I woke up this morning to a light dusting of snow. The little stand of fir trees that line the driveway next door look all ready for Christmas, as if Mother Nature had tip-toed in during the night to decorate. All the roof tops have a coating of snow as well. From where I sit, I can see every chimney all the way down the block. They are calling for more snow showers tonight. I hope Santa has his best snow boots ready for the trip . Some of those rooftops look pretty slippery to me.
I was going to look back over all the other Christmas blog posts I've written over the last 6 years since Flower Bear's Garden's beginning, just to get an idea of what I'd already said. It occurred to me as I was scrolling through the past that the message really never changes: peace, love, compassion, good-will towards everyone. It's not about what you place under the Christmas tree, it's about what you lay down at the foot of the manger: hate, greed, indifference, and hopelessness. It's about asking ourselves what gifts we shared with the world this year - not necessarily financially but the gifts of ourselves, like time, attention, caring, standing up for what is right and supporting others who do. It's about saving our world and everyone and everything in it. It's about living the spirit of Christmas 365 days a year. And if, when we find that we came up a little short with sharing our gifts this year, it's about making a new list ... and checking it twice ... to see where we can be even more "nice." It's also about remembering that if we don't put ourselves on the receiving end of that list, no one else gets what they deserve either.
May you all have the most blessed and beautiful Christmas ever, and may you receive all the love and goodness your hearts desire.
And so it is ... Merry Christmas!
