Christmas Eve ~ In my childhood and childhood of so many others, Christmas Eve is a day filled with expectation and anticipation for kids. For parents, getting ready to fulfill all those expectations, as well as the last minute races and final touches can seem like being inside a pressure cooker. Along with pandemic restrictions, cautions and the expectations of vaccinations in the offing, it can feel like the heat has been turned up! We can’t move forward and and we can’t move sideways, backwards or up and down. At least that is what it feels like until I pay attention to where my feet are.
Christmas is not always the happiest of holidays for far too many. Since March of this year the pressure has really been on. One whose Christmas’ past have been a mix of highs and lows, the Christmas spirit has all but vanished from time to time. This lack has become a source of curiosity. Does one person or body decide what it is? Is it only the spirit of giving or is it can we each decide for ourselves. (That giving part can get a little crazy.)
I have chosen gratitude as my personal Christmas spirit. Not the gratitude of saying thank you - voicing it as a rote, but usually genuine response. Gratitude a belief in deep appreciation for everyone and everything in life. Gratitude for all the joys and sorrows, not just at Christmas but throughout the year. I definitely do not have a halo, nor do I skip whining and complaining about some real or perceived slight. Long ago, a friend gave me a great gift. This friend told me that feeling sorry for myself should only be given short shrift - very short shrift - and then move on. Not an easy lesson to learn; one that does need refreshing from time to time. A gift that comes unwrapped and with out glitter, bows or ribbons. Like a child blowing a kiss, a cheerful wave from a passerby or a genuine smile of greeting. A gift that settled deep in my heart and has provided me with a quiet Christmas from year to year.
Thank you to everyone and have a very Merry Christmas!
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~ Melody Beattie
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