedezésébe! Elindult és aztán csak ment szakadatlan.

Abból a gyorsan elhadart beszámolóból, annyit tudtam kihámozni, hogy először Kanadában élt és gyorsan a saját lábára kellett állnia. Megtudtam, hogy azt is, hogy több helyen is dolgozott, fodrászként is, és ha nem tetszett neki valami, lelépett: nem hagyta, hogy megtapossák csak azért, mert külföldi volt papirok nélkül. (Micsoda nő! ) Majd tovább állt. Nem emlékszem már hogy hogyan és miért került Ausztráliába, ahol úgy érezte, hogy végre megtalálta a helyét. Sajnos a betegség közbeszólt és visszatért Magyarországra.

Tegnap, amikor megtudtam, hogy meghalt, nagyon elszomorodtam. Hiányzik. És hiányozni is fog. Mindig. Mert szerettem hallgatni a mindig-vidám-Krisztibe burkolt őrült történeteket. Ugyanakkor biztos vagyok benne, hogy a lelke most is utazik és őrültködik 😊, de most már általam nem érzékelt magaslatokban.

Isten veled Drága Kriszti!

GRACE

Audio PODCAST version of text below.

Grace
The grace of God flows freely through me.

This is today’s Daily Word. Interesting.

Do you know why people in pain chose alcohol – or other drugs – over God? Because God does not ‘operate’ in the physical. God can ‘only’ (I say it lightly) work with the physical through us, those who has a living soul in them. People do, among many other. Though God’s energy is everywhere, like a cobweb runs through all of existence, decided action is a privilege of human beings.

God waits. God waits endlessly for humans to turn to ‘him’, chose ‘him’ and allow ‘him’ to work through the person’s faculties.

So, why don’t we chose God if it is so easy?

I am writing below comes from a personal experience.*

When you experience rejection, abuse, neglect or similar not so nice experiences as a child, you make a decision about yourself which is, in most cases, ‘I am no good’ (or similar). As an ‘unlovable’ being you perceive God as a distant punishing figure, if at all, and turn away knowing that you are alone. As a result of that, you take on a ‘strategy’ to cope in life – which is so colorfully laid down in the system of the Enneagram.

The foundation of the ego – our defense mechanism – is hurt feelings that are mostly acted out either as a narcissist, a victim or a bully. I know it is hard to recognize it because all these are covered up by layers and layers of tactics and mechanics. 🙂

*As a child, when I learnt that I was ‘no good’, I decided to become ‘helpful’. I looked around and found that what people around me needed is someone to let their frustration down on. Most of them were mentally ill of the torture and fear they had had to endure, it made them mad. So, I toughened up and offered my services as a ‘scapegoat’. I spent the past 45 years doing that in many ways.

You see the truth is, that, at the end of the day, it is just old pain and anguish that is the result of not allowing God to come in and help which is Grace.

Grace is not a miracle.

Grace is a turning back, facing the music – the original pain, the decisions we made about ourselves, the struggle we have been through – and laying it all down at the feet of God. It is surrendering.

This is NOT EASY at all. That’s why we chose a distraction be it alcohol, drug, sex, games, films, relationships, cooking … anything that keeps our minds off the hurt, the anger, the resentment, the pain, over God.

It is because in God, or with God, we must become vulnerable, we must go back to the original sin which is turning away thinking that God has forsaken us, and forgive. We must forgive the wasted years that we spent on making it ‘right’. We must cry the tears, howl in anguish, feel the penetrating fear of thunder until it dissipates and we are left as an empty vessel for God to fill.

Practically, what it all means is that you must stop fighting and distracting. Honestly, in my experience, it takes courage and perseverance and long … long … time. And then, one day, you decide to take on God’s offer and allow him to work through you. Not instead of you though! 🙂

Holy Innocents

The Feast of the Holy Innocents

The story behind the Feast

Feast of the Holy Innocents, also called Childermas or Innocents’ Day,  is a Christian feast in remembrance of the massacre of young children in Bethlehem by King Herod the Great in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:16–18). The feast is observed by Western churches on December 28 and in the Eastern churches on December 29. The slain children were regarded by the early church as the first martyrs. The day is still observed as a religious feast day and, in Roman Catholic countries, as a day of merrymaking for children. SOURCE

HOW TO OBSERVE
On this day it is custom to give the youngest child in the household the power to rule the day. From what to eat, where to go, and what to do, the youngest is in charge. In Mexico, it is a day for children to play practical jokes and pranks on their elders.  SOURCE 

#HolyInnocentsDay

 

Though the story behind the Feast is rather gruesome, the idea is hilarious! Can you imagine a day lived like a child again? Children have no filter! They go with the flow regardless of consequences. What a feeling! How freeing! I am surprised that the Holy Innocents’ Day/Feast is not celebrated more widely with greater vehemence! We could do with a little more unfiltered fun!

We loose our innocence way too soon. We learn that our childlike ways will not suffice in the adult world. So we release our unicorns and imaginary friends and hide them in the back up our minds until they eventually vanish. We grow up and fit in, never looking back. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to be children again, just for a day? Wouldn’t it be great to believe again that our imaginary friend has special powers and can solve all our problems? Wouldn’t it feel special to know that the unicorn can fly us to any odd place that we come up with? Wouldn’t it?

Another learning …

‘If you fraternize with pig’s food, you will be eaten by the swine.‘ This is a Hungarian saying telling you to choose your company wisely.

I was thinking about this saying this morning wondering how clever it is. It is unavoidable to be in contact with people who are not-your-sort. Life is not meant to be a glorious ride void of any challenges, mishaps and … creatures who are bonkers. (affectionately 🙂 

There is this well-meaning, slightly disabled lady who wants to participate in my programs but since she has hearing issues she keeps on nagging me to subtitle every video I make and give her allowances because of her ‘disability’. 

Though I appreciate the sentiment and I am inclined to support wherever I can, I have the sneaking suspicion that she just wants sympathy and attention, a lot of it. She wants to attend every program I run, but she simply cannot because I do not make it possible for her. Well, why don’t you?

To cut a long story short, I decided not to respond to her requests and emails any more. I bid her farewell on her journey to self-discovery that she claims to be trotting along. 

And I am taking another learning from life …

Nobody can be helped beyond what s/he can do for him/herself.