A Christmas Gift
Christmas time is here. A time to spend with loved ones, a time of celebration, a time to remind ourselves of what truly matters in life. Times like these aren’t about the presents we give each other, items wrapped in paper. It is instead about returning to the present. Each moment is a gift, and during this time of year, we are called to accept the present that is the present moment. To be there fully as we enjoy time with our loved ones. To lay down the worries, forget the past, let the future be tomorrow, and just enjoy the experience of being together with the people who matter most.
The gift I give to myself this holiday season, is the gift of love. To accept fully who I am, where I am, and what I want and need. By giving this gift to myself, I both enjoy the experience within myself, and enable myself to give this to others. From this place, I can forgive the people who have hurt me. From this place, I can forgive myself for everything I have done wrong. I can accept that the path of life, that lead here, has revealed to me who I am. That the road is not straight, smooth, and flat. There is no need to reject the hills, the rocks, the bumps, and the turns.
Like so many others, I can look back and see all the places where things could have gone differently. I can see where I could have done better, had I only known then what I know now. Here’s the thing though; I didn’t know. The experiences that allow us to so thoroughly critique those past moments, we did not possess at that time. We cannot gain such a perspective without them. The gift I give myself is love. I accept that the past isn’t real anymore. I can love and accept myself, exactly as I am.
Having given myself the gift of love, I have also found my why. For the first time in my life, my why isn’t something outside of myself. I am my why. Life is my why. Everything that makes something alive, rather than dead, is my why. I don’t need anything else beyond that. The rest will come naturally.
Merry Christmas, dear reader. Enjoy life. Love. Accept what is. Be life, not waiting around to die, but instead, living fully.
