The First Candle said, "I Am
Peace, but these days, nobody
wants to keep me lit."
The Second Candle said, "I Am
Faith, but these days, I am no
longer indispensable."
Sadly The Third Candle Speaks,
"I Am Love and I haven't the
strength to stay lit any
longer. People put me aside
and don't understand my
importance. They even forget
to love those who are nearest
to them."
Suddenly...A child enters the
room and sees the three
candles no longer burning. The
child begins to cry, "Why are
you not burning? You are
supposed to stay lit until the
end!"
Then The Fourth Candle speaks
gently to the little child,
"Don't be afraid, for I Am
HOPE, and while I still burn,
we can re-light the other
candles."
(excerpt from Aino Makoto’s poem,
THE FOUR CANDLES)
Don’t ever let go of HOPE in your lives.
May these Holy Days light all four of your candles. And even if life’s winds blow fiercely—dimming, or even extinguishing, one or more of those flames—always hold onto the fourth and most important candle: HOPE.
Preserve it, no matter what.
As for me, I’ll put on my favorite blacks and whites, I’ll stand before the HOPE candle with deep reverence, offering a prayer and making my wish.
May 2025 be as pure as the White color for all of you and your loved ones. If everyone does that, then the impact of that action and reaction will scale exponentially and, hopefully,
EMBRACE THE WORLD!
-GF
