When a person reaches a milestone in our family, when they achieved a personal best or a goal they have strived for, we make another flag for the bunting. That way, at every celebration, we were celebrating everyone's great successes too. That string of flags was a story book of our history, of the good we had accomplished together, and it gets longer every year.
The bunting on that festive occasion had been made by the children. Instead of the usual triangles it was prints of their hands in the brightest of colours. It was as if they were waving, celebrating as we danced and laughed.
There is something about that old bunting that sparks so much joy. To see those tiny flags flying together upon their string is a lifetime of good memories, of good food and good company.
The bunting was as the scales of a dragon's spine, yet softer and brighter in hue.
Upon the bright flags we wrote prayers from the heart, our deepest and most loving wishes for others. We thought of the improvements we needed to make to ourselves, and we asked for divine help to learn the lessons we needed to learn. Then we tied our flags to a rope upon the beach as a sort of sacred rainbow bunting. It purified our souls, helped us to see clearly the personal battles we needed to conquer in order to help one another. It gave us a clear relationship with the universal spirit, we as students, the master of love as our guide.
Heaven is other people who love and support you, that's what these holidays should do for all of us. We need that uplifting shift in our brain chemistry and biology that comes from this powerful sense of belonging. So put up the bunting, get a cake in the oven, prepare the decorations... joy should come around so much more often than it does.