Whether you are celebrating Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or the Yuletide, you may need to catch your breath and understand the meaning of your experience.
It is so easy for us to get caught up in the perfect tree, gift or menu that we can forget the most important part of the time. Once you are more mindful of the occasion you may find yourself going through the motions. The television sitcom, advertising or media version of the holiday celebration can capture you holiday and hold it prisoner. You may get caught up in the commercial version of how your holiday should happen, instead of creating your own.
Some of my best experiences of holiday celebrations were the simple ones that created a long-lasting memory. It never really is the best gift or perfectly planned celebration but rather those you spend moments in celebration with those you love. The moments bound life together, if it is the smile on someones face, the warm embrace of a loved one or the pain of laughter on your cheeks that last for days. It’s the countless hours you spend sharing stories, remembering the past, your Christmas lists or the significance of are particular ornament you find among the boxes or the silliest board games; that creates the best moments. It’s funny how sometimes you forget how to have fun in the moment. Moments that are everlasting become part of each years story from the present to the future.
Typically the best stories are the ones when something clearly failed. Whether it was a parent fail, Santa fail, dinner fail, gift fail or relationship fail, we can always find some solace in the moment.
One of my personal favorite stories is when my son was 4 years old. As you can imagine, four was one of the best ages for children as the magic and the spirit is alive inside their little heads. About 2 am early Christmas Morning, after the bikes and toys had been put together, I was making our traditional cinnamon rolls for Christmas Morning.
Feeling punchy and maybe a few too many Dirty Martini’s, I though it be a great idea to put my winter boats on and stamp in a cake pan full of baby powder and track around the house. Santa was laughing as he put gifts under the tree in anticipation of Christmas Morning. My Son woke at sun raise and was yelling as children do, Mom, Dad, Santa came! We put on our robes and gathered in the living. The excitement of the presents, half eaten cookies and the foot prints Santa left created the most realistic moment.
Well, that was until my Son said,
“Jeez Dad I think I taste and smell baby powder,? Do you?
I quickly handed him another present as Mom, wiped up the prints with her robe.
Did someone say parent and Santa fail?
Search hard and find the one moment to remember and laugh, laugh more and more until you hurt. I am not a betting man but I would wager that the moment will be with you a lifetime. In my blog stories, The Sunshine Club, The Star and Christmas tree lot, I have shared moments that sometimes make me laugh, feel comfort or cry. Each story shares a message of a few of my life-long lasting moments of the holidays.
Remember this season to be mindful and create “a moment” and it will be everlasting.
TEMENOS CIRCLE 