Celebrate Yourself This Christmas Season

Happy Holidays!  Welcome to this glorious season of light, festivity, and joy.  As we become focused on creating the perfect holiday experience, we may find that we are placing a high expectancy on those around us to bring us joy.  You may have heard of the "Christmas Billboard Battle" (as reported by The New York Times) outside the Holland Tunnel:  The Catholic League responded to the American Atheist's billboard of a nativity scene that reads: "You know it's a myth. This season, celebrate reason!" with their own nativity billboard reading: "You Know it's Real. This Season, Celebrate Jesus." You may be wondering how the Christmas story is real for you this year.  How can we let go of our holiday expectations and experience the true gifts of the season?    

In Celebrate Yourself, Eric Butterworth includes a series of inspirational essays which all center on his recurring theme of releasing our imprisoned splendor so that we may find the Truth within ourselves.  While this book was not written specifically about Christmas, I believe it holds many of the keys to experiencing the spiritual gifts of the season.

Gift #1: LOVE

As you peer into the manger, what do you see?  You may notice the wise men bearing gifts and remember that this is a season of gift giving and sharing.  You may notice the angel and the star of David and see the light of peace they bring.  What is the unseen presence that makes this setting so magical?  It is the Presence of God, the Presence of Love. 

EB shares the magical ingredient of the holidays: "Everyone can make a positive contribution to the peace of the whole world by following Jesus' injunction to love one another." (p. 178) Love is the "one creative force" of the universe, and is of highest value and impact in our lives, creating memories that we most treasure. (p. 175)  

As you engage in the celebrations of the season, remember that "you are the universe celebrating itself as you." (p. 1)  As we live from the awareness that life is lived from within-out, we celebrate by "giving a very special blessing to something." (p. 3)  In celebration consciousness, follow EB's guidance and "bless your family, friends, and co-workers as fellow travelers along the journey of life." (p. 3) As you send an extra blessing of love out this season, your love will create a ripple effect that brings joy and healing to our planet.  

As EB states: "Without a doubt the world needs love like a parched desert needs water." (p. 178)  Make loving choices in your gift giving and holiday plans, and know that love makes the biggest impression.  Give yourself the gift of love by letting go of the need to create a perfect holiday, and use the time to spend with your loved ones and friends instead of rushing about. Take time to celebrate yourself! Make one less dessert or trip to the store and use that time, perhaps, to read a beloved Christmas story or poem or just relax in the glow of the lights from your tree with a mug of hot chocolate. 

Gift #2: INNOCENCE

Christmas is a time of benevolence and purity of heart.  The warmth of the season brings memories of our younger years when we approached life with awe and wonder.  What does the innocence of Christmas mean to you today?  Innocence may mean making a choice for unity.  When family comes together, situations may arise which can lead us to focus on all the things that separate us and we may fall into old habits of negativity.  Instead of taking sides, you can do as EB suggests and "be a positive onlooker." (p. 74)  This is not a passive or "yes-man" position, but one of "an arbiter of good feelings, a center of love." (p. 75)  Let go of judgment because "when you become judgmental, no matter what you say you stand for, you are on the side of the problem." (p. 75)  Become a channel for love, because love is what the world needs.  

You may think that now is the time to set things right by sharing the truth teachings you know.  However, as EB states: "...don't delude yourself that the world needs your religion....The world needs unity, not theology." (p. 76)  He continues his theme of seeing things right rather than setting them right by guiding us to a better approach: to "be a meta-missionary." (p. 76-77)  This means making the effort to see the people right rather than the "misguided effort to set them right." (p. 77)  Become a center of love and "your influence will be more in what you are than in what you say." (p. 77)  Because you have lifted your consciousness to the awareness of love, "you will be centered in a circle of protection" and "no harm can befall you." (p. 77-78) You will lift all those around you to your higher level of consciousness.  EB teaches us to build bridges in our lives through love, and perhaps we can once again experience Christmas with the innocent wonder of our younger self. 

Gift #3: NEW BEGINNINGS

We rejoice in the birth of Jesus because it represents the birth of our inner divinity.  Remember EB's theme that Jesus placed the emphasis on you, on your unfoldment.  EB notes that the good news of the gospel is: "not that Jesus alone was divine, but that all persons are inherently divine." (p. 64)  While your Christ consciousness is birthing within you, know that you have a reason to celebrate yourself!  This universe made you in and of itself and there is an upward pull in you - what EB calls a "god spell" - to realize your Oneness with God. EB tells us to let go of stress and strain and know that the universe has a vested interest in us.  Rejoice in the essence of Jesus' message: "Take heart! The whole universe is on your side! You can achieve! You can succeed! You can overcome!" (p. 65)

What is real about Christmas this year is that Love is alive and awakened within you.  You have the power to celebrate who you are today, knowing that you are on the right path and divinely guided in the fulfillment of all of your dreams.   We can follow Jesus' great teaching to love one another, and we must begin by becoming a center of love. We start by loving ourselves and celebrating all that we are and our great potential within. 

May you discover all the spiritual gifts this season has in store for you, and remember to celebrate yourself with love!