It is the season of miracles, the darkest month of the year. So many miracles to unwrap each day: life and light, goodness and grace, home and hearth, if not in person, at least in memory. In my house, only my young dog and I lift our heads at the sound of the train whistle in Rose Canyon with the flood of memories of so many train rides in the past with those I loved and those no longer with me. Light will increase slowly and miraculously each day after winter solstice, Dec. 22, the shortest day of the year, when the earth is farthest from the sun. January will be our new teacher again, with some miracles, we hope.
Albert Einstein said: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Take your pick.
January is named for the Roman god Janus, who is depicted with two faces, looking backward and forward. He was the guardian of gates and doors, a god of beginnings. Since doors and gates look in two directions, it might be a good practice for us to follow, especially this year, looking back at the good and bad, looking forward to the future. Janus had his own temple in the Roman forum. The gates were closed in time of peace and opened in time of war. If only we could close the gate on war. We need that miracle.
Did you notice more Christmas cards had peace on earth as the theme this year? As we move closer to a terrible statistic of war, 3,000 fallen American warriors in Iraq, there’s a lump in our throats for our military men and women’s supreme sacrifice and for the Iraqi people who suffer a daily dose of danger. Peace can be a big miracle for us.
However, little miracles appeared everywhere this season: a parking place opening up at UTC, an amazing photo center at a particular warehouse on Morena that begins with the same letter as consumerism and credit. It was a miracle how these folks could take in an e-mail order for photos at midnight on a Saturday and have them ready for a procrastinating Christmas card correspondent the next day on Sunday. Retail clerks were pleasant and sincere, a miracle of sorts with the numbers of shoppers. According to one clerk, the shoppers were also more pleasant.
My other little miracle involves those holiday stamps. Have you ever thanked the post office for providing stamps that are already glued? No longer do you have to lick your tongue dry or over-water the back of a stamp with a sponge. Sending tons of cards has become a lot easier.
On a more serious note, one of the nicest “miracle” stories I read was about a La Jolla woman, Jean Colarusso. She is married to a physician and has a gorgeous home with a perfect view of the Pacific, according to a Union-Tribune article. She’s quoted as saying: “I’ve never been one for the social scene. I’ve never been interested in chasing after jewelry or spending days at the spa. I have friends who have a lot more than I do, materially, but they aren’t fulfilled. They’re bored. My life is extremely full.”
At age 72, she is making her fifth trip to Nigeria in January. In 1982, she and two friends founded Friends of the Poor. She started a tuberculosis clinic in a Mexican federal prison. In 1998, a priest from Nigeria visited her church, Mary Star of the Sea in La Jolla. Having a sense of overload from all her other charity work, before she met the Nigerian priest she practiced saying “no” to herself in anticipation of his request for help. The words out of her mouth were different, however: “What do you need most?”
The priest gave her a long list of requests because Nigeria has a population of 131 million with 60 percent under the poverty level. These folks really need help. Politically corrupt, Nigeria cries out for help with a sound as piercing as a train whistle. Colarusso helped double the size of a boys boarding school and found money for a pig farm that would provide food and income. She raised money for a church that had been unfinished for 20 years. So many children have been orphaned by AIDS. She raised money for an orphanage. The beauty of this woman’s work is that 98 percent of the money goes to the poor. She travels to Nigeria to oversee her projects in spite of a two-day rough trip by plane and car and numerous diseases like malaria. Besides those concerns, there are robbers en route.
Right now, Colarusso is finding funding to build a girls school for 200. Another Nigerian priest told her that he had seven sisters but only he was allowed to continue his education after sixth grade. Of course, educating these girls will improve their opportunity. This woman is performing miracles every day.
Check out the Web site friendsofthepoor.us and live your life next year as though everything is a miracle.