Advent: Anticipation and Beginning

(Thought-Random)

        Black Friday gone,  Cyber Monday up and coming,  -what about Advent Sunday?  At least this first of the four Sundays of Advent?

       Christendom starts the Liturgical Year with the Advent Season,  -that would be 4 weeks before Christmas Day.  Many would put parallelisms and connections between Advent and Christmas and Lent in the fact that Advent, being an anticipation of the arrival of Christ,- which would be Christmas; .....  actually reflects a spiritual journey  starting from there up to the consummation of Christ's task of saving mankind ....which falls on Lent's Good Friday.  Others put the 'focus of the entire season on the celebration of the birth of Christ in his First Advent,  and the anticipation of  His return on the Last Judgement - his Second Advent.'  Advent here, thus, means 'arrival'... a meaning very much related to terms such as  'longing', 'expectation', 'preparation'.  And one can't help noticing the 'double focus on the past and future' aspects of time.

        But  wouldn't  you also try to  think of  'advent' used  in everyday events as 'onset',  or 'dawning',  or 'genesis',  .....'alpha', even ,  -or simply  'the beginning'?  Some refer to a new turn in life as 'the advent of my rebirth'!,  others as 'the advent of more interesting challenges for me',  and many more.  If only because of the journey metaphor that the word  'advent'  alludes to,  wouldn't you kinda like trying to use  it to capture  thoughts on beginning this next segment of your life, perhaps?

        If you haven't been taking charge of yourself,  now could be the time.   'Not taking charge' of yourself could mean an indication of  negative emotions in your life like anger, hostility, shyness, and other useless emotions like guilt and worry that you might love hanging  on to.  See, such negativity could range from mild indecision to total inaction,  holding you in a limbo of stagnancy.   And it goes without saying that you need  to break free from any mirror-reflections of such an undesirable past. .  Well, they say that learning from past mistakes is healthy and necessary but just using up your energy in feeling upset and depressed, - that would be unhealthy; .... it won't even change the past.  So what can you do?

       Try this.  Believe that no activity is beyond your potential.  Human experience is yours to enjoy if you are bold enough to explore the unknown.  Try breaking the barriers of convention.  Put an end to procrastination.  All these are gigantic thoughts, but hang on....!.  You have to be open to new experiences but you must also make selective efforts in trying new things.  You can never find self-fulfillment if you permit external forces to  control your feelings, your thoughts, your behavior;  but understand that this does not in any way infer being contemptuous of the law.  Putting off is simply a technique of avoiding doing and obviously allowing you to escape unlikeable activities,  -really an escape from living present moments.  So why not turn the tide for yourself and make a choice for that elusive now?   Because I would suggest all these to myself!!!  

        Most people actually make their life's resolutions on New Year's Day; but some do it at  the start of the Christian Liturgical Year. Today.  This year's first Sunday of Advent,  the season of anticipation for Christ's birth.  In fact, if you you ask me,  I would opt for the latter and for a new beginning.  So I put claim on an advent of this next segment in my life.  I will explore the unknown.   I will break the barriers of convention.   I will put an end to procrastination!!!