Yesterday afternoon we attended Theatre Calgary’s ‘A Christmas Carol’. I had my doubts going in but it turned out to be ‘true to its word and infinitely more’ as we were captivated by the seasoned actor that played Scrooge and were mesmerized by the sets, costumes and music. A very old tale with a very relevant, timely, urgent message.
A few weeks ago I went to the movie “The Man who Invented Christmas’ and it was the story of how Charles Dickens came to write “A Christmas Carol’ and his inspiration for it. Thus I have been inundated with this story lately. My favorite Christmas movie and the one we traditionally watch every Christmas eve is “The Muppets Christmas Carol”. No one tells the story better than the Muppets and I realize now that it is very true to the original story. Not a lot of fluff.
I thought I understood this story inside out since it has come at me in so many formats over the years. But when I really ponder this in my heart, I realize its a story not of just how one man’s existence could change the world (his world) but of how each of us can change our little corner of the world if we would honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all the year. Christmas is mindset and a heartthrob to make the world a better place. Truly ‘peace on earth and goodwill to all men’. Not just at Christmas but all the year, all our lives. I’ve been mocked for thinking about Christmas all year long and carrying a little Christmas cheer around to pull our whenever its needed. Because there has always been something about Christmas that has touched my heart in its deepest places. There’s a nostalgia there and a ‘coming home’ there for me. I have often felt like nothing bad can (or should) happen at Christmas. But bad things happen every single Christmas and throughout the rest of the year that we have no control over.
In my own personal experience, I have often told myself, if I can just get through Christmas, I will deal with all that baggage in the New Year. Lets just focus on peace and goodwill til the end of December. But very often we can’t just make the bad things go away, we must do something about them. Christmas really is doing something about it. People that really understand Christmas and its true meaning will be trying to make Christmas in someone else’s life. Its not all about me!
If we each put ourselves in as the character Scrooge, what would we find in our lives that is going selfishly to the uncaring grave and what would we find that is making a difference in someone else’s life? How are we making other people’s lives better? How are we blessing them? How are we showing love and compassion? The rewards for giving really are more personal and more magnificent that the selfish consumption of ‘whats in it for me?’
Even if we are suffering our own woes, its amazing how when we turn our focus towards making someone else’s Christmas better, our problems start to diminish or, at least, our perception of them does. And this is something that doesn’t just hold true at Christmas but all year around. Christmas is just a reminder of how we should be living our lives. We should have goodwill and peace, compassion and caring, joy and faith all the year.
When I leave this earth I don’t want people to be saying ‘Amen, its about time she took her leave and decreased the surplus population’. I want to make a difference. I want Christmas to be about those that ‘need a little Christmas, right this very moment’. Its very easy for me to stay in my little Christmas bubble and pretend all is well with the world and I’m just going to enjoy Christmas in my own little way and do what feels good for me. Do what gives me the warm fuzzies.
So this is something I am going to work on in the coming days – especially these next two weeks. But I truly DO want to honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I’m working on it. I invite you to join me.
God Bless Us, Everyone.
The Red Plaid Apron 