Becoming Light: An Extra-Traditional Journey from Black Friday to December 24

By Paula J Kampf

Whether you’re a religious person looking to enrich your experience, a secular person wanting to find some meaning in these days, a tired person just wanting something to newly energize your sense of the season, or whoever, Becoming Light, is a little recipe for a new, expansive experience of these days that stretch and dance and seduce and carry us from the day after Thanksgiving through till December 24.

Each week has a theme. It’ll be explained at the outset of the week, on the first day. The themes grow out of the traditional themes and readings that have been part of the Judeo-Christian tradition for a few centuries, give or take, now—and that were, in some part, historically, correlated to this time of year in relation to even older spiritual traditions among the tribes and peoples of the Earth for many, many centuries.

We’ve tried to make doing so easy by organizing the whole book by date, specific to this year (2013.) There’s one reflection for each day from the day after Thanksgiving till the day before Christmas. (Seriously, could this be easier?)

On each day, you’ll find four little sparks to fan into flame in your own life:

Today’s Spotlight—an intention or a mantra to frame the day

Today’s Lamplight—a brief reflection offered to inspire deeper thinking on the Spotlight

Today’s Inner Light—a question (sometimes a few questions!) for you to carry into your self, intended to bring the focus home and help you figure out where this fits into YOUR journey of Becoming Light. (You may want to get a notebook or use an online tool to journal about these questions!)

Today’s Starlight—a creative action geared toward shining today’s light into the world around you

And you know what else? We’re a little like those famous WisePeople, the three who set out with a star in sight, looking to the skies, open to the journey without any real idea where it would lead them.

So it’s okay if you fall behind a little bit, and need to make up time the next day; or if you move a little ahead of the pace so that you can rest up a bit later when you really need it. (I’ve been known to take good long naps in the middle of a trip, trusting that I’ll be exactly where I’m supposed to be when I wake up again—though not while driving. Please do not take this as literal advice for driving a car. That’s a whole different book, and I think you can pick it up for free at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.)

It’s time now.

Let’s go.

We’re Becoming Light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paula J Kampf
• Release date: Nov 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310075926

Paula J Kampf

Paula J Kampf Is first and foremost the mom of her two favorite people on the entire planet. Ever since they came into being, she’s been very intentional (except on days when she slacks off) about making sure that they know that they are loved just exactly as they are, and making sure she’s done her damndest to make the world a more hospitable place for them. She’s all about making sure that she leaves the place better than it was when she found it. She has a couple of degrees in stuff like Communications, Theatre and Ministry. She reads voraciously and loves intense personal conversations. She’s done a bunch of kinds of work ranging from proofreading the entirety of The Indiana Code one summer (three times, in case you really wanted to know), being a broadcast-radio on-air personality, lots of writing and photography gigs, wedding celebrant, funeral celebrant, online magazine writer, hospice special services management, billboard designer, youth minister, social justice and outreach minister dairy farmer director of intergenerational and demographic-specific education photographer, maker of merriment for Mr. Kringle himself, leader/facilitator of workshops, learning laboratories and retreats and..... She’s recently become the principal and founder of Meaningful Matters, Inc, a small business committed to inspiring growth, change and meaningful ways of being in the world for individuals and organizations interested in intentional and purposeful lives. To schedule an event for your workplace or community, learn more about Meaningful Matters, Inc. or get keep in touch, please contact Paula J Kampf (Public Figure) on Facebook or at [e-mail].

Book preview

Becoming Light:

A extra-traditional journey from Black Friday to December 24

By Paula J Kampf

Meaningful Matters, Inc.

Paula J Kampf and Conspirators, LLC

www.ruahkampf.wix.com/paulakampf

www.ruahkampf.wix.com/becominglight

Copyright 2013 by Paula J Kampf

A Smashwords Edition 2013

All rights reserved. Published 2013

in the United States of America

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise—without the express written permission of the publisher and author. Failure to comply with these terms may expose you to legal action and damages for copyright infringement.

Editor’s Note: The names, details and circumstances may have been changed to protect the privacy of those mentioned in this publication. This publication is not intended as a substitute for the advice of health care and mental health care professionals. Organizations, groups and others mentioned within this work are not officially affiliated in any way with Meaningful Matters, Inc, Paula J Kampf and Conspirators, LLC or this publisher, and are highlighted only based on the experience of the author; their inclusion does not imply responsibility, endorsement, liability or other relationship.

Cover design, cover photo and typesetting by Paula J Kampf, Meaningful Matters, Inc.

Acknowledgements

Brene Brown, Ph. D, writes and teaches about wholehearted living, encouraging all of us silly, messy, wonderful humans to be courageous, to own our stories, to be present, allow ourselves to be vulnerable, be seen and be brave.

Living in an era of my own life that includes a lot of uncertainty, I’ve been listening to the hearts closest to my own, and know that that uncertainty marks many of our lives. Whether we choose to perceive the uncertainties of life as threats or as opportunities is up to us, each and every moment of each day.

This little weird project, Becoming Light, comes out of that: I’ve decided that the circumstances of the moment offer unique opportunities. It’s a project springing forth from being courageous enough to own and share stories, choosing vulnerability, being seen and cultivating connection and meaning.

I’m especially grateful for the eternal friendship and support of Catie Reeve, Terrie Baldwin, Erin Kampf Melillo, and Denise Marrison Hobbs, whose relationships and conversations give me space to extrovert my processing. Jenn Ettorre, Kimberly Shepherd and assorted facebook friends share life with me in illuminating ways that expand my spirituality.

Grandma Doris Kampf, Jean and Bill Merriman, my father, John Kampf, and my mother, Mary Paula Magary, illuminate my sense of history, tradition, culture, faith and rootedness every single day.

When I asked for professional insight, Michele Baetzold and Mike Hayes pointed me strongly in the direction of creating a project like this. (They might be crazy. I love them for that.)

In the past year, Louis Alloro came into my life first as the leader of SOMO Leadership Labs, introducing me to the field of Applied Positive Psychology; then became the kind of friend with whom vulnerable, generous, brave heart-sharing comes to be an enduring source of light, hope and life. My gratitude knows no end.

And this work is dedicated to the ones who are my r’aison d’etre: Sarah and Ben.

Contents

Introduction: Why Becoming Light?

Getting Started: What You Need to Know

Week One: Patriarchs?!?

Week Two: Prophets’ Profits

Week Three: Stir Up Your Power!

Week Four: Expectation Incarnation Illumination

About the Author/Staying Connected

Introduction: Why Becoming Light?

Wait.

Watch.

Hope.

Trust.

Prepare.

Persevere.

Believe.

For years upon years, this litany was my Advent mantra.

I grew up as the firstborn of the fifth generation on my family dairy farm in Northeast Ohio, in what I like to refer to as the thriving metropolis of Rome, Ohio. It’s a township, a beautiful place made of fields, farms, a volunteer fire department—it reminds me, always, of Grover’s Corners, right out of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.

My dad’s family (the farmers) stood rooted in tradition, nature, and small-town, white-painted Protestant churches with handmade and homemade rituals, traditions, songs and prayers that all reminded me of the pilgrims, somehow. We worked hard, shared what we had and knew well the cycles and circles of life.

Mom—a teacher and a Catholic—blended a root of Catholicity into the family tree—though I knew nothing of the uniqueness of that at the time, of course. (Kids just know what they know, without the sense of uproar and political astuteness that grownups possess! Being able to take things for granted is an extraordinary gift of childhood, I think.) She steeped us in mystery and metaphor, arts and expression.

And in both cases, there was a lot to be said for waiting, watching, hoping, trusting, preparing, persevering and believing.

The days grew shorter; the nights lengthened. We waited for messiahs all the time, in a whole