As I write this, I am sitting in a bright sun room surrounded by thigh deep snow and loving family. We are having such a peaceful, happy Christmas that my teenaged daughter asked my brother why all nine of us (and the extra 15 who are coming for dinner) didn’t just live together all year round. The answer, of course, has to do with practicality, jobs, schools, extended family in other places, etc.
But her sentiment was sweet. For our family, the holidays are a time to put all our problems on hold and be reminded how we fit into our clan. In our place in the great white north, we cook, eat, watch movies, play card games and go on long walks in crunchy snow. Here we emotionally refuel before heading back to our real lives and the general stresses of life.
Not everyone is so lucky. Many people come from families ravaged by poverty or illness or abuse, that communing with family is only a reminder of a painful past. Christmas is not merry for all. But it can be better. That’s the thing about life. We are all dealt a hand of biological predisposition and environmental circumstance. Some things we can control. Others we can’t. But what we can control are our reactions to adversity.
In some ways I believe life is a self-fulfilling prophesy. If we believe that our lives can be better, than we can create it. Thoughts are things. Our thoughts create our moods. Our mood shapes our behaviors. And our behaviors influence the response from our environments. We all have the power to enrich our lives with better relationships and more healthy environments. And it all starts with the montras cycling in our heads. What positive message can we implant today?
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