The Christmas season is a very busy time of the year for a lot of people (especially if you work at a weekly newspaper and is working on two editions at the same time; I literally forgot to eat dinner last night).
People are busy putting up Christmas lights, decorating their Christmas trees and making sure they bought everything they needed for their Christmas dinner. More importantly, people are out buying the perfect gift for their loved ones – the latest iPad, iPhone, or Justin Bieber’s album (I won’t reveal which one of my co-workers asked me for it).
In midst of Christmas season madness, it’s incredibly easy to stress yourself out. It’s also easy to lose sight of why we’re doing all this in the first place.
Most people I know will only relax after they’re finally sitting with everyone around the Christmas table (and having lots of caipirinhas, if we’re talking about my family).
So I discovered one thing that works really well for me around this time of the year (and I’m willing to share this secret because it’s Christmas). I am talking about gratitude.
We can all be grateful that we made it to another Christmas (and if you’re reading this editorial, you most certainly have).
I also realize that Christmas is not a joyful moment for many people as it can bring memories of those who are no longer with us. And for those people who have lost someone special, I also wish them gratitude – be grateful that you had that person in your life for as long as you had. Be grateful that you had their love, even if it wasn’t for as long as you had hoped. You can still send them light and love, wherever they are.
And isn’t that what Christmas is all about? - being grateful for what you have, and feeling that you have enough – enough love, enough joy, enough to be thankful for.
What I know for sure is that you don’t need to be Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie to see the abundance in your life (are they still together by the way? I had no time to Google it). Things happen in your life for a reason, and you can be grateful once you find their lesson.
I spent most of 2015 impatiently waiting for Canada’s immigration system to make me a permanent resident so I could go back to Burns Lake. But this week, I will set that aside, and I will be grateful that life brought me home for Christmas.
Yes, my family drives me crazy - someone is always making bad jokes around the Christmas table, my aunts will relentlessly ask me why I’m still single, and we all have that uncle who drinks too much and embarrasses the whole family. But I will get to hug my parents on Christmas this year, and for that I am grateful.
I am also grateful that 2016 is a new year, and we all have the power to change whatever needs to be changed in our lives. We often make excuses for ourselves and forget that we are powerful beings and have the ability to bring about change in our lives and create the life we have imagined.
So that is what I wish you this Christmas. I hope that gratitude fills your life – regardless of what your life situation is right now. I hope that this short break will give you perspective, fill you with love, and that it will allow you to start 2016 on the right track.
Have a wonderful Christmas!