The Christmas season is a time of anticipating the celebration of the birth of the Christ child 2,000 years ago. As the birth is celebrated outwardly, so is the Christ-consciousness reborn within me. I believe it is resident in all of us, regardless of our faith tradition. The Advent season has become one of introspection to ponder anew what Christ means in my life.

During Advent, I invoke the feelings of hope, peace, love and joy. Spiritual growth comes from making a conscious choice to live those feelings daily. The material aspect of Christmas, with its glitz and glamour, can be fun. However, the spiritual path to rebirth unfolds more fulfillment as I focus inwardly in silence.

In my faith tradition, called Unity, hope has the strong flavor of trust and faith. I was inspired by a recent YouTube video, titled “No arms, no legs, no sweat.” In the video, Nick Vujicic, a young man without arms and legs, addresses high school students. He allows himself to fall over slowly, and then demonstrates how he gets back up with difficulty. Nick reminds his audience how important it is to keep trying to get back up when you fall in life — never give up, have hope, and finish strong.

My life is filled with challenges, too. Nick’s handicap is quite visible, but some difficulties are not so visible, like doubt, negativity and resentments, yet they can be equally debilitating. He inspires me to know in my heart that if I fall, it is not the end. The important thing is that I can keep trying, and I will find the same strength to get up through the inner qualities of trust and faith.

To me, joy is like faith; it arises from within. It is more than happiness, which is feeling well, glad, contented and having fun. “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be,” Abraham Lincoln said. In contrast, I see joy as not of the mind, but of the heart. I can maintain my inner joy even though my outer circumstances are challenging.

I see peace as not the absence of conflict, but a state of being. I experience it when I accept what life brings. It is pointless to argue with the facts, or to wish things were different. Starting with what is, I acknowledge the facts without judgment, and from that peaceful center I can proceed to do what is mine to do, what promotes winning for everyone.

My definition of love is connection — being present with a quality of attention that comes from the heart. If I want more love in my life, I start by being loving. By living in love, I am like a magnet drawing goodness to myself, and radiating goodwill in my thoughts and interactions.

The longest journey I have ever taken is that 18 inches from the head to the heart. By going to my heart I access a deeper quality of joy, hope, love and peace that comes from connecting with my divine source within.

The Rev. Inge Tarantola is a retired Unity minister living in Eugene. This column is coordinated by Lane Interfaith Alliance to offer inspiration, share personal spiritual experiences and bring a deeper understanding of individual faith perspectives with the intention of blessing our community and the world. For information, visit www.laneinterfaithalliance.org or call 344-0430.