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Today's
quotation:
Christmas
reminds us we are not alone. We are not unrelated atoms, jouncing
and ricocheting amid aliens, but are a part of something, which holds and
sustains us. As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations,
compounded by December's bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there
are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom
we are worth the same. Christmas shows us the ties that bind us
together, threads of love and caring, woven in the simplest and strongest
way within the family.
Donald E. Westlake
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Today's
Meditation:
It's
so important to keep focused on the reasons for which
we're truly doing things. In the case of Christmas,
we do most of what we do because, as Donald says,
"there are people in our lives who are worth this
aggravation."
Christmas
truly is about other people in our lives. It's our
culture's call to focus on the needs and wants of others
for a short time, a call to focus on generosity more than
on getting, a call to share all that we are rather than
keeping everything to ourselves. It also opens our
minds and hearts to see that our "family"
consists of much more than we think it does, many more
people than those who were born into the same genetic pool
as we were. During this time more than any other
time of the year, we're very aware of the people who are
"alone" in this world, and it's important to us
to invite people who don't have anyone to share the
holiday with over to share it with us.
We
definitely need other people in our lives, and we need
them not just for what they can give to us, but also for
what we can give to them. We all need to be able to
give to others if we're to be fulfilled in life, and this
holiday provides us with a glimpse of just what it feels
like to give unconditionally.
The
trick, though, is to try not to forget that feeling as the
holiday fades into the past, for when we forget the
lessons that Christmas brings us, or even when we let them slip
into the background of our lives, the rest of our year
becomes crowded with the need to get, and we forget the
power of giving that allows us to feel good about
ourselves as we share the love and caring with the people
with whom we share this planet. If we can keep alive
the memory of the power of giving, we'll realize that this
is the power that can most help us to lead happy, healthy,
useful lives during the time that we spend here.
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