First, Merry Christmas!
Second, to the thousands of readers who don't celebrate
Christmas, my very best wishes for peace, joy, health, happiness and
abundance in the months ahead! If you celebrate a different holiday,
celebrate it with joy! And, if you would, please light a candle or send
good thoughts on my behalf.
I've never sent a special holiday TIPS before, but this year it seems like the right thing to do. So, here we go! (Sometimes you just gotta play a hunch and see what happens!)
The world seems especially cranky this year. I don't know why, exactly. And, maybe I'm just getting old and cranky myself, and rather than admit that it's just me, I'd rather blame "the world" for being irritable and easily upset. If it's just me, please send prayers and all the positive energy you can! I obviously need it!
But if our world does seem more anxious, more stressed and more divided, I hope you'll join me in pausing for a moment. Let's all take a deep breath, shake out the tension and perhaps share a smile with someone. (Oh, heck, be daring! Why not go all-in and actually offer a hug to someone! What can it hurt???)
I don't pretend to have answers for the dozens of wars around the world. Sometimes I'm not even sure I have suggestions. Not to mention the "political" wars that are less bloody, but seem almost as divisive and certainly as noisy. And then there are all the folks with real worries about their family, their jobs, their homes and their health. When you add it up, our small planet is carrying quite a load!
As I say, I don't pretend to have the answers, but I do celebrate Christmas. And I do it partly for selfish reasons—I love the fellowship, the traditions, the food, the family, the lights and of course, the music. But, I also celebrate this holiday for more important reasons.
There's a wonderful story about some Americans and Germans stumbling across each other during the Battle of the Bulge, on Christmas Eve, 1944. In one of the most ferocious battles of the war, they found a way to share a warm hut, enjoy some food and good music, and not kill each other. What a thought!
So here's my request. (Actually I have two of them.) Over the next few days, look for a way to do something kind or nice or friendly for someone, for no particular reason. Let someone else have the parking spot, or put a coin in someone's expired parking meter. Open a door for someone. Help someone with their packages or shovel someone's side-walk. Send a check to your favorite charity. Whatever feels right and makes sense, have fun with it.
My second request is similar, but more selfish. Do something kind or nice for yourself, for no particular reason. You carry enough stress! You do for others, now do something selfish and wonderful for yourself. Take a nap. Rent a good movie and watch it with a friend. Buy flowers for yourself. Or, here's a good one, bake cookies and eat the first few while they're warm and before anyone else gets home!
There are many reasons to celebrate Christmas, but this year, in particular, I'd like to see our celebrations include a few moments of kindness and generosity toward ourselves and toward others. Wouldn't it be interesting if by just being nice and having a little fun, we could actually create a bit of "peace on earth, goodwill toward all?" I think that would be pretty cool!
Blessings to each of you!
I've never sent a special holiday TIPS before, but this year it seems like the right thing to do. So, here we go! (Sometimes you just gotta play a hunch and see what happens!)
The world seems especially cranky this year. I don't know why, exactly. And, maybe I'm just getting old and cranky myself, and rather than admit that it's just me, I'd rather blame "the world" for being irritable and easily upset. If it's just me, please send prayers and all the positive energy you can! I obviously need it!
But if our world does seem more anxious, more stressed and more divided, I hope you'll join me in pausing for a moment. Let's all take a deep breath, shake out the tension and perhaps share a smile with someone. (Oh, heck, be daring! Why not go all-in and actually offer a hug to someone! What can it hurt???)
I don't pretend to have answers for the dozens of wars around the world. Sometimes I'm not even sure I have suggestions. Not to mention the "political" wars that are less bloody, but seem almost as divisive and certainly as noisy. And then there are all the folks with real worries about their family, their jobs, their homes and their health. When you add it up, our small planet is carrying quite a load!
As I say, I don't pretend to have the answers, but I do celebrate Christmas. And I do it partly for selfish reasons—I love the fellowship, the traditions, the food, the family, the lights and of course, the music. But, I also celebrate this holiday for more important reasons.
There's a wonderful story about some Americans and Germans stumbling across each other during the Battle of the Bulge, on Christmas Eve, 1944. In one of the most ferocious battles of the war, they found a way to share a warm hut, enjoy some food and good music, and not kill each other. What a thought!
So here's my request. (Actually I have two of them.) Over the next few days, look for a way to do something kind or nice or friendly for someone, for no particular reason. Let someone else have the parking spot, or put a coin in someone's expired parking meter. Open a door for someone. Help someone with their packages or shovel someone's side-walk. Send a check to your favorite charity. Whatever feels right and makes sense, have fun with it.
My second request is similar, but more selfish. Do something kind or nice for yourself, for no particular reason. You carry enough stress! You do for others, now do something selfish and wonderful for yourself. Take a nap. Rent a good movie and watch it with a friend. Buy flowers for yourself. Or, here's a good one, bake cookies and eat the first few while they're warm and before anyone else gets home!
There are many reasons to celebrate Christmas, but this year, in particular, I'd like to see our celebrations include a few moments of kindness and generosity toward ourselves and toward others. Wouldn't it be interesting if by just being nice and having a little fun, we could actually create a bit of "peace on earth, goodwill toward all?" I think that would be pretty cool!
Blessings to each of you!
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