Christmas is a time to re-connect with loved ones. It is the one time of year when we have an excuse to show love. This can be through the giving of gifts, sharing of heart-felt sentiments, enjoying each other’s company, or making it a time to say ‘I forgive you’ or to show ‘I accept you’, by being there, present. It is also, for many, the one time in the year to just stop; stop working, stop worrying, stop planning and enjoy the goodwill season! For many, the opposite is true; the stresses of family reunions and planning the Christmas dinner only adding to the existing stress. And there are those who are alone, in richness or poverty, there are those suffering in silence, or in the devastation of a country at war. While we may feel helpless to affect any change in the lives of others, we are not helpless. In fact, we are powerful because we all posses a incredibly beautiful and potent inner power, love. And, with awareness of this. and of our free choice to choose our thoughts, we are empowered to choose love. It may seem like a simple choice. You may wonder how this can affect a person you may never meet, or serve to effect change in the world, but it can.
As the year draws to a close, one cycle giving birth to the new, it heralds a time for a moment of reflection. If you were to choose to make Christmas a time to love, regardless of the existing situation, how would you choose to celebrate the season and prepare for your New Year?
- What would you let go of?
- What would you choose to accept?
- What could you forgive?
- Where would you choose to apply more love?
Imagine your whole family did this. Imagine if your whole community did this. Imagine, if everyone did this. Love is powerful.
I am not a religious person, but I consider myself to be spiritual, and a seeker of truth. I have explored meaning and purpose in my life. I have done this by considering different religious and spiritual beliefs, scientific theory, human nature, the intelligence in life, and the meaning in why things happen as they do; in human relations, within the nature of suffering, and through my life’s journey. I have explored the many aspects of love, from chemical attraction, through intimacy, heart-centered values and romantic ideals, and I have considered love as a simple choice; an intention of how to think, from the heart. It was this revelation that really captured me. It became the diamond in my quest, because it gave me an answer to the meaning and purpose of my life. It explained suffering as a lack of love. It explained the laws of life; the choice to accept not only that I do not know the answers, but that I will never know, because to see the great mystery as it is, I would have to look through the eyes of all sentient beings, and not just in one moment, but through the whole journey of that person’s life, because our perceptions change as we change and grow, or how we feel in the moment. I would have to look from within the Earth and from the furthest star, and possibly beyond the known reality, because the truth, I believe, is in eyes of the beholder and matter of perspective; to see the truth is a magnificence beyond possibility. I think closest we could come to it, would be to surrender the self and merge with the very essence of life. In a state of wonderment I wondered, what would I be. The answer, light. It infuses everything. This is our essence, and life demonstrates that it can become anything. We have the gift of sentience and conscious choice; we can choose who we are, how we think, how we act, how we give. In accepting this truth, I realised I could create my own truth about life. I can choose how I want to see and experience myself and my world. I can make choices, there will be consequences, and things will happen outside of my control, and to this, I can choose my response. It has taken me a long time to realise that I can choose how I see and experience my reality, and even longer to start learning the way. I want to learn to love, because when we love, we are love, and the ripples shine out, and they grow with every repetition of the choice to love so that with each footstep we make on the path to love, an invisible sparkle rises from our imprint to inspire the world around us. When we choose love; to love the self, truly and authentically, the beauty is that the whole world benefits. In committing to trying to practice these two words we can change the world in a moment. Love is the greatest power and everybody possess it. Imagine, if we all made the choice right now to choose love.
What does it mean to choose love? This is something only you can answer; it must be your truth, from your heart; your own unique beautiful expression. I believe this is the best Christmas gift we can give and the beauty is, everyone can choose to give it; it is a priceless value that is possessed by all. You do not have to do anything, or give anything, you can simply make the choice to just love in thought; think with kindness, acceptance and compassion for yourself and others, this alone will send light to those around you. Choose to give this love, and express your true self from the heart and you become the light of Christmas, and of love. This Christmas whatever you are doing, make a precious moment, to create a precious gift; choose love. 