My flight for Newark, NJ, took off almost an hour and 45 minutes late. Or maybe it was on time.
The exact moment of flight was 12:12 p.m. EST on 12/12/12.
The world did not end.
In fact, in that moment I felt everything was beginning anew. And a huge wave of gratitude swept over me.
This makes sense if what we have been told is true—that the end of the Mayan calendar, which stops abruptly on December 21th, 2012, (not the 12th) marks the end of one era of consciousness and the beginning of a new one. (The Kabbalists have a different timeframe for this big change but definitely see the change happening in small steps, this being one of them.)
In fact, the new era heralds a new consciousness. From a Jewish mystical perspective, we are meant to shift our thinking in a way that might feel radical for some—and gratitude definitely plays a part in this.
God, Source or The One—whatever name you would like to give Divinity—created us as receivers. This explains the huge amount of desire we have to create all sort of things in our lives (physical, emotional, mental, etc.). We are programmed to want to receive. We draw things to ourselves via our desires.
Now we must focus more on being like our Source and giving as well as receiving. This doesn’t mean we don’t continue to have desires or don’t open ourselves to receiving. We simply focus our attention on giving—and doing so unconditionally. We become more like God.
We Give to others, and we give to God.
It’s easy to give to others. You can give:
- a smile to someone you pass on the street.
- spare change to someone homeless begging on the corner.
- a phone call to a friend
- a visit to someone lonely
Or you can give in bigger ways.
But how do you give to God? The best way I know to give to The One is through gratitude. Someone once told me the most powerful prayer I could offer was one of gratitude. I think about that every time I see observant Jews go about their days—or rather “hear” them do so. They constantly offer blessings (100 a day if they can). Interestingly, the so-called blessings are not for the object in front of them, for example, a meal, or for an experience, say, the birth of a child; the blessing is for God. They don’t say, “I bless this food,” or “I bless this child.” Instead, they say, “Blessed are You, God, who…” These words that bless God begin each and every blessing and basically offer thanks to Source. “Blessed are you, God, who give me the fruit of the vine.”
How is gratitude a gift? Have you ever noticed how good you feel when someone thanks you for something you’ve done for them? Therein lies the gift.
Here’s how the cycle works: Someone gives you something. You receive it. When you accept whatever was given, you feel good. This fact alone gives something back to the giver—a good feeling. You become a giver. If you consciously add gratitude to that gift, you amplify it.
I had intended to publish this post today, 12/12/12, but my flight delay caused me to publish it on 12/13/12. Yet, as I spent my day high above the clouds and then miraculously made my connecting flight to Germany and then landed in Berlin, I continued to feel so grateful for my family and friends, my readers (you), and the gifts I’ve received this past year and just recently—including this trip. I hope you move into this new consciousness swiftly as well.
Please leave a comment below and tell me about your 12/12/12 experience.
Photo courtesy of Victor Habbick|freedigitalphotos.net
Conceiving and receiving everything as a gift is turning out to be a huge project for me. Having gratitude is not that difficult, but moving from gratitude for having desirable things and not having undesirable things to having gratitude for everything is genuinely challenging. I am noticing how often I think things should be different and taking note that means I am actually the one who should be different. Oh boy, that’s where the rubber meets the road on the trip to more and more gratitude, isn’t it? Listening to other people complain and noticing that I’m having judgmental thoughts, well, that was my gift on 12/12/12. I will probably appreciate this particular gift a lot more as I grow into it. Thanks for asking!
Great observations…and hard things to move through, but you can do it. It is difficult to be grateful for “opportunities” and “challenges.” And we must just let others be in their own space without judgement. It will come with time. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve been looking for some sort of confirmation for what happened on 12-12 (and is still happening)After a very difficult period in my life a vibration changed/a light switched on … I can’t describe it but yes – I was filled with gratitude, love and the wish to love others. It’s still going on. Incidentally I had not heard about 12/12 – only 21/12 so it was all very unexpected. I keep smiling. It’s good.