As I reflected on my Christmas experience last year, I couldn’t help but see that I had once again been swept up in the hype of the season. It’s so easy to do – the commercialisation of the season relentlessly pushes to entice, excite and enthral us at every turn.
In order to prepare for Christmas this year, I started to do some research.
I wasn’t looking for a checklist on how to make my house pretty or what the top ten bestselling presents this season were, I was looking for support on how to stay within myself and be more relaxed during the ‘silly season’ and not get swept up in the frenetic energy that comes from needing to get that perfect present, having a perfectly decorated house, being the best host or creating the best experience for guests.
But I couldn’t find one article that aimed to support this approach; everything I found was there to entice me to do more, to have more.
As I reflected further on last year’s Christmas time, I came to realise that even in scaling back and simplifying, I still had managed to make room for the chaotic energy that drives Christmas. I had hosted Christmas lunch for my family for the first time at my new home, which had the potential to be an amazing experience, had I stopped to fully appreciate and take in the loveliness of the occasion.
What was on offer for myself and my family was an opportunity for us to connect as individuals with no roles being played, just simply enjoying quality time together. It was an opportunity to learn about each other in a different environment, reflect on the year gone by and talk about our hopes for the next.
Unfortunately the full potential of this experience was not met as I allowed myself to get caught up in trying to make things perfect instead of just being there in my fullness, allowing myself and everybody to just be.
I wondered then if it was possible to hold the experience of Christmas as a time for sharing and connecting with family and friends, but also know that the fundamental elements which make this day special can actually be lived every day of the year.
Could it be that I could live openly every day with the people I meet everywhere?
Asking myself what holds me back from doing this, I realised it was a fear of being the real me – not the perfect host, or the perfect partner or daughter – just me. Christmas so often can sweep us away from ourselves, that we forget to just be us.
As I have started to de-construct my ideals around Christmas, and the belief that this was a one day a year affair, I have felt a new found sense of freedom. Instead of beating myself up and lamenting on the opportunity missed last year, I am grateful that I have been able to truly reflect on how it played out, where the moments/openings occurred that swept me away, and where I need to go deeper in my understanding of myself so that I can make different choices this year.
I’ve come to realise that Christmas shouldn’t be a festival we celebrate for just one day a year. Remembering that Christmas can be simply about connection and being comfortable to be the real me only highlights this more, as this can be developed anytime, anyplace, and with anyone. With this understanding I have an opportunity to have another go this year, as we start to build up to the busy Christmas period again.
If connection and being the real me is the name of the game, I don’t even have to wait; I can do that anytime I choose.
Inspired by the presentations of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon.
By Megan Cairney, Relationship Manager, BBsMn/BA, Brisbane
Further Reading:
Being Ourselves
What Christmas means to me?
What I Love about Christmas
Christmas Lies, Christmas Myths and the Truth about Christmas
638 Comments
Megan, it’s really helpful to read your article and be reminded that it is how I am that is important, not how perfect my house looks. And that the important part is enjoying connecting with people.
The best present we can give each other is to be open to connecting at Christmas and every other day of the year.
Yes, connecting and enjoying quality time together seems a great practice.
I have just seen more of what Christmas is .. the madness that is. It is the build up of tension from the year that has been lived wanting to be released! As well as the longing for the break because we are so exhausted through how we have been living.
Megan, this is great; ‘ I was looking for support on how to stay within myself and be more relaxed during the ‘silly season’ and not get swept up in the frenetic energy’ I can feel that this could apply to many situations in life – where there is a lot of busyness around us and if we can stay steady in ourselves and not get caught up in it all then we can stay well and connected and not get mentally and physically exhausted.
I can really appreciate that this year I am less caught up in the Christmas hype than before, I still am in this a bit with getting presents for people etc but there is less attachment to it and I am looking forward to this falling away even more as the years go on. This year I am more aware of the push and pressures coming from shops to buy buy buy it is like a buying madness being spewn everywhere enough to make anyone feel sick! What I love that you have shared here and want to do the same is instead use this time to reflect on the year and to reflect on what there is to appreciate and also what needs to change and will take inspiration from this ‘where I need to go deeper in my understanding of myself so that I can make different choices this year.’
I love what you are sharing Megan about Christmas being about connection and being ourselves, rather than getting caught up in the Christmas busyness. Great to read this as the Christmas season is starting here.
Megan – I love your honesty here; ‘Unfortunately the full potential of this experience was not met as I allowed myself to get caught up in trying to make things perfect instead of just being there in my fullness, allowing myself and everybody to just be.’ I have experienced this when I have had guests to my house and got caught up in rushing around trying to make things perfect, rather than focussing on my quality and being present with myself and connecting and enjoying everyone.
Keeping life simple is very wise, and surely whenever we get together it is about connecting with others, ‘What was on offer for myself and my family was an opportunity for us to connect as individuals with no roles being played, just simply enjoying quality time together.’
Celebrating and appreciating each other is a present we can share every day of the year. Christmas is just when many have a break from work at the same time so offering the opportunity to be together.
A beautiful expose of the Christmas energy trap so many of us fall into, year after year. Being our true selves is the best present we can offer both to ourselves and to others every single day of the year.
Christmas is a time for family, for people to come together to enjoy each others company, reflect on the past year and what lies ahead for the new year. this is something we can do on a daily basis, as we connect to people each day. We can review the days events the night before and prepare ourselves for the new day ahead, of making choices and sharing ourselves with all we come in contact with.
So often we go through Christmas Day in a buzz and hype that we avoid deeply connecting and enjoying one another. In this it ends and we are left seeking something more to stimulate us so that we can avoid the tension of not having those connections.
Christmas is a celebration of us all and where we are willing to go with confirming all the relationships we have built over the year. A far deeper level of honesty is offered over the myriad of lights, tinsel and presents we are sold through the world retail agenda.
It is always enlightening to reflect on the purpose or intention behind what we are doing and how we are moving as it is, as you share Megan, easy to get caught up is the flurry of the hype surrounding Christmas as a result. I have found that we can easily get lost if we are seeking an outcome from the day, rather than offering a space for us all to come together and share ourselves and reflect on the year just live and what our potential is and how we can deepen ourselves to live more of who we are in the year that comes. All of which is a marker of what is available on every other day.
How more I deepen the connection with myself how more I feel the what I call Christ energy.
When we strip away the complications and dramas around Christmas it is actually a very beautiful time to wind down, to be with families, friends and people and make it about connecting, sharing and celebrating each other.