Time to Reflect

It’s that time of the year again….

…time to take the tree and the ornaments out of storage, dust off the cobwebs, and untangle the lights, only to dread the day in the near future where you rewind the process and pack it all up again

.…time when you will be judged on whether you have been naughty or nice… but if you start early enough there may be time to redeem yourself before the Christmas Eve deadline

.…time to threaten the kids that if they misbehave, Santa will just pass them by on the way to the ‘good kids’ next door

.…time to run around like the end of the world is approaching, stressed about purchasing that perfect gift and buying enough food to feed an army

.…time to catch up with every single person you know, as if there will be no time left post December 25th.

And as much as we may not want to admit it, this seems to be the reality of the situation.

Somehow, somewhere along the line, we seem to have lost the whole point of Christmas. To me, it is a time to reflect, to give thanks and if you are a Christian, a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and everything it stands for.

But why is it that we feel we have to wait until Christmas to spend time with the people we care about, or not?

Every day is a reason to celebrate. Every day is a reason to be kind and compassionate towards others. Surely, we don’t need to wait until Christmas to shower people with displays of affection, which at this time of the year usually involves items of a material nature. The significance of the occasion seems to have become lost among the sheer volume of shopping bags, wrapping paper, ribbons, cards and food scraps.

Forgive me if I am starting to sound like a Christmas scrooge.

I really like Christmas. I like the festive nature of this time of the year; there’s a real buzz in the air. For us in the Southern Hemisphere, it also coincides with our summer holidays, so it is a time to wind back and relax in preparation for the coming year. It’s a great time to spend quality time with extended family members and share in stories, good food and fun.

My concern is that by getting caught up in the stress of it all, and treating it like a deadline, we are actually loosing site of the fact that it should be a beautiful time. I have enough deadlines to deal with in my everyday life; to impose another one, especially one of that magnitude and expense, turns what should be a positive into a negative, or a chore.

And just like any deadline, we look forward to it being crossed off the list and forgotten as soon as possible. And by their very definition, chores are boring, mundane and things that need to be done, not necessarily enjoyed.

I don’t think that was the intention of Christmas.

Gift giving is a beautiful thing and it is definitely the thought that counts. To give and to receive are among some of life’s simplest pleasures, giving great reward to both sides of the equation. The issue is that even this seems to be out of control to the point that there is a lot of expectation and very little appreciation, especially among children, mine included.

Gratitude is key, particularly at this time of the year, and one only has to look around to see that not everybody is afforded the privilege of being healthy or comfortable enough to enjoy Christmas. It is a time to be grateful for being able to buy gifts and being able to put food on the table and having healthy, happy family and friends to share it with.

Sharing is also key, and to me, this goes hand in hand with gratitude. When you are grateful and appreciative of what you have, it becomes easier to share it. Sharing with your family and friends comes naturally… but how would you feel about sharing it with people you don’t know, but who really need it?

In discussion with a friend only last week, we mentioned this very thing. By his own admission, he does not like Christmas. He does not like the act of giving and receiving presents and does not see the need for this exchange to occur. For the past few years, he has asked his family to refrain from purchasing him gifts but instead redirect the money to a charitable cause that is important to him; a request to which they obliged.

However, what my friend found was that rather than donating the amount they would normally spend on him for a gift, they donated a much lesser amount. The fact that they were not receiving anything tangible for their expenditure meant they were not willing to spend the same amount. Sad but very common.

We have been conditioned to believe that if we spend money on something, we must be able to touch it or experience it personally for it to be of any value. If we buy a physical item, we can feel it. If we spend money on a service or an experience, we also feel it. There is a physical exchange of something. When you give to charity however, the exchange is not tangible but it can be felt if you are the sort of person who is willing to do it without expecting anything in return. To be charitable means that you are willing to give from the heart and have faith that someone, somewhere, will benefit from your contribution. Whilst they may not be able to thank you, the mere fact that you have done a good, selfless deed should be enough for you to experience that special feeling that comes from giving.

And to be a giver doesn’t mean that you have to make a donation. Charity comes in many shapes and sizes; it is not one size fits all. Giving means doing something for someone, anyone, because you see a need and you want to make a difference….it really is as simple as that.

My wish for this Christmas is that we slow down enough to enjoy what we have around us; to celebrate in the magic that is Christmas and take the time to be grateful, peaceful, kind and compassionate towards everyone we encounter.

To all my friends and family who take the time to read my blogs, I hope you know how much I value your words of encouragement and your friendship, not only at this time of the year but always. The fact that you take time out of your busy lives to read what I have written makes me feel extremely privileged.

It has been an amazing year for me; a year filled with challenges, opportunities, change, personal growth and above all, magic. It has been a year where I have had the opportunity to create many things and have a significant influence simply by doing the things I am passionate about.

This year has reinforced to me something I have always known; be a good person, be grateful, project positivity and what comes back to you will be more than you can ever imagine. I am in constant awe of how the universe works and I am extremely grateful for everything it sends my way.

My sincerest best wishes and love to you and your families. May you have a Merry everything and a happy always.

Pina x

(P.S… no more Christmas hams please, I have more than I can handle at the moment).