December is the month for celebrating Christmas, the birth of the Christ Jesus. Many have forgotten the reason for the season.
Many of us are not filled with love, peace, and serenity. Instead, we are overcome with anxiety, stress, and making lists for Christmas gifts. We are worried about serving the perfect Christmas Dinner. We distract ourselves by plans to celebrate New Year’s Eve. We forget to live in the now. We live in tomorrow, next week, and the weeks after. As a result, rather than being filled with love, kindness, and compassion, we will fight others for a parking spot at the local mall. We focus on searching for the best deals for presents on our Christmas list of presents for others. We worry if we are spending enough – or too much on others. We concern ourselves with thoughts of what others are buying for us. We insist on finding the perfect Christmas tree and decorations for it. Have you ever considered the word ‘presents’? What if we changed ‘presents’ to ‘presence’? We could choose living an example for others with our presence, rather than the frantic activity of buying and wrapping the perfect gift for those on our list. What is the alternative? Is it possible to change how we approach this Holy Day from how we have practiced it for years? We can only do this by making a conscious decision to change ourselves.“Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.” ~ Edna Ferber
In all our forgetting, we need to remember the reason for the season. Even if you are not Christian, whatever your belief system, fill yourself with love, light, and blessings. Resolve to spend more time with family and friends. Forget the Christmas office parties, forget rushing around the mall, and forget stress and anxiety. Any journey becomes one-step at a time – take a giant step and resolve to not be caught up in commercialism. Buy board games; sit with the family and friends for as many evenings as possible. Turn off the cell phones, the tablets, and the television. Agree to set specific hours when the entire outside world is turned off and tuned out. Wouldn’t that be novel? Wouldn’t that change the energy? Create new traditions and rituals, be an example for one another, and your children and grandchildren. Consider making coupons to give to others considering their circumstances. Offer in your coupon to babysit for a single parent. Offer to give a massage to your grandparents – or a foot massage. Children can create coupons for washing the car, raking leaves, mowing the lawn, take the dog for walks, feed the cat, or an entire host of services. Could you and your family volunteer at a homeless center to serve a meal together? Teach your children that it truly is more blessed to give, than to receive. You may have an elderly neighbor who lives alone, far away from their family or friends and invite them to share Christmas with you and your loved ones. If you live near a military base, consider calling the base and offering to share your Christmas dinner with those in the military who have no family nearby. Savor the moments living in the present with presence and compassion. Merry Christ Mass to one and to all. Blessings Be! Jussta Views:]]>“I wrapped my Christmas presents early this year, but I used the wrong paper. See, the paper I used said ‘Happy Birthday’ on it. I didn’t want to waste it, so I just wrote ‘Jesus’ on it.” ~ Demetri Martin
