Christmas
Well Merry Merry Christmas to all of you out there who even read this anymore. I really don't have anything specific to talk about right now, so who knows what this post has in store for it. I would like to talk about Christmas for a minute.
What is Christmas? I know what the holiday is and why we have it and all, but what is it about? What is Christmas really about? Gifts? Fortunately not, otherwise there would be a ton of unhappy and disappointed people everywhere. Is it about the Christmas dinner, and the dessert? Of course not. Is it about going to church for the first time in months with your family and becoming religious for one of the several days in the year? Nope. You see, these are obvious questions I'm asking, and hopefully you've read them and said, "D, those are stupid questions, of COURSE it's not about any of those." If you said that or something like that, congratulations, there is still hope for you. I know that when you think about it while you read this, you understand that those questions were merely rhetorical in order for me to get a point across. Welcome to the point.
Christmas is about love. Now, coming off the heels of my love manifesto, you might automatically think that I'm talking about romantic love, between a man and a woman. Yes, that is part of love and what a wonderful part it is when both feel it and go for it, but that's not all love is; in fact, love is so much more vast than that. What I'm talking about is love for your family, for your friends, for someone special in your life, for people less fortunate than you, for people who have somehow touched your life or made you a better person by them just being who they are, this my readers, is Christmas, and it's the heart of Christmas. I'm not posing an idea here, I'm telling you, this is what it's about. It is a celebration of the birth of Christ, and the only reason that Christ entered into this world is because God loved us so much. It's the very nature of the reason for Christmas! "Well of course it is, it's about love!" You tell yourself, but do you act it? You can say that Christmas is about that and even believe it, but does it show in your actions? Does it show in the gifts you've bought or made other people? This is one of my favorite quotes:
"Words are mere sound until backed up by real action."
I love that quote. It's mine, I made it up, and I love it. I can talk to you until I'm blue in the face about Christmas being about love, and then I can go out and act completely different. Which one will you believe is true? What I said? Or what I did? That's right, what I did. You see, even if you believe in something, unless you act upon that belief or act in that belief, it is just a hollow thought. Christianity for instance. (I know, I'm going off topic, just bear with me, I'm feeling it right now.) How many people confess to be christian, and then do some of the most horrible things out there. Do we all sin? Of course we do! I do all the time, so you do. I am no better and am loved no more than anyone else, but when you say one thing and do something else, your words lose their meaning and their significance. It's so easy to say something. It's easy to promise something, swear to something, make the grandest of proclamations; politicians do it all the time. But when push comes to shove, do your actions mirror your words? Because if they don't, then your words ring hollow.
So what does Christmas mean to you? Is it really about love? Give me a thousand gifts, and although I will be happy with them, they do not fill me up. Let me give one gift to someone that lights their face up for the rest of the day, and I am a happy man. Give me gift certificates to a hundred places, and I can buy myself tons of things. But take away someone I love, and my life is lessened; my heart emptier. If you really do agree with me about the heart and nature of Christmas, then act it out, do something about it, show it! Christmas will have come and passed by the next day, and within a short amount of time, our minds will drift back into the normal routine of daily life, and that "holiday spirit" will have faded away like the snow does every winter when spring comes to visit. It doesn't mean you can't live out your normal days with that spirit though. Every day lived in love, is a day lived well. Live well my friends, live well.
What is Christmas? I know what the holiday is and why we have it and all, but what is it about? What is Christmas really about? Gifts? Fortunately not, otherwise there would be a ton of unhappy and disappointed people everywhere. Is it about the Christmas dinner, and the dessert? Of course not. Is it about going to church for the first time in months with your family and becoming religious for one of the several days in the year? Nope. You see, these are obvious questions I'm asking, and hopefully you've read them and said, "D, those are stupid questions, of COURSE it's not about any of those." If you said that or something like that, congratulations, there is still hope for you. I know that when you think about it while you read this, you understand that those questions were merely rhetorical in order for me to get a point across. Welcome to the point.
Christmas is about love. Now, coming off the heels of my love manifesto, you might automatically think that I'm talking about romantic love, between a man and a woman. Yes, that is part of love and what a wonderful part it is when both feel it and go for it, but that's not all love is; in fact, love is so much more vast than that. What I'm talking about is love for your family, for your friends, for someone special in your life, for people less fortunate than you, for people who have somehow touched your life or made you a better person by them just being who they are, this my readers, is Christmas, and it's the heart of Christmas. I'm not posing an idea here, I'm telling you, this is what it's about. It is a celebration of the birth of Christ, and the only reason that Christ entered into this world is because God loved us so much. It's the very nature of the reason for Christmas! "Well of course it is, it's about love!" You tell yourself, but do you act it? You can say that Christmas is about that and even believe it, but does it show in your actions? Does it show in the gifts you've bought or made other people? This is one of my favorite quotes:
"Words are mere sound until backed up by real action."
I love that quote. It's mine, I made it up, and I love it. I can talk to you until I'm blue in the face about Christmas being about love, and then I can go out and act completely different. Which one will you believe is true? What I said? Or what I did? That's right, what I did. You see, even if you believe in something, unless you act upon that belief or act in that belief, it is just a hollow thought. Christianity for instance. (I know, I'm going off topic, just bear with me, I'm feeling it right now.) How many people confess to be christian, and then do some of the most horrible things out there. Do we all sin? Of course we do! I do all the time, so you do. I am no better and am loved no more than anyone else, but when you say one thing and do something else, your words lose their meaning and their significance. It's so easy to say something. It's easy to promise something, swear to something, make the grandest of proclamations; politicians do it all the time. But when push comes to shove, do your actions mirror your words? Because if they don't, then your words ring hollow.
So what does Christmas mean to you? Is it really about love? Give me a thousand gifts, and although I will be happy with them, they do not fill me up. Let me give one gift to someone that lights their face up for the rest of the day, and I am a happy man. Give me gift certificates to a hundred places, and I can buy myself tons of things. But take away someone I love, and my life is lessened; my heart emptier. If you really do agree with me about the heart and nature of Christmas, then act it out, do something about it, show it! Christmas will have come and passed by the next day, and within a short amount of time, our minds will drift back into the normal routine of daily life, and that "holiday spirit" will have faded away like the snow does every winter when spring comes to visit. It doesn't mean you can't live out your normal days with that spirit though. Every day lived in love, is a day lived well. Live well my friends, live well.
posted by The D at
10:06 PM
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