This was always the coolest thing for me as a kid, first thing Christmas morning. A well worn teddy bear of a stocking full of odd little knickknacks and maybe a treat or two. That says a lot about me. I was very fortunate. I was loved and cared for consistently, year after year. My parents treasured simplicity and challenged themselves to be generous and compassionate to everyone they met. That's just how they were, it wasn't anything official and it wasn't something they advertised.
I still think that is part of the culture I was raised in - that good deeds are not to be admitted to on earth but admired in heaven. That is one reason I have a hard time wearing the robes, they advertise like a billboard - and billboards are illegal in the state of Vermont. Billboards clutter up the landscape and are always ugly in contrast to the beauty of the Green Mountains.
However clothing is a simple statement that is never overlooked in the world. Uniforms declare the role of the wearer. That declaration is a boundary and within that boundary there are laws to be respected. The mystic observes the spirit of the law with openness and intention. Absorbed in awareness of the root and branch of natural law a mystic is both constant and fluid. A mystic monk waves a flag for non conformity, is ever exposed and shifting between inner work and outer abrasion.
Here is a small and simple knickknack for your stocking that is a cure for the difficulty of being uncomfortable, for feeling like you don't belong, for stress inhibiting your immune system. It is from the work of Amy Cuddy which she presented at TED. Please take it, try it, use it like a toy in your Christmas stocking and have fun with it.
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