I just finished reading Laura Munson's blog on Huff Post titled "Oh Holy Night."http://huff.to/VDtbUk My first thought was one of ....relief? Yep. For all of her cynicism, I found Laura's column refreshing. The type of refreshing I would equate to the first breath of cold evening air after sitting in a muggy over crowded auditorium for the school holiday program. Although her article may be construed as depressing, I openly admit to agreeing and nodding to many of Laura's sentiments. Alas, I must also be an "embittered middle aged woman." By December 1st I am feeling a little panicked as many people have purchased their Christmas tree, decorated their house and their Christmas cards are in the mail (I know because I'm starting to receive them.) Christmas is forced upon us. It's the age of consumerism with the media acting as manic cheerleaders urging us to buy, get, do. Not to mention the underlying tone of competitiveness that is deeply rooted in our society. "Does the neighbor have their lights on outside already!"
If you rebel and wait and take your time, determined to not rush like everyone else, then beware. Before you know it you are half way there. It's December 13th and quite honestly, I have no idea how we got here so quickly. It can be overwhelming and feel empty while we rush around trying to feel the spirit of Christmas. I get it and I hear you. Thank you for pointing out what many probably feel but won't say or maybe they don't know how to put it into words.
Here's my flip side to all of this. It's up to us to find our own pace and peace. I firmly believe that God works in mysterious ways. So sometimes we just have to wait it out. Slow down. Change things up and see what happens. No one can force us to feel spiritual and I think that is Laura's point. So how do we get there? There is nothing wrong with slowing down and doing things differently. Last year, I sent out an electronic Christmas card. I know most of my friends were thinking "slacker!" but I just didn't care. We had just made a difficult move to California and I didn't have it in me to do the Christmas card thing. Yep. I took the easy way out and figured going green and saving some paper along the way was the right thing for me to do. It brought peace to my life and that felt good. One thing at a time. I like that last sentence that Laura writes "and I'll believe in it for now." I hope so because it is supposed to be about faith and hope and love. Sometimes we get burnt out and all we can do is hold onto that belief and wait it out. I am seeing that Christmas is taking on an entirely new meaning for me as I get older. All of the external feel good parts of Christmas don't hold the same meaning as they used to and perhaps they are not supposed to. We go through the motions sometimes just for our kids sake because it is still magical for them. What happens when the kids stop believing in Santa and they let go of some of the magic that they have clung to for so many years? That does make a mother hurt. The traditions we treasure like decorating the tree are still enjoyable but sometimes it just feels like our actions are empty. The sacred part of Christmas is an internal, personal experience, our yearning for that feeling means we need to take some time to contemplate the true meaning of Christmas-reflecting on our faith, Christ and what it means to us. The holy moments typically come in and through the people who we cherish, our family and close friends. And sometimes we experience holy moments through a complete stranger-in their actions or words. I believe these moments are even more magical and sacred because we see that God is acting through all of us, even people we don't know. We can't force these moments to happen but inevitably they show up and when they do, it is refreshing, sort of like a breath of fresh air:-)
No comments:
Post a Comment