A Great Pregnancy; or, Christmas in July

(From my all-time favourite little book, Letters to a Young Poet, letter 6)

Rome
December 23, 1903

My dear Mr. Kappus,

I don't want you to be without a greeting from me when Christmas comes and when you, in the midst of the holiday, are bearing your solitude more heavily than usual...

Why don't you think of him as the one who is coming, who has been approaching from all eternity, the one who will someday arrive, the ultimate fruit of a tree whose leaves we are? What keeps you from projecting his birth into the ages that are coming into existence, and living your life as a painful and lovely day in the history of a great pregnancy? Don't you see how everything that happens is again and again a beginning, and couldn't it be His beginning, since, in itself, starting is always so beautiful?

...Is there anything that can deprive you of the hope that in this way you will someday exist in Him, who is the farthest, the outermost limit?

Dear Mr. Kappus, celebrate Christmas in this devout feeling, that perhaps He needs this very anguish of yours in order to being; these very days of your transition are perhaps the time when everything in you is working at Him, as you once worked at Him in your childhood, breathlessly. Be patient and without bitterness, and realize that the least we can do is to make coming into existence no more difficult for Him than the earth does for spring when it wants to come.

And be glad and confident.

Yours,
Rainer Maria Rilke

Joy to the World

Technorati tags: christmas

Put the Lights on the Tree

In an ongoing effort to post (almost) every day this week. Get out the Windex, Mama. I'm on a music streak.


On this 7th day of Advent, here are seven reasons why Sufjan Stevens' brand new 5-disc Christmas album should be enjoyed by you and your yuletide loved ones.

1. (A suprisingly sweet rendition of) "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
2. "It’s Christmas! Let’s Be Glad!"
3. "What Child Is This Anyway?"
4. "Come on! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!"
5. "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!"
6. "Get Behind Me, Santa!"
7. "Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!)"

(And...Happy Birthday, Sarah Painter Constable! Me and baby Jesus were so glad you were born.)