Want to Keep the Holiday Spirit Alive?
What is it about the Christmas season that makes everything seem better?
Beyond any personal spiritual meaning, I have found there is more depth to the season than just exchanging gifts, decorating our homes, and indulging in decadent treats! As with everything in life, the season also comes ready to teach us.
Here are seven things we can learn from the season and carry through the rest of our days beyond December 25th:
Always have something to look forward to and relish the anticipation! Christmas creates the perfect picture of this – especially Christmas Eve. In his book The In-Between, author Jeff Goins has said that the lesson he learned from Christmas is that all magic requires an element of waiting.
Engage all the senses to create memorable experiences. Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch! It’s all there for a holiday, and we need to engage those together far more than we do. Pairing things together that engage multiple senses makes what we’re doing far more memorable. Have you ever heard a song, and it takes you right back to a time and place? You see – it’s not just Christmas! The same with scents. A favorite perfume, the smell of baking. Whatever it is that is part of the memory isn’t an accident. It’s how we operate.
Take time for family and friends. Not just in the moment, but on our calendars. Make plans to be together and honor those commitments. The pandemic has made this challenging because of many restrictions, especially where families are scattered. But technology has made it possible to stay connected at least virtually. Plan video call dates! My granddaughters (Alaska) and I (Texas) have a standing FaceTime call every Monday evening. I look forward to it all week, and they do, too. I remember my Mom having a standing “date” via a phone call with one of her brothers for many years. Staying close and connected matters.
Honor our ancestry and those no longer with us with continued traditions. We all have a heritage that should be honored. We miss those not with us every day, of course. But let’s have a way to honor them, too. But not just those we’ve known and now miss. Let’s extend it to those we never knew but still owe a debt of gratitude to for what they made possible for us. We often hear the older generations reminisce over holiday get-togethers. Let’s make that more of a practice and ask them to share more of those memories.
Remember, we are neighbors and practice kindness. So easy to do. And needed so much.
Enjoy giving and receiving with those we love and beyond. We often think about charities over the holidays and help make sure as many children as possible have gifts to open. But those children need help throughout the year, too. It is the same with so many in our communities. So, when something good happens, let’s all resolve to use that to make something good happen in the world, as well.
The power of believing! We learned this one as a child, but it seems to fade over time. We need to return to that incredible place where deep within us, we believe! A favorite new book for me is Tracking Wonder by Jeffrey Davis.
Ready to join me? Imagine a life where we carry all these lessons forward with us.
Imagine how much deeper and fulfilling our lives would be and better our world would be.
Imagine! Then let’s do it.
