ShareThisIt's Christmas!!!
I love Christmas. Yes, I know I'm Jewish, but the magic of the season just works for me. The food, the music, the lights, the smells and people just being nicer to one another. The energy of this time of year fills my soul. Some would say that I should feel guilty or should spend some time with a rabbi or minister, so I can make a choice. But why?
Hey, anytime that people get together in the spirit of giving to one another, and have a party in the process, I'm there. I often wonder why we treat each other with this type of kindness only once a year. Maybe we just can't be nice for longer than a month. It's a sad commentary on this most delightful of days, but something to think about.
Why can't the spirit of the season continue throughout the year? Perhaps it's because we're so busy, we don't take the time to slow down long enough to simply enjoy our lives -- except during this holiday that continues to remind us that we are supposed to care for one another.
Perhaps we should hold on to the Christmas spirit for as long as possible and take in as much of the good as we can. Is there an unwritten rule somewhere that on Dec. 26 we must revert to our normal selves and forget about the unconditional love we felt on the previous day?
A few houses in my neighborhood leave their Christmas trees up throughout the year. Perhaps the people in these homes are too lazy to take the trees down, only to put them up again 12 months later, but I like to think it's something more, that they actually want to embrace the holiday spirit all year long. I get it -- despite what the homeowners associations might say.
Think about how different you are around the holidays. Are you more accepting, more generous, more easygoing? These traits are a part of you and can be lived, no matter what the date is. We don't need a reason to be our best selves, just the opportunity and apparently a reminder. So why not just remind ourselves?
The ability to set aside our differences and to celebrate love and each other is really how we can get the most out of life. The holidays are just a way of helping us tune into that channel once again. It's so easy to forget; I'm glad we have that reminder.
I wish you and yours the happiest of holidays, and I also hope that you find a way of maintaining the joy you share with the people in your life. We only go around once, and we need to find ways to get the most out of it.
So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa and Whoopee Whatever -- let's celebrate it all.
(Dr. Barton Goldsmith, a marriage and family therapist in Westlake Village, Calif., is the author of "Emotional Fitness for Couples."E-mail him at Barton(at)BartonGoldsmith.com)
EMOTIONAL FITNESS
