So what is left to be said this holiday season, 2011, that hasn’t been said a million times, a million ways, already?
Probably very little. Yet, I have one observation to share … one more holiday thought … to pass on before we say good-bye to Christmas, welcome the new year.
Charles Dickens seems to have captured the season brilliantly back in 1843 with A Christmas Carol. In terms of the human condition and social dynamics, probably not much has changed in any substantial kind of way. Life is still about disparate resources, good times and bad, present, past and future, and musings about the afterlife.
Most certainly, it’s still about awakening, in the spiritual sense, to more than meets the eye.
On Christmas day Tiny Tim sings about “this beautiful winter’s morning” in the musical version of A Christmas Carol starring Albert Finney as Scrooge. Despite his health problems, Tim seems to value the importance of beauty that is beyond our full understanding in the mortal sense. He seems to understand that life itself is beautiful regardless of external conditions. Scrooge, in contrast, only sees what is right in front of him … in a very limited sense … and chooses to focus on an external world that is always slipping through our fingers … no matter our age or overall situation in life.
Life is made of ever so many partings welded together.
~ Charles Dickens
So let us not cling too tightly to this beautiful winter’s morning, because part of its beauty is its fleeting nature. We can’t catch it. We can only be fully present in the moment — instead of feeling lost in the past or rushing to find the future that doesn’t exist. And that, truly, is enough.
It’s easy to get lost in the endless layers of holiday customs and bizarre emotional expectations this time of year, but our full appreciation for a beautiful winter’s morning is more true to our spiritual needs — and definitely more life enhancing than any number of gifts purchased from a store.
Sound too simple?
There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth. ~ Charles Dickens
Let the beauty of a winter’s morning connect with your inner spirit. Let it be enough. And, most of all, let it give you peace. While others may bemoan your seemingly simple process, your contentment with something only nature can provide, the truth always lies within. Besides, your leadership may be a catalyst for change — for freedom from cultural mandates of what is “jolly” and what is not.
Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do it well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself completely; in great aims and in small I have always thoroughly been in earnest. ~ Charles Dickens
Not needing all of the external trappings of the season is liberating. Not being out of step with your spiritual dimension is important. Not feeling pressured to behave like a child who is dependent on “things” to make Christmas day exciting, is wonderfully normal. Settle in with the priceless gift of knowing what is real and what isn’t.
Following a group mindset is a poor substitute for authentic behavior, as is looking for emotional connection with people one day out of the year by buying them something.
We forge the chains we wear in life. ~ Charles Dickens
Wishing you all a beautiful winter’s morning!
Blog posts by DazyDayWriter @ work in SunnyRoomStudio: all rights reserved.
