Pre-Christmas Thoughts

Ramblings and a Prayer

What an interesting time to be celebrating Christmas. This year has been another wild ride with some big highs and some deep lows. I can only speak for myself but it feels like darkness is everywhere right now. It seems like grief permeates so much. Grief of death, grief of yet another Covid surge, grief of exposure and sickness, grief of more isolation and ruined gatherings, grief of a light at the end of a tunnel that keeps retreating further and further away. It’s easy to look around and see only chaos and fear. Social media does a good job of that year round but it feels especially volatile around the holidays.

What can joy look like with such an ugly environment? How can we find hope in these murky waters? Is that even worthwhile?

I don’t necessarily have the answers (shocker, I know) but I do know this - chaos and fear has been the backdrop of human existence since the dawn of mankind. From our earliest origins where survival was hard won to modern-day crises that feel existential, there has existed fear. There’s existed wars and famines and heartbreaks and death. It’s always been there. It seems that being human and being scared go hand in hand. I mean look at the Christ story, either figuratively or literally (whichever you prefer). That dude was born during a baby massacre. Talk about darkness!

But there’s some good news within that! We are not unique. Those of us plodding around the planet in 2021 feel the exact same as those plodding during WWI and those plodding during the Crusades and those plodding during the fall of the Roman Empire and those plodding during that baby massacre. We have a shared experience, a shared humanity, with everyone who has ever done some plodding. That interconnectedness crosses gender and race and culture and country and time itself. We are not alone. We never have been.

Now here’s where the real magic of Christmas comes in (according to me) even in times of uncertainty: there isn’t any magic at all. December 25th isn’t inherently special. The world spins as it always has. The sun rises and the sun sets. Nature doesn’t observe Christmas. Whatever specialness is in Christmas is there by our own hands. We decided, by culture and custom, that it has meaning. We feel uplifted and buoyant by cards and songs and treats and decorations because we decided that those things have power. And in turn, we have power. This may be the cheesiest thing I’ve ever written but here goes - we are the spirit of Christmas.

Cheesiness aside, what’s the takeaway? For me, it’s that joy is in our own hands. We create the reality of this holiday season. We are the architects. Sure pain and grief will always be there. But I believe it is our charge, should we choose to accept it, to seek out joy in spite. And not just during these specific days but every day of the year. Maybe seeking out joy is the same thing as creating it. At the end of the day people continue to have babies and buy houses and get promotions and have wins. We need only aim our gaze in that direction.

In addition to this trail of rambling, I have a holiday invocation. May this season be precisely what your spirit needs. May you create joy and share it. Should you feel pain, may you reach across time and space to all who’ve plodded before you and feel a little less alone. May you acknowledge the reality you have control over and the reality you don’t. For you and for me, may this season exist as we are existing. May we join hands with the holiday that is and look forward with eyes of hope.

Happy Holidays!