The Essence of the Holidays

In my attempt to find it myself, I recently contacted someone I knew who could perhaps help me find the essence of the holiday season.?

With all that was going on in the world how could I feel happy and jolly amidst it all?? The malls were filling up with folks, the holiday music was filling the mall.? The jingle of bells was forever present.? It was all beginning and it was only Dec 1!?

I looked at the faces of the folks passing by all looking intent, worried and certainly not filled with glee.?

Not everyone was feeling the essence this holiday season is meant to bring.? As I looked there appeared to be more sadness than joy.? What’s missing I wondered.

The person I contacted was Matthew Brackett who went into Ministry to serve, only to lose his identity and finally leave.? He loved what he was doing but his organization didn’t fit his values anymore.

This seems a common theme in the workplace of today.? The pandemic has changed our values, we got to pause as the world took a long breath, and we retreated to the safety of our homes.? Not everyone got this break.? Some worked tirelessly to keep the countries running, the grocery shops filled with food, and the healthcare workers who got sick and burned out themselves as they cared for us and our loved ones.

This is why I turned to Matthew to help me and our listeners understand what we may be missing as we come once more to the holidays.?

Our episode began with a story we’ve possibly all heard, the one of a father and mother and the birth of their baby son, Jesus.? The stable, the consensus, then fleeing their homeland as the king felt threatened by this small baby, being called the King.

The story as it was being told had me thinking of what is happening around the world today.? Power, greed and fame.? The story continued and ended with thoughts of how Mary & and Joseph navigated the challenges they were facing.? With love for his wife and unborn child, he sought to find shelter, he wanted to provide for them.?

The message I got from this there’s always been challenges and it’s how we face them.? Can we find moments of peace or grace?

How can we surrender our expectations? How can we keep our broken hearts open and not close them down and turn away from connecting with friends or family?

Love connection and belonging are the message I took from this deep dive into the Essence of the holidays.? Each one of us has a choice.?

Need more inspiration then we can look to Charles Dickson’s tale of Scourge

As?Scrooge?grasps the final spectre’s hand, he vows

”I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.?

I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.?

The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.

I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”?

How can we take a situation that we deem “bad” and find the gift?

To listen to our conversation https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/lets-talk-about-grief-with-anne/id1435084694?i=1000639523258