The Holiday Spirit

December 2004

It is so nice around the holidays, during the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and similar celebrations. We look forward to fellowship, family, friends, and feelings of love.

But many people get depressed during the holidays, even though they want to have that love.

Why?

The holiday spirit is one we certainly would like to have all the time. We do feel generous, and close to others. Our common humanity shines through. We celebrate birth, renewal, and unity.

Of course, there is nothing truly different about this time of year than any other, except how we look at things. We believe the holidays are a time of sharing and compassion, and we expect to feel that love.

So, if we believed that every day of the year was a time of sharing and compassion, and we expected love, then could we not have that same spirit all the time? Does it not only depend at how we look at things?

Some have beliefs that the holidays are about family and wonderful parties and presents, and their expectations mirror those beliefs. Then, if the reality does not match the expectations, or if the people are afraid it won't, they become depressed. And isn't that depression also entirely based on how they look at things?

We can have the holiday spirit all the time, all of us can. It only depends on how we look at things.

If we know and believe in our common love and that this life is our perfection, then we can have that peace. If we see evil, hate, anger, war, separation, and attack as real, then that is what we get, too.

The choice is ours.