One of the things I absolutely love about Christmas is how it brings people together. Christmas calls our children home, our friends and families together, and inspires us to open our hearts to those in need. It cheerfully beckons us to bundle up, hold the hand of a child and line the streets to watch the Santa Claus parade. Christmas draws us back to church to celebrate our faith, and has us gather together as co-workers, friends and strangers to celebrate the season and put the jolly in Christmas. All around the world Christmas connects people in a joyful, spiritual way! It seems as if our souls wake up during the festive season and we are drawn into the Christmas spirit, a spirit that reminds us that the most precious gift we can give, is being "present" for one another.
In the past I have worried more about what I would get everyone, than appreciate the time I would share with them. Older, (it has it's gifts) I am now very mindful of how precious it is to be with the people I love. I suppose it's not all that surprising, since the heart of spirituality is connection.
It is interesting to note that even though we often feel a spiritual connection to nature, it seems we seldom experience the spiritual nature of our connection with one another, the recognition of each others innate loving kindness, imperfections, and similarities ... the recognition that we are all part of the same beautiful miracle. The understanding that we are all equal.
For this reason it seems to me that Christmas is a gift in itself, for it becomes our opportunity to connect to something bigger than ourselves, something that, in it's own miraculous way, unites us with each other.
So this Christmas I hope you are able to enjoy and appreciate spending time with the people you love. I hope you see deeply into the hearts of those around you and whether it be family, friend, or stranger, I hope that you are compelled to reach out and show compassion. It can be as simple as inviting someone to share the day, a visit to someone, lending a listening ear, or letting go of judgement.
I hope you see that we are the Christmas spirit...our kindness, our joy, our compassion is spirit recognising spirit and answering with love... Merry Christmas everyone!!
The spirit of Christmas
lies within each of our hearts
and comes alive
when we see our humanity in one other
and become a little kinder,
a little more tolerant,
more joyful and loving,
a little more of who we really are..
a little more tolerant,
more joyful and loving,
a little more of who we really are..
pb
