December means the beginning of winter, the Christmas season, and the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child. Also, on top of these are Santa Claus, gift giving, and shopping to accommodate the preceding. Parties, caroling, banquets and family dinners are also prevalent.  It is a festive time of year.  But not for all.  Some are moved to introspection, or even depression by the ups and downs of the season.  Some are without homes, warmth, proper clothing, adequate food or medications.  What stands out is the obvious disparity of this particular time of the year.  On the other hand, there are shelters, soup kitchens, and many charity events and projects.  But are they enough?  Do we as individuals do as much as we can to help?  Why does this even happen in the first place?  And, to dig in more deeply, Why are we here?  And, What’s next?

If we look at an overview of our lives we can easily come to the conclusion that we are here on earth briefly.  Very briefly.  Discounting our own solar time, there is geological time and the cosmic time of the universe.  So again, Why are we here, and What’s next?  Let’s begin by attempting to answer the following three questions pertaining to our lives. 1.  Have you found your purpose?  2. Have you accomplished it?  3. Has it helped the lives of others?

Life itself is simple and basic.  All else is sham.  The only real truth is born of honesty.  You fool no one but yourself.  Our actions touch others day to day to month to year.  Do we help or do we hinder?  Do we alleviate or block?  Are we the answer or the problem? Do we leave life as we found it or are things better when we are gone?

  1. Your purpose was always waiting for you and the choices that you make along your journey should lead you to that purpose. Have you recognized yourself as fitting for the tasks presented?  Have you exercised your being in order to seek for it unceasingly?  Have you expended the energy that you were given? And did you seek and did you find with all your heart?
  2. Did you accomplish your purpose when you discovered it? Did you stay with it until the end?  Did you keep at it with all of your heart and soul? Or did you give in to all of the roadblocks and impediments, negativity and criticisms that would hold you back?  Did you doggedly pursue what you knew was right in your own heart as far as you possibly could take it?
  3. Did your purpose also help the lives of others? By doing what you have done through the good times and the bad, did your actions and your work make a difference in the lives of other beings who reside near you?  Looking back, were those near you helped in any way?  Did your actions cause reactions in a positive way and can you now recognize the assistance that was instrumental toward the well-being of another person and all of your contemporaries?

Speaking of the above three points, age, whether we are young or old or in-between, is not a factor.  Looks are not important spanning time.  Styles are not important in the prevalent fads of any specific period of time.  Only your inner self can direct these toward your own accomplishments and nothing corporeal should distract us.  So since we are here so briefly, for questions 1, 2, and 3, the only question left is “What is next?”

Empirically we know the answer.  We’ve known it from our birth.  Our minds are meant to return from whence they came.  The body is only an instrument to accomplish our purpose here on earth.  Our minds with all of the experiences we have gathered through our brief span of time here will eventually separate and be required to answer these three questions for admittance to eternal love and peace:

  1. Did you find your purpose?
  2. Did you accomplish it?
  3. Did it help the lives of others?

So for the month of December with its ups and its downs, its caroling and its elegies, I wish for you the ability to answer these questions.  May the music of the universe permeate your mind and your soul.  And may you in your own finale find eternal rest and peace.  Merry Christmas…!