La Befana on Epiphany

Epiphany

In central Europe and Italy La Befana is known as an old woman, usually ugly, who wears an old, long, skirt with colourful patches, and a scarf over her shoulders. She flies around on her broom, during the night of Epiphany, delivering small toys and sweets to the children.In most Italian regions, even adults give little presents to each other, often stockings full of chocolate.So... You now have an excuse to go get some chocolate, to celebrate Epiphany!

In the story, Befana hesitates to bring her gifts to the holy child. Perhaps she wonders if she has any gifts to give. Perhaps she wonders if her gift would really make a difference. Perhaps every time she’s tried to do something nice before it didn’t work out the way she expected. Maybe she’s grown tired of trying to make the world a better place and she has decided to focus just on her own little house. 

Sometimes it is much more satisfying to clean a house than it is to deal with the messiness of human beings. The house gets clean and stays clean. It doesn’t have a mind of its own, It isn’t ungrateful, and it doesn’t undo everything you worked for in one temper tantrum or one election.
But something happened that made her change her mind. Something made her scurry about doing the things she was good at. Bringing the gifts that only Befana could provide: Her baked goods, her huggable self, her broom.

Three Kings Parade sponsored by El Museo Del Barrio, NYC
Photo Credit: Walks of New York

Perhaps it was the invitation? Perhaps it was the hug? Perhaps it was the joy of the parade? Perhaps it was the hope for a child who would bring more love into the world.
What would it take to get you out of your house? Out of your routine? Out of your safe little cocoon? Out of your projects that seem so very pressing, important, and do-able?

From Birthday Party to Funeral

Things went as planned for the astronomer priests who showed up on their camels at the right time with their expensive gifts. On finding him, the wise men gave baby Jesus three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then they skedaddled. Herod resorted to killing all the young children in Judea, an act called the Massacre of the Innocents, Jesus and his family had, however, already escaped to Egypt.

Angelo Visconti

 

Here the biblical account ends. I imagine that this is the point in the story where Befanna shows up. After the wise men. After the holy family escapes. After Herod’s army destroys all the new born babies in Judea. I wonder what she thought as she looked at the gifts she had brought and then looked at the bereaved mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers.She thought she was coming to a birthday party and instead she arrived at a funeral. 

2017 Breaks the Mass Shooting Record

Slain in Sutherland Springs, TX church shooting
 26 dead, 20 injured, Nov. 2017

I suspect a lot of us felt that way last year. The year of mass shootings. The year of unprecedented political polarization. The year of rolled back environmental protections. The year of renewed fears of nuclear attack. The year of natural disasters. It was like getting ready for a party and discovering you were at a funeral.

These problems are systemic and connected but we have a tendency to put responsibility for this plague of violence, destruction and suffering at the feet of individuals. Just like la befana looking to the one saviour...If the problems were caused by individuals, if it was about one deranged person with a gun, then we could solve them by having disaster preparedness drills at school/work and learn what to do when there is a shooter in the building. Instead it is about domestic violence, toxic masculinity, us and them and rape culture. (And more)
If the problems were caused by individuals, if it was just that this one elected official is not to our liking we could make fun of that elected official. Instead it is us. We have lost faith in the electoral process. If we dont work very closely, and stick together we will lose access. What hurts some of us hurts us all.. gerrymandering, disenfranchisement, white supremacy, a strategy of divide-and -conquer and a deeply divided country of people who live in ideological bubbles. (And more)

We are All Connected

If only the individual is responsible it feels like it’s enough to recycle. Our frustration tempts us to turn on one another, like when we make fun of teenagers who take long showers during a drought. Instead the blame lies with poor laws and greed, racism and classism. The destruction of our earth stems from the doctrine of dominion over the earth and disconnection from the land, water, and air. 

Our dis-ease is disconnection from our tribes, our communities, our families, our family of humanity and our family of all life. This connection can be called religion, especially if you remember the root derivation of that word. Re-ligio. Ligio is the same word that avenue us ligament… connection. Re-connection.

Photo credit: Upliftconnect.com

If we blame the broken individual, then we are absolved from responsibility to be in community. However, if the problem is that we live in a damaged system, there’s nowhere to hide and so much work to do. We are all part of the system

There is no fast fix. What we need, What we really need is to find ways to connect with one another in kindness and bridge the isolation and disconnection. These men with guns are canaries in this poisoned coal mine. If we pay attention, we can take action to heal that which must be healed.

Hope is Like the Sun

Without the ability to dream, human beings quickly become psychotic. Without hope, we cannot function. Not having a “life dream” is debilitating. Without a dream, living is only going through the motions. Without love, real, personal, connection, human beings shrivel up and die. Like a baby monkey hugging a wire frame, seeking a mother’s love, we all become broken.

In the recent star wars movie, vice-admiral Amilyn Holdo reminded the pilot Poe of a lesson Princess Leia taught her: “Hope is like the sun. If you only believe in it when you can see it, you'll never make it through the night.”

Epiphany is like the sun rising in your own soul. As long as it shines there, we can keep hope alive.

When, like Frodo–the-ringbearer, we despair of our task, we must take Gandalf’s advice.

When we feel that the task before us is too dificult, Gandalf says - "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

Redemption

Is there any Redemption to be had from the tragedies of 2017? Perhaps the redemption is our epiphany that something must be done. Perhaps the redemption is that new dawn, where we wake up and take action…

I see redemption in the #Indivisible movement, the #metoo movement, the #blacklivesmatter movement #resist and Oceti Sakowin Camp as the water protectors keep on working for the land they love.

What is your gift? What do you have to share? What kindness? Is it gold? That’s good. Is it cookies? That’s good too. I checked my pockets, I don’t have any frankincense or myrrh… I can do hugs. Hugs are very good, so is a listening ear, and most of all, you can stay out of your denial, away from the routine, and pay attention to the people around you. Know the people around you. Be involved. You have no idea what one small act of kindness may do. Kindness connects us to each other.

Save What We Love

We are all connected. We are all responsible, individually and collectively. Let us us reach into the mystic truths, the roots of love and relationship. I'm a big fan of the star wars movies and love the idea of the force -the flow of life between, among and around us, but the most recent movie gave me my favorite quote ever. Rose is a mechanic, not a princess, not a jedi, not a hotshot pilot. She knocks Finn's flyer off course to stop Finn from sacrificing himself in battle and when he asks why she says:

“This is how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, but saving what we love.”

by Isabella Centofanti Alexander
from the book "The Night of La Befana"