Day 226
Somewhere around 8 or 9 PM on December 25th, we'll look around us, and realize it's all over.
We'll see the wrapping paper crammed into garbage bags, the presents tossed beneath the tree, and the snow falling softly outside the window (I like to dream). It'll all be over, just like that. All the card writing, all the decorating, all the wrapping, and even all the unwrapping. All of it will just be done, gone, finished, tossed aside like those cards, presents, and wrapping paper. And that's when we'll remember. We'll remember that it was never about the cards, the gifts, or the decorations anyway. It was all, always, about the magic of the season.
The holiday--holy day--began with a little baby born in a stable, and though there were gifts presented him that day, the gifts or their bearers were hardly the center of attention, the reason for the season. It was, and always will be, about the child, and the miracle that brought him here to begin with. As we go through these hurried last two weeks before Christmas, we need to remember this. We need to remember the spirit and love of the day, and less the hoopla and stress.
Most of all, we need to spend every day now these last two weeks in joyful appreciation for the magic and beauty of the season. In every exchange of gifts and every exchange of smiles and hugs, we reclaim the magic for ourselves, and we joyfully forget about all the work we had to do along the way. So join me, will you? We'll make this pact together. Let's make a conscious choice to not wrap ourselves up in stress. Instead, let's spend each new day unwrapping more and more of the Christmas spirit. It's the gift that comes completely free, without stress of any kind, and doesn't even need to be wrapped. This whole Christmas season is the gift you're hoping to get, and it can be yours even before Christmas if you just slow down, and truly appreciate all the beautiful moments.
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