I love this quote. I have a little Buddha sitting on my keyboard who reminds me to breathe, count it all joy, be mindful of the now, etc. As the holiday machine cranks up for another year, Buddha reminds me that it is not the dashing-through-the-events and checking off the list that matter, but the stillness of the moments in-between. Stopping to really, really taste the pumpkin spice latte, smelling the baked bread, hearing the Christmas music, seeing the lights and decorations and stopping to look at them, hugging friends and family longer than two seconds. Take it all in. Live the holidays, feel them. Remember them. How many years have the holidays been a race to the finish? More of an obligation than a celebration?
Last year I went to a high school Christmas concert and participated in the audience sing-a-long parts. It felt festive and real and I told myself that I should find a school concert or play every year and go. And a Christmas mass or church service. At least one. Still believe in Santa. Enjoy the tree, not just worry about the fuss.
Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday — a day to give thanks, be with friends and family, celebrate all that is good about life and being blessed enough to have a great meal. Stop and smell the flowers, realize all of the comforts of life in a free country and be grateful for all of it. No whining. No wanting more stuff. Want what you have.
Halloween kicks it all off and instead of rushing around making a Christmas gift list, I plan to soak this day in, too. It is a carnival, a day to enjoy kids in costumes and scary movies and eating too much candy. The joker’s day, a wild card. Although I stopped going to work in costume, it is still a day to go a little Goth under the radar and let some of that personality out. I will stop short of breaking dress code, but black fingernails and Victorian jewelry never offended anyone that I am aware of. (I do not have any amazing tattoos to display, but I wonder if Abby Scuito’s spiderweb neck tat is available in a temporary?)
So off to the races but slowly, one day at a time. It is a marathon, not a sprint. I am going to enjoy the holidays this year. I am going to roll with it and not stress out over the perfect gift or the parking space or the weather. It is all good. And it will all work out in the end. It is a wonderful life.
oneedgybroad 