Winter Holidays and the New Year

This is the time of year to gather those you love around you and be grateful.  It is the time of year for melancholy memories and joyful ones.  It is the time of year to let the pressure go and remember that this is a time of peace, love and charity not to be confused with the material hussle and bussle of Madison Avenue and the incessant selling that creates guilt and a desire to buy things that would be foolish any other time of  year.

The best gifts are those of the heart often made by hand.  I remember every hand made gift I have ever received or given and only a few of those purchased at great cost.  I have received a candle holder turned on a lathe by a friend in germany, stationery with pressed flowers picked in fields by a friend's home, cards drawn in the simple hand of a child, gifts made with shells and too much glue, gifts of food and paintings from people in my work environment.  There are too many of those precioius gifts to list; yet, this season presses on us to spend more than we should for gifts that are supposed to be a measure of our love.

Love is best measured by time spent listening, sharing and caring.  Love is best measured by its non-measure, its unconditional nature.  This is the love that holidays and new years need to memorialize:  unconditional love.  Many people find this time of year a good time to share their own good fortune with others whose lives have been more difficult.  It's a time to deliver food baskets and drop coins in the Salvation Army kettles or contribute to any other favorite charity.

Gratitude is also in order. It's the time of year to take stock of one's own gifts:  the gift of meaningful employment, the gift of health, the gift of friends, the gift of family, the gifts of home and dreams waiting to be fulfilled. It's time to look at the cup of life as half full and not half empty.  It's time to smile a little more and sing a little more and dance a little more because joy is contageous and more joy is needed in the lives of many, especially those without employment or a home of their own.

In conclusion, the holidays and the new year are a gift that we need not wear out with stress and anxiety but rather a gift to savor with gratitude and love.