A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about being who you are. In it, I stated that those of us who are free need to be grateful for the choices we have to be who we are. Unlike my friends Marc and Louis, who have to be who they need to be to survive in prison and therefore don’t have that freedom of choice. This has sparked a healthy debate between Louis and myself, who has now pulled out of the blog, insisting he is who he is, and he doesn’t need me to make him seem better or worse. The same goes for his living conditions. They are what they are. I hope he’ll let me keep you updated on what’s going on in his life, and therefore mine, but as it stands now, I have to respect his request.
In Marc, my post has had the opposite effect. For him, it has sparked a period of self-reflection, and he’s written a couple of blog posts exploring that issue. I may post those eventually, but not today, as hoped, because we still have some issues to work out over content and context.
In the meantime, I have been looking at my own life, in light of recent posts encouraging people to reach out to others during this time of hardship and joy, which is what the holiday season is all about. I don’t understand the whole commercial Christmas phenomenon, and refuse to participate in it. Does this make me a Scrooge? Or does it just make me lazy? As I stated, I don’t decorate (I’d rather donate the time and money involved to charity) or bake (not into sugar, I think it’s toxic to our bodies) or go to parties (although I am gathering with my faith sharing group next week for some socializing and have a quiet dinner with friends planned for Christmas Eve).
This, to me, however, is as opposed to the people you get together with because you feel obligated to just because it’s Christmas. I truly enjoy the company of my faith sharing friends and look forward to an evening of visiting and catching up with their lives, since our weekly meetings are focused on scripture readings and prayer. I look forward to a Christmas Eve dinner in the company of my closest friends and family just as much.
I’m not running around in a frenzy, shopping my heart out, because I like to keep Christmas simple. Everyone I exchange gifts with has already received theirs. To me, the spirit of Christmas isn’t limited to a few weeks in December, but something I prefer to practice all year round. When I see a need, I do my best to fill it, all year long. This allows me to focus on what some call the reason for the season, and spend my time in reflection and prayer. I immerse myself in Advent, a period of self-reflection and joyful waiting for the coming of Christ, both literally, and in my daily life. It keeps me calm and grounded during a time beset with people running around frantically, driving like maniacs from store to store, literally pushing and shoving people out of the way, and getting more and more snarly by the minute.
This is supposed to be a season of joy and anticipation, and yet all I hear are grumblings about all that people have to do, aren’t getting done, don't have time to do, and how they wish Christmas would just be over and they can get back to their regular lives. It seems that somewhere along the way, we’ve lost the true meaning of Christmas, and it’s become just one more obstacle to get through in life.
This only makes me want to redouble my efforts to keep Christmas focused on Christ, and encourage others to do the same. But it’s hard, swimming against the tide of commercialism, and some days I feel like I’m living on the wrong planet, searching for an authenticity that seems extremely hard to find. I wish we could all just stop, take a deep breath, and think about what it is we really want to be doing right now. Think about what Christmas means to us as individuals, and how close or how far we are from achieving the peace and joy that Christmas symbolizes.
With that in mind today I’d like to ask my readers to take stock of what you have and what you hold dear, not just your families and friends and material possessions, but your truths and values as well, especially your truths and values, and redirect your energies in that direction if you find yourself off course. If you don’t even know where to begin, my best suggestion is to spend some quiet time with God, who will never lead you astray.
You can do this by attending services in whatever faith speaks to your heart, by reading whatever holy text or book on spirituality that does the same, or through simple meditation and contemplation, either in a place of worship, nature, or your own home. You can find a group or a friend to discuss it with, or do it on your own. Journaling is a wonderful way to bring things into perspective. I promise you it will be time well spent, and will bring you closer to who you want to be, versus who you may appear to be at the moment.
And that’s the first step toward leading a life of balance and authenticity, which I suspect all of us have a little trouble with this time of year, but which are the only things I’ve found that bring peace and joy into my heart. How can I not wish the same for everyone?
Peace be with you in this time of waiting, and in the blessed, blessed season of joy to follow.
In Marc, my post has had the opposite effect. For him, it has sparked a period of self-reflection, and he’s written a couple of blog posts exploring that issue. I may post those eventually, but not today, as hoped, because we still have some issues to work out over content and context.
In the meantime, I have been looking at my own life, in light of recent posts encouraging people to reach out to others during this time of hardship and joy, which is what the holiday season is all about. I don’t understand the whole commercial Christmas phenomenon, and refuse to participate in it. Does this make me a Scrooge? Or does it just make me lazy? As I stated, I don’t decorate (I’d rather donate the time and money involved to charity) or bake (not into sugar, I think it’s toxic to our bodies) or go to parties (although I am gathering with my faith sharing group next week for some socializing and have a quiet dinner with friends planned for Christmas Eve).
This, to me, however, is as opposed to the people you get together with because you feel obligated to just because it’s Christmas. I truly enjoy the company of my faith sharing friends and look forward to an evening of visiting and catching up with their lives, since our weekly meetings are focused on scripture readings and prayer. I look forward to a Christmas Eve dinner in the company of my closest friends and family just as much.
I’m not running around in a frenzy, shopping my heart out, because I like to keep Christmas simple. Everyone I exchange gifts with has already received theirs. To me, the spirit of Christmas isn’t limited to a few weeks in December, but something I prefer to practice all year round. When I see a need, I do my best to fill it, all year long. This allows me to focus on what some call the reason for the season, and spend my time in reflection and prayer. I immerse myself in Advent, a period of self-reflection and joyful waiting for the coming of Christ, both literally, and in my daily life. It keeps me calm and grounded during a time beset with people running around frantically, driving like maniacs from store to store, literally pushing and shoving people out of the way, and getting more and more snarly by the minute.
This is supposed to be a season of joy and anticipation, and yet all I hear are grumblings about all that people have to do, aren’t getting done, don't have time to do, and how they wish Christmas would just be over and they can get back to their regular lives. It seems that somewhere along the way, we’ve lost the true meaning of Christmas, and it’s become just one more obstacle to get through in life.
This only makes me want to redouble my efforts to keep Christmas focused on Christ, and encourage others to do the same. But it’s hard, swimming against the tide of commercialism, and some days I feel like I’m living on the wrong planet, searching for an authenticity that seems extremely hard to find. I wish we could all just stop, take a deep breath, and think about what it is we really want to be doing right now. Think about what Christmas means to us as individuals, and how close or how far we are from achieving the peace and joy that Christmas symbolizes.
With that in mind today I’d like to ask my readers to take stock of what you have and what you hold dear, not just your families and friends and material possessions, but your truths and values as well, especially your truths and values, and redirect your energies in that direction if you find yourself off course. If you don’t even know where to begin, my best suggestion is to spend some quiet time with God, who will never lead you astray.
You can do this by attending services in whatever faith speaks to your heart, by reading whatever holy text or book on spirituality that does the same, or through simple meditation and contemplation, either in a place of worship, nature, or your own home. You can find a group or a friend to discuss it with, or do it on your own. Journaling is a wonderful way to bring things into perspective. I promise you it will be time well spent, and will bring you closer to who you want to be, versus who you may appear to be at the moment.
And that’s the first step toward leading a life of balance and authenticity, which I suspect all of us have a little trouble with this time of year, but which are the only things I’ve found that bring peace and joy into my heart. How can I not wish the same for everyone?
Peace be with you in this time of waiting, and in the blessed, blessed season of joy to follow.
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