We celebrate a time so far in the past, that the majority of the people in the country celebrating this holiday season are probably not even aware of where the holiday came from - why we have it - what we are supposed to be celebrating and on and on and on...and we get caught up in the frenzy of some marketed holiday spirit that has no direct connection to the holiday itself.
I have to admit, that I have often hated the holiday season. It always reminded me of what I don't have... money-time-treasures to acquire those marketed holiday spirit products. And for many people, the anxiety, stress and pain comes from those three basic concerns that many of us carry, not only during the holiday season, but through our lives. It has become the primary focus in so many parts of society and stays all through the year - but it is magnified during the holiday season - a time of year that should be less anxious, stressful and painless - where we should be looking for the source of why we celebrate.
So how do we float safely on a turbulent lake and not fall overboard? Easy! Well.... not necessarily... but possible for sure!
For me, it started a few years ago - the process, that is, started years ago. The message came from my sister. She loves the holidays and all the trimmings - the shopping, decorations, food, colors, lights, and so on. She said to me one year, as I expressed a very hostile attitude towards getting ready for the holiday (which is never easy on a dancers budget and time line), ... "just go with it". And I replied 'how do you do it?' And in the conversation that followed what I learned and earned was the simple solution of ... ' If you can't beat'em, join'em'.
For me, 'join'em' didn't mean throw all woes into the air and let go of the landing, spend money, take time off from work and show off all your treasures, because the reality is that I don't carry a big old bag of money-time-treasures. 'Join'em' meant for me to enjoy the joys of others, like my sister, who truly walks the road called 'joyful holiday lane'. Now as sad as it may seem, enjoying other's joy is not sad. What I found monumentally changed my attitude. I was able to look at the decorations on the houses and feel the excitement that I imagined the kids and family members were having placing the lights on the trees outside and in their homes. I was able to watch people hurriedly move through the stores searching for perfect gifts for their family and friends and I was able to feel the change in the overall community where ignoring reality was OK - temporarily - and for the purpose of finding joy.
For all those that find the joy, there are those that find the pain. This is where I get confused and cycle back to the entire frustrated situation of why we do what we do for the holidays. I want to find the original emotion that created this holiday season. And sometimes I feel, even for those that are 'full of joy' during the season, that they may be even more 'full of joy', if at some point in the day - just one minute amongst the millions of minutes that make the holiday season, that they get a gleam of what the source of the emotion was that created this season. This source is where the emotion came from to become 'the season to be jolly'.
My wish.
My wish is for everyone to have some Divine Experience - one minute. This 'Divine Minute' will last for ever. And it could transform one's life.
Wow... so many religions, philosophies and mindsets have gone into what we call the holiday season. It is not just a Christian thing, a Jewish thing, Kwanza, or (fill in your belief system here). It is something that grew out of the need in all those religions, philosophies and mindsets to celebrate love, life and 'life together as one'.
It appears with many names. It has been transformed over many years - thousands of years. It searches for unity among us all. During this season, we all feel that we should love one another, stop war, smile at everyone on the street and even cheer a 'Merry Christmas' to someone and think.."Was that politically incorrect?"
But we say it anyway, because deep down inside we know it is right to smile and pass on a greeting!
My wish for the holiday season is that all of my friends, my family and the all the people in the world can find a 'Divne Minute'. Intuitively, in your Divine Minute, you can feel its origin, so ancient yet so contemporary, and be blessed.
Breathe Deep and Walk Slow is a slogan I have said for years. I am tested these days as I participate in classes with ChIMe, trying to live mindfully each day and being aware of my walk. Not to go to fast, and not to sit down and wait... and always in every moment of the day to 'Breathe Deep while Walking Slow.
And there's so much more unsaid, untyped, unprepared for my blog - but I breathe deep and walk slow.
As for these little condiments that accompany our holiday feast...
Anxiety - Stress - Pain = What do these do for us?
Money - Time - Treasures = How do we define these things? as positive or as negative?
Breathe Deep - Walk Slow - Divine Minute = Can we do this daily?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic. For me, the main problem with this holiday season is that we have allowed the mass marketing machine to define for us how we should look, give, and feel and that system creates expectations that have no basis in anyone's reality, or in the true meaning of the season. We then arrive at the end of the holiday season exhausted and disappointed because the peak experience we desired was not created by stuff, and in the meantime, we ignored the things that might create that peak experience, such as giving to the needy or caring for the sick.
ReplyDeleteI had a giggle when I read your comment about not going too fast or just sitting down. Jimmy Buffet, who is quite a philosopher in his own way, has a song lyric that runs "Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see. Moderation seems to be the key." This seems to work for me.
Blessings to all,
Mary