December 19, 2014 Chautauqua

Beth's Ponderings

   Without taking the time to celebrate how we are showing up in the world, we starve our hearts of acknowledgement.  Without pausing to celebrate, we continue to pile up things on our ‘to do’ list, thinking we haven’t done enough.  This is exactly how many of us create that sense of perpetual busyness, with no deeper sense of meaning for our efforts.  Celebration, on the other hand, allows us to stop and enjoy what we have accomplished.  It gives us that sense that we have made progress.  We are moving forward.   - Linda McLean

  We are right smack dab in the middle of one of the biggest celebration times of our year.  

   Are you celebrating?  

   Or are you frantically bustling about cramming your schedule full of activities, buying countless presents, attempting to re-create every Christmas tradition you had growing up (or wished you’d had growing up), and generally wearing yourself to an emotional and mental frazzle?

   Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace, of quiet reflection, of love, kindness and goodwill to others.  But all too often it isn’t.

   Could it be because we are trying to make Christmas into something it isn’t really supposed to be?

   As the quote above references, we tend to fail to celebrate the smaller, daily moments, so when a big celebration comes up on the calendar, we tend to burden it with all our unacknowledged baggage, hoping that “this year will be different” and it usually isn’t.

   Celebrating doesn’t have to be complicated or elaborate.  All you need to do is take a moment and say thank you for waking up this morning.  Even if you aren’t where you think you should be in your life, you can still say thank you that you have the strength you need to get through whatever comes your way.

And, by taking the time to celebrate the smaller things, you’ll be able to enjoy celebrating the bigger occasions, such as Christmas, with your family and friends, because what true celebration would be complete without some good food and fellowship involved?  Merry Christmas!

Beth

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