Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A Simple Christmas


Countless times I have stood at the end of December feeling like the season of peace has been anything but. The weeks again ticked by in a blur of presents, parties, programs, obligation and I’m breathless from the whir of it all. Shiny new toys chosen with such deliberation, sprawl discarded. Dreams of the perfect Christmas lie charred by greed, bloated by overindulgence. Somehow I've fallen prey to the glitzy promises of happiness splashed in glossy advertisements and smiley commercials.

It's exhausting.  Empty.  Wearying.  Anything meaningful has long ago been sucked dry. This celebration of LIFE has been obscured by mere plastic & paper. So I stand at the end of December, robbed of Christmas.

 I feel a quiet tug within me. Slow down.  Be still.  Savor.  Contemplate.  Listen to silence.  Make time for what matters and say no to the things that don't.  Slowly, I am learning.  Changing.  Over the years, my picture of Christmas has become different.

This month, I am writing a series of blog posts titled "A Simple Christmas".  Handmade gifts, recipes, moments of peace - easy ways to cut out the crazy in order to make room for the sacred.  I hope you will stop in often and maybe find some inspiration.  Here's to December.