I wish people would remember that way before Madison Avenue poisoned our psyche with associations of buying stuff = love, and getting really indulgent was deemed holy, that Christmas was based on a poor Jewish man who showed kindness to all…and never expected, demanded, or required ANTHING in return. In that way, he was a man of great abundance! He gave and gave. Always he had a surplus because love and generosity filled his cup, and his cup runneth over. But of course, people of the time, the fundamentalist, the militarists, the nationalist, and the just plain angry, hung him on a cross…and then blamed him for it!
Sounds pretty similar to attitudes we have today. Mass, a ritual celebration of salvation, i.e. the -mas in Christmas, has been co-opted by these same forces. Poor Jesus (middle Latin) actually named Joshua ben Joseph, son of Joseph – not GOD), wherever that consciousness is (he was an Ascended Master) sitting on a throne listening to harp music in the clouds is a great image for doltish idiots, but not the Prince of Peace. He lived his principles he didn’t purchase them at Macy’s. We should be giving stuff away not strategically hoarding or bestowing largesse upon ourselves or others in hopes of can getting more. But when we look at our governments and business leaders, it appears what we have forgotten most, if not all, of the original message/gift that Christ’s birth symbolically represented. Exchanging presents is to actual celebration what an orgy is to love making. Or sure, the surface connection is made, but the undertone is gluttony, greed, ego-indulgence, and selfishness. Nothing, neither narratively or intentionally, what the story of Jesus was meant to convey.
So what…shame on us? Nah, it is the shame of feeling the emptiness that needs filling that we are already steeped in. So no more shame…just love and appreciation. Less (stuff) has more meaning this way! Besides, everything we buy ultimately comes from Mother Earth. Let’s stop taking from Her, eh?
If you want to feel abundant, be like Jesus, give away stuff…time, assistance, money, acknowledgement, healing, food, contact, love, and kindness…as gifts. But do it without perceiving yourself as indebted or obligated. Nor require reciprocity. If you do, resentment will seep in and raise a shame cake like yeast in flour. A really tasty dish for the martyr but little real nourishment for anyone.
Make sure to take that day (heck any day) and use it to feel appreciation for what you have. Make sure to inventory what life has bestowed upon you. Cherish it, then share it. Stop hoarding, no accounting for what you took in, open your treasure troves and shell it out in whatever currency you have.
Don’t worry, whatever deities might be looking down from on-high, especially the one contained within your own psyche; you will feel the love because you are letting the love flow through you and out to others. That is the sacrament we should all be partaking. That is the celebration we should all be enjoying. And that is the attitude that Jesus gave of Himself to model. Not to die for “our sins” but to show us a way to rise above shame and into gratitude for life.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Halleluiah!
And speaking of gratitude, all you need do to feel the spirit of receiving, in case you aren’t feeling particularly generous toward others; here is a way to Count Your Blessings: a gratitude list.
Gratitude sometime are things that you squeeze out of difficult situations. So here is a Realistic way to get something from anything.
-3 “Well, at least I learned X, Y or Z from this disaster.” I’m grateful for what not to do.
-2 “It wasn’t as bad as I expected.” – Realize that the situation could have been worse.
-1 “I dodged a bullet.” What could have happened didn’t.
0 “Things went smoothly today, or in that process, with only normal/average energy expenditure.”
+1 “I made good headway on the goal. I discovered something really interesting or useful.”
+2 “I got to the next level. I received an interim payment, help, bolster, relief, achieved a milestone that advanced me to near completion or to the next level.”
+3 “I did it! I won. I achieved. I’m vindicated. My side proved victorious. I’m in love. What a rush! I finished and made it to the next level.” Or a bit of the dark side… “Ah, the bastard got his and I didn’t have to do it personally.”
Yes, as the first four types of gratitude suggest, you can be thankful for things where you didn’t gain, but merely stopped the pain or learned what to look out for not to encounter it again. Eventually, as you move up the scale, one begins to note real advances and progress beyond just stemming loses. In any case, having an attitude of gratitude keeps yours eyes open rather than shut in bitterness, or filled with tears. Yet sometimes, the tears of rambunctious joy are the most satisfying of all.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year. Be glad you will have another one to figure it all out!
“Life is a gift even when living it is difficult.” Michael’s Consortium