Merry Christmas to All
Note: Was not able to publish this article on time as it was written one week before Christmas, and then my computer decided to take some time off! It’s now Christmas day but the post still contains the same timely message…
It’s officially one week before Christmas and I actually found myself feeling in the spirit this year for the first time in many years. I have asked myself why the sudden change in enthusiasm and I think I finally discovered the reasons why this morning.
In the past I have felt complete disdain to the holiday as the Christmas carols began in Nov, the countdown to what I believed to be commercialism at it’s finest and a complete disconnection to the beautiful aspects of Christmas. I discovered that I was buying into these beliefs systems and choosing to place my focused attention on these things. By doing this I realized, finally, that I have been creating this negative connotation of such a potentially magnificent time of year. Yes all these misguided attributes on the 20th century Christmas do exist yet so do all the beautiful qualities.
As I have begun to make changes in my life and become more empowered as each day passes I have determined that unconsciously I have started to really pay attention to where my attention lies at any given time. I suppose this could actually be deemed a conscious decision as well depending on how I look at my experience.
I have found myself surrounded by people who share the same ideals as I do. These amazing giving souls reflect how my soul feels. They reflect my ideas of not only what definition of Christmas I prefer but also what path in life I chose to be on at every moment.
Slowly over the past three years I have been changing up the Christmas theme in our home and this year it all feels like it has come together. I have found a truly gratifying balance between two extreme differences in how this holiday can be celebrated. It can be celebrated by accumulating all those costly and sometimes thoughtless gifts, scrubbing floors from corner to corner and dusting every last inch of the window sills in preparation for the guests to arrive who in my mind would judge my existence by the cleanliness of my house. These again I discovered were my own beliefs, my own fears surfacing. The friends and family I invite to our home to celebrate this magical time of year will not turn and run when they see a dust ball the size of a tennis ball in the corner of the room. They may make a friendly jab and remark on it in which case I just won’t feed them.
At the moment I have approximately three hours to do too much. Sound familiar? Of course it does, we all live in the same part of the world at the same time period in our existence here on this gift of a planet therefore we all understand each other. In my three hours of non-refundable time I am choosing to share with you for the first time in many weeks. My vow to myself when I began this blog was to post faithfully every week. Well, I have a saying that I have carried with me throughout the majority of my adult years and it goes like this. “The only plan I make is to give myself the opportunity to change my plans”. Yes, I plan and make goals for the future but I have discovered that if we become more flexible with these plans greater things are possible.
It finally snowed last night and the sight of it brought so much joy to my inner core. In our home we are celebrating Christmas day on Sunday. Our Christmas tree is the same tree we have used since December 2012, my big old fig tree. Our decorations that would otherwise be neatly hanging from the branches are now randomly scattered around our house. Ornaments hanging off door knobs, lights around the bedrooms and plants and a few dust balls singing carols in the corners.
Dawson chose to stay home from school yesterday and together we hung lights and made gifts. It is in these moments of sharing and exchanging love that I find the magic in Christmas. I did splurge a tiny bit more this year on gifts but I found local handcrafted items with one or two exceptions. I had a friend text me yesterday and ask for three copies of A Soulful Awakening so that she may do random acts of kindness and hand them out to those who need such a book. These are the souls I am surrounded by and for that I am humbled and honored to be accompanied in this universe with the lot of you quirky, wise, loving and compassionate sisters and brothers.
May your world illuminate more and more each day. May you find the love you have for yourself to nurture and pamper all portions of your body and soul. May you find yourself giving rather than receiving. May you loosen up with the change jangling in your pocket as you pass the homeless on the streets without judgment as to how they got there. May you feel the expansion of your spirit when you smile more, care more, share more and love more. May you remember that we are all a reflection of one another and together we can focus on that which makes our hearts sing.
Marry Christmas to all!
