Transcending or Transgressing?

  Those of us who believe we follow a spiritual path are being stretched to our limits right now. Anyone wth a conscience or sense of justice will instantly recognise and relate to this. Our society continues to damn the poor whilst damning more and more of us into that bracket. In the meantime the laws are rewritten to protect those with (in-)vested interests in the profits to be had from consummerism. Wake up and look around you if you don't understand what I am talking about - you are the next victim buying into the Christmas frenzie.
  It is perhaps most pertinent at this time of year to speak of transcending the material world and rebuilding relationships which are not built on what you get in the form of presents but on truely valuable relationships built on what you get in the form of presence - a very different concept indeed! Humans are naturally gregarious creatures and need the company and cooperation of others. No one lives in total isolation no matter what their circumstances. Who have you ignored today in your rush to get things done?
  Time is the only gift that is 100% yours to give. None of us know how much time we have and therefore spending it with those we care about should be viewed as sacred in the broadest terms. Communion is not just a Christian ritual but is the essence of giving undivided attention to another. It is a sense of belonging and sharing the human journey through good and bad times, in vulnerability and in strength. This indeed is a gift worth giving.
  So do we take the road less travelled and transcend the pressures of the advertising and posturing of egos at this time of year, or will we succumb to transgressing the very essence of being human, paying little regard for those around us? We are all being stretched financially but also morally. Those of us who believe we follow a spiritual path are asking ourselves this question every day, struggling in a balancing act between 'heaven and earth', right and wrong, doing and being. We may never get it 'right' but it behoves us to try.