Sometimes the Holidays seem to go by in a blur of busyness. Shopping for gifts, sending cards, decorating our homes. The Holidays are filled with joy and fun and can be exhausting. In the dichotomy of emotions that get triggered during the holidays and in order to enjoy the festivities, we must pace ourselves. Take time to savor the smells of the season, the lights, and candles, the cooking, the baking. Enjoy placing your decorations, just right, and step back and see how they sparkle and shine. This was the first time in six years that I put up a Christmas tree again. Phil and I appreciated combining our favorite decorations throughout our home. I especially loved placing my Santa Bears once again around my home, for they are fond memories of when my children were small.
We all have different traditions to mark the holidays and they are meaningful and they enrich our lives because they help us to recall its not the gifts we give, nor the lights and decorations we hang, but it is the sharing of the light and love we carry inside with each other.
One simple way to reconnect with that inner light is begin each morning with gratitude. List one or two things that warm your heart. They can be small; Listen to a Christmas song; allow yourself a quiet moment of grace; Give a friendly smile. Chat with a neighbor or friend. As you practice these small gestures, any holiday stress shifts into a sweetness of Being. .
Meister Eckhart said “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
Appreciation, gratitude, small acts of kindness; these small offerings lift our spirit and often brightens someone else’s Soul.
This holiday season may we remember to ignite our light. May we slow down and share a smile, a conversation; a compliment; May we let Spirit ease us into the Season by being aware, how the gentle acts of kindness, compassion, and gratitude fan the flame of our light and we feel embraced in the Light and Love of God.
Blessings, Rev Janice
