My Christmas Wish for All

It is the final countdown! I have continued my Christmas tradition of not being ready with Christmas cards (every year I swear I will start in July, in 2017 I will target June). I am also struggling with the hardest question of the year, “What do you want for Christmas?” When I was a child, that question was easy. All I had to do was watch Disney and dream of getting a Zorro sword with a piece of chalk on the end, or a genuine imitation Davey Crocket coonskin cap. Now, it feels like the passage of time has complicated my mind. I am really no longer interested in stuff. So today, I am offering up my Christmas list: a list that I wish for myself, and for you as well.

SILENCE

I remember Christmas Eve when I was growing up in Queens, NY. After midnight mass, (which actually started at midnight) I would leave Church and be greeted by a silence so quiet that it was deafening. I would look around at one of the busiest cities in the world and be amazed at the stillness. I wish for all of us the gift of “living in the moment” to embrace the now, without pollution from the past or fear of the future.

MEMORIES

I have had some wonderful Christmas times when everything was perfect; it was as if Hallmark wrote the script. I have had others that have been marred by the loss of a loved one, family problems or unemployment. There are times that I look back and laugh, such as when my father opened a bottle of champagne and the cork shattered the lamp hanging over the Christmas feast. There are times I struggled with loneliness even in the midst of family and friends. Good or bad, those memories are what make you the unique individual that you have become. Acknowledge them and create meaningful new ones.

GRATITUDE

Remember the famous chant, “Be thankful for what you have; millions in this world would love to trade places with you!” Be honest, as kids or teens we sat there and thought we had it tougher than any other human in existence. As adults, we get so wrapped up in what society says we need that we create our own worries and we forget gratitude. We get angry at the bills or the problems at work that we fail to realize how blessed we are. Look at the plight of the millions of families throughout the world whose parents cannot even give their children the opportunity to feel safe or well fed.   We do not know the depth of their anguish and they cannot fathom the blessings that we take for granted. Grandma was right, BE THANKFUL

Finally, use the silence, memories and gratitude to rejuvenate your spirit. Ask for guidance from your God or Higher Power to rediscover your humanity and the true purpose that you have in this world.

MERRY CHRISTMAS