So, here it is, January 6th. January 6 in the Christian religion is Epiphany, the day the three Wise Men arrived bringing gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh for the baby Jesus. It is the twelfth of the 12 Days of Christmas, and so is kind of the official end of the holiday season, at least in Western cultures. But in traditional Latin American culture, Día de los Reyes (Day of the Kings), it is this morning that children wake up to find presents among the straw they left for the camels brought by who they know as the three Kings. But for me at least, it has always been the closing day of the holiday season.

But now we have a new association for January 6. This is the fourth anniversary of the assault upon the US Capitol by supporters of former President Trump to prevent the certification of the election of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. Some Americans saw this as a great demonstration of patriotism, but a majority of people (based on polls) regarded it as a violation of law, at the very least. Many of us saw it as the worst and most violent act of insurrection since the Civil War.

So, personally, the joy of Three Kings Day, along with its feeling of closure for the long holiday season, has been tainted by the memory of Americans attacking the Capitol Police and other law officers in an attempt to resist the very foundation of American Democracy–that the person who receives the most votes in the most states gets to be our representative for the next two or four years.

Today, the Congress will meet (presumably—Washington DC is having an epic snow storm ) to certify Donald Trump’s election as the 47th President. This brings joy, or presumably at least positive thoughts, to NOT the majority of Americans, because President Trump did not get 50% of the votes cast. But to many Americans, especially those he attacked during his campaign, such as people born outside this country or those who don’t conform to traditional gender or sexual orientation roles, it brings fear or anger or depression.

And all of this comes on top of all the life stuff that happens. This season, I’ve had friends whose mother died the week before Christmas, whose mother is in hospice and will be dying soon, who are experiencing their first Christmas without their mother or their spouse, or who spent the holiday in the hospital.

I’m lucky! The Three Kings are bringing me a special gift today as friends who live out of town are coming to visit. So after writing this post, I’m turning away from my negative associations with January 6, 2025 to concentrating on the good.

But I’m aware that many are not experiencing that joy. So I have two things that I hope will uplift you if you are not among those who are celebrating the return of Donald Trump as President.

INSPIRATION #1: Long-term readers know that I call New Jersey Senator Cory Booker my “political boyfriend” (my version of “Internet boyfriend,” or some celebrity you only know online but really like…and at least in my case, not in a romantic way). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I really like Senator Booker not only for his political stands, but he is about the only politician I know, ESPECIALLY among males, who is not afraid to use the word “love.”

Anyway, I wanted to share his words TO ME PERSONALLY, of course, about accepting the second term of President Trump, which I find very inspiring:

The difficult truth we must confront is that we are still dangerously close to backsliding into demagoguery and authoritarianism. That’s why I am more determined than ever to meet the hate, lies, and anger with love, truth, and compassion for our neighbors. Love drives me to keep going when I feel my optimism dwindling. Love reminds me to keep pushing when obstacles of hate or injustice lie in our path. And love inspires me to keep putting my faith and trust in you, the American people, with each new day. As long as we let love guide our work, I’m confident we will overcome any challenge. Thank you for being part of this important work, Carol. With love and gratitude, Cory

INSPIRATION #2: We are so blessed that one of our regular musical talents at my Spiritual Center is Sandy Hemenway. He is such a gifted singer, songwriter, and piano player, as well as an enlightened soul who counsels us through music. He did the music for our service yesterday and knocked it out of the park with one song he co-wrote and then his version of Man of La Mancha‘s “Impossible Dream.” It was magnificent.

So our Motivational Music for today is one of my favorites among his songs. It reminds us that we never know what other people are going through. Today some may be celebrating, and some may be experiencing sorry, and most of us are somewhere in between. But my Three Kings Day wish is that we all try to connect with at least someone today and give them some love, through words, gifts, smiles, physical contact, or sincere listening when asking “How are you doing?”

Those who know me know I’m not a New Year’s Resolutions gal, but I think this year I will try to make a daily practice of knowing I spent at least 95 seconds of connection with some person every day. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but do I always do that? I’m not sure that I do. I think I do most days, but every day? No sure.. So this year I will be paying attention. And if you would like to join me in this 95 seconds of connection commitment this year, I would love to have you tell me below.

Sending love out into the Internetsphere, Carol