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I cherish the days leading up to and culminating on Christmas Day. While some people see those days as frenzy-filled and crazy, I see them as magical and transformational. It's when strangers turn into kindred souls who seem to find one another in the shopping malls, on the highways and, yes, even the Post Office...and they manage to effortlessly treat one another with loving kindness and respect. During those few days kids seem to play better together and neighbors are more friendly as well. Even in our own homes we tend to find more cooperation and harmony than most other times of the year. There is something about Christmas that seems to bring out the best in most of us. What is this "something" that brings out the best in us...what is it that calls us to the higher ground of our humanity during the Christmas season?
The answer is clearly love. During the Christmas season love seems to live closer to the surface of our lives. Love seems more accessible at this time of year and it is easier to give and receive when we are open to the experience. This is when we enter the Christmas of the heart which is the doorway that leads to our deepest self. The gift-giving, bright lights, great food and festive music no doubt may help stimulate good feelings, but it is the love that ascends from that quiet place within our deepest self that brings out the best in us. That deepest self is the point within where our humanity dissolves into our divinity--our oneness with God. When we are conscious of our deepest self Christmas becomes a sacred remembrance of who and what is truly important. As a result, we treat ourselves and others with more respect and compassion and with a generosity of spirit that makes life rich far beyond any material gifts given. Because of the Christmas of the heart, selflessness replaces selfishness, "we" becomes more important than "me", and the day brings with it a stillness and inner peace that transcends all human understanding.
I have often wondered what it would be like if we could celebrate Christmas every day of the year. Can you imagine your life, your home and your world with that much love, kindness, generosity, forgiveness, peace and joy? Over 2,000 years ago someone did imagine those possibilities. I close with another quote from the book, Because of Christmas, written by one of my mentors and old friend Marcus Bach. "Someday a special genius will come along with a plan, a system, and a technique for extending the super-normal magic of the day into weeks and months and eventually into a year, bridging the gap from Christmas to Christmas until we say, 'Why didn't someone think of this long time ago?' The truth is, Someone did, but apparently He made it too simple. From the humble setting of a manger He merely asked us to remember that God is real and life is good."
And so it is.
Peace,
Dennis Merritt Jones
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