Dr’ Seuss’s Grinch

The music of the season fills the air and the offices and the shopping centers and the restaurants and the taxi cabs…and you get the picture.  The weather gets nippy and so do the shoppers who whip by you and over and under you to get that sale item or two at the mall or at that Target or ( shhh…that Walmart).

You have cards to send, gifts to buy, parties to attend, family to see and sleep to catch up on and you have to be merry about it.

No wonder more people seem to be on the side of the Grinch by the time it is all over.  Their hearts have become two sizes too small.

So how does one become like the Who’s of Whoville, who ( no pun intended),  when all their Christmas things were  taken away and stolen from them, were still able to greet Christmas morning with high spirits and joy?

What was their secret?

Their foundation for the season was in the spirit of it and not in the things. Sounds simple doesn’t it?   But it is so easily lost because in our modern way of trying to dress the season up so much with things, We try so hard to get the feeling of the season the artificial way, we find ourselves drained and often resentful.

When was the last time you actually went shopping for a gift for someone and enjoyed it? Where you were really enjoying the idea and enjoying the thoughtfulness ( not the monetary value) of the what you were putting into the gift? Where you felt the meaning it was bringing to your heart to be able to give to someone you love?  Giving is an expression of love and thanks.  Those feelings should accompany us when we are in the process.

How about when we gather with our loved ones?  Are we simply in a rush and overwhelmed with stress? Are we so caught up with preparation and perhaps the over planning that we are not enjoying the moments of simply being together.  Are we letting family pettiness get in the way of simply enjoying what we do share together?   Simplicity and quality, outweigh any fancy trimmings.

Isn’t it about the moments that bring us joy, together? When we look back, aren’t the best memories not the ones material, but the the feelings of love, togetherness and happiness?

Remember…it was those moments that made our hearts grow “three sizes.”

So this Holiday season,  take time to find joy and put the spirit of the season first.

As the Grinch learned, that Christmas morning long ago…

"It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come 
from a store." 

"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"