Unnamed, by Gemma (Iris Creations Photography)
And so this is Christmas. So it comes, every year, regardless of the turbulences of the weather, the world economy, the local and civil and global strife, the tears and the pain. Christmas not merely in the religious Christian sense; but Christmas as the spirit of the season: the communal love and peace and harmony for which mankind strives for. On this one day (of an entire year), jingle bells and caroler’s triangles serve as a global alarm clock, ringing a reminder.
A reminder of what? Listen, and you will hear. Listen carefully, because it is in the undertones of the sweet voices pleading for joy to the world. It is in the glowing eyes of the bundled children sculpting life into icy carrot-nosed people on the streets. It is in the giggle of a child as his oversized Santa hat slips down his face and signals “lights out.” It is in the gentle laughter and warm greetings of people reuniting—at last—in a gentle warm place, forming families tied by blood or by love.
It is Christmas, too, for the man who shrivels in the curb, chewing on a rotten orange and a piece of leather scavenged from the dumpster. And for the gaunt figure that staggers through his bomb-ravaged town, clutching the new stub where his arm used to be before it was kissed by a grenade. And for the hospital patient who has just been informed that her Christmases are numbered—and then she calls in her family to kiss them.
Listen for Christmas in the rustling of dove wings, the crackling of the hearth that keeps you warm. Join in and share the love in the voices that make you happy, in the breaths and words that fuel your beating heart. Count every single blessing and forgive every single wrong. Understand the messages you’ve been listening to. Love and forgiveness remain—that is all, and all you need.
As the song goes: A very merry Christmas / And a happy New Year / Let’s hope it’s a good one / Without any fear / War is over, if you want it / War is over, now…
Live every Christmas as if it were your last. And may your every day be that Christmas.
A reminder of what? Listen, and you will hear. Listen carefully, because it is in the undertones of the sweet voices pleading for joy to the world. It is in the glowing eyes of the bundled children sculpting life into icy carrot-nosed people on the streets. It is in the giggle of a child as his oversized Santa hat slips down his face and signals “lights out.” It is in the gentle laughter and warm greetings of people reuniting—at last—in a gentle warm place, forming families tied by blood or by love.
It is Christmas, too, for the man who shrivels in the curb, chewing on a rotten orange and a piece of leather scavenged from the dumpster. And for the gaunt figure that staggers through his bomb-ravaged town, clutching the new stub where his arm used to be before it was kissed by a grenade. And for the hospital patient who has just been informed that her Christmases are numbered—and then she calls in her family to kiss them.
Listen for Christmas in the rustling of dove wings, the crackling of the hearth that keeps you warm. Join in and share the love in the voices that make you happy, in the breaths and words that fuel your beating heart. Count every single blessing and forgive every single wrong. Understand the messages you’ve been listening to. Love and forgiveness remain—that is all, and all you need.
As the song goes: A very merry Christmas / And a happy New Year / Let’s hope it’s a good one / Without any fear / War is over, if you want it / War is over, now…
Live every Christmas as if it were your last. And may your every day be that Christmas.
"Angreek87"
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