December 21st, 2015
It is really very simple. If you want to enjoy Christmas then go ahead and enjoy it. If you want to complain about greed and materialism and people’s attitudes then you don’t really want to enjoy Christmas.
Sure, there’s traffic and crowds and stressed out people but there is also expectant children. There is also the chance for many people to say “Look, I know this year has been tough but I want to take this opportunity to show you that I care”.
And really that’s what Christmas gives us. It gives us an opportunity. It gives us a chance to celebrate something. It gives us a chance to give a gift in return for support given. It gives us a chance for a couple of weeks to decorate where we live with some of the colors and ornaments that make us happy.
Yes, there is a religious message too at this time of year. It is a message of light and love. It is the light of the Star of Bethlehem. It is the lights of Diwali. It is the Hanukah lights. It is the increasing daylight that comes with the Solstice. It is the lights on the tree in Rockefeller Center. It is the light of the dinner candles in countless homes as family and friends gather for a holiday feast. It is, at its very core, the light within each of us.
In a few hours THE day will arrive. Can you rise to the occasion? Can you see the light in the hearts around you? Can you feel the light within you. You should, it’s the first gift you ever received.
Have a wonderful Christmas but before it comes please decide whether you are going to celebrate or criticize this occasion. You can’t do both and right now I do believe that this world has more than enough critics. Go ahead, be the rare one. Be the one who celebrates light and love unconditionally and if you do, my door and my heart is always open to you. Merry Christmas.
Patrick McBride’s Sundrops On Life