This Christmas, we will celebrate as we always do; with food and friendship and family. We will open our doors and our hearts and invite the spirit of the season to join us as we share our offerings and our table. We’ll be grateful and reflect on our blessings; we are together, we are here, we are home.
And this year, once again, while we won’t be opening gifts, I will be opening my present…the present. This year I am going to make every effort, to stay in the moment, each individual moment, and to be fully awake and conscious in that moment, focused on the present; not distracted, not looking forward, not reaching back.
I am going to plan as I always do, for the extra people, and the special activities and events that come with this very busy time of year. I will think about bringing in extra provisions, baking some delicious foods, and stocking up on firewood and candles, treats and trimmings and I will look forward to impromptu visits and opportunities for community connections.
But I am going to try harder to slow right down, to stay calm amid the chaos, to see what’s just in front of me, rather than looking down the road. I am going to try and not anticipate the next menu, the next activity, the next day. I am going to make an effort to stay in the here and now, concentrate on the feelings that are being felt right now, on the conversations being spoken now, on the music and the moment, right now.
I am going to listen intently to the stories, relax into the Christmas movies, accept what is not done, what may not happen, what was forgotten or what can’t be changed. I am going to work on acceptance, rather than anticipation, on staying grounded and grateful, in this moment of time, where I am and with whom I am with, knowing that this moment is all I really have for sure. I am going to sink down into what it feels like to be Christmas, that warm and wonderful feeling of peace, that is all about leaving behind what doesn’t serve me, and leaning into what does; living and loving in the present.
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