It’s Christmas week and maybe, if you are like me, the hustle and bustle is already draining your joy and passion for the holiday season. Every Christmas and Holiday season brings along with the celebrations a certain amount of stress, drama, family disputes, financial pressures, and most of all for me, pressure on how to prioritize our time.
I might also add that I hate shopping and even more so when it’s crowded. ( You never want to shop for CeCe, just saying) Over the years, I’ve had more gifts returned than most department stores see in the entire month of January. Not the Christmas and Holiday season blog you were expecting, I’m guessing.
I dream of experiencing “It’s a Wonderful Life” yet I find myself focused on the wrong things and worried someone will not feel loved, included, or appreciated. I worry that my gift isn’t perfect or that I spent too much or too little. Bah! Humbug, and shame on me. Christmas and the Holidays have such a deeper meaning, and they bring so many things for us to be thankful for.
When I read the Christmas story to seven of our grandchildren last weekend, it snapped me out of the busy and into the zeal of sharing how special Christmas really is. Seeing the anticipation on their young faces, the excitement in their voices as they responded to questions about where Jesus was born and feeling the love fill the room with incredible warmth, put me down on the zealous side.
Let’s commit to each other to focus on the celebration of life, the joys of Christmas and to simply love everyone first and all the rest will work out. I’m committed to keeping my zeal for Christmas and not allowing myself to drift off into the stress that grabs us when we focus on the wrong things.
Together, we can bring joy to everyone this Christmas and Holiday season just by sharing our zeal, our gratitude and our joy with each other. Let’s be the bright Christmas light in the room. Let’s help elevate others who have become entrapped by the busy season Scrooge. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Coming in 2023, my new book Leading with Significance breaks through the limiting barriers of common culture theory and demonstrates, with great transparency, the real human emotions that elevate a culture to one that is genuine, enduring and magnetic. Sign up today for updates at joeyhavens.com.
