Today's
quotation:
Christmas--that magic blanket that wraps
itself
about us,
that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.
It may
weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day
of feasting,
or of prayer, but
always it will be a day of remembrance-- a day in
which we think of everything we have ever loved.
Augusta E. Rundel
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Today's
Meditation:
"That
magic blanket that wraps itself about us"--this is a
beautiful metaphor for one of the most special seasons any
of us ever will experience. The fact is that
Christmas does, indeed, remind us of those things we love
and have loved, those parts of our lives that are and that
have been special to us. If we can but open our
hearts to the spirit of this season, then we can add to
our lives a beautiful feeling of peace, love, and
hope. If we cannot open our hearts to the season,
though, we doom ourselves to going through the motions
with little real feeling, little true appreciation.
Christmas
is about feeling. This season, more than any other,
encourages us to think about others and to do for others,
to share our bounty and to receive of the bounty of
others. And when we do this, then Christmas can wrap
itself around us with its comfort and the memories that it
brings us of Christmases gone by, and the giving and
sharing that we've witnessed on those days.
Not
everyone has the same positive memories, but if we find
ourselves struggling to find the joy in Christmas, we
ought to keep in mind that bad feelings at Christmas do
not come from the season itself, but from other
people. Not everyone appreciates the beauty of the
holiday, and the fact is that not everyone celebrates the
day. But no matter how other people act, it still is
possible for us to think of everything we have ever loved
and keep ourselves wrapped in the magical blanket that
keeps us feeling more peace, more love, and more
acceptance in this world that so often keeps us focused on
so many other things.
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For further
thought:
And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice
cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: how could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
It came without packages, boxes or bags!
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store?
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!
Dr. Seuss
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
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