The last two months have been busy:
I vacationed for two weeks, which always means, for me, about four weeks—an
initial week of packing and planning, two weeks away, and then a week of
recuperating. So there went November with no postings and no blogging.
Then
came December and a posting in which I gave you a brief glimpse into my convent
life in Seneca, Kansas. The following week, flu visited. After it’s departure,
I tried to live the expectation of Advent, but found myself instead caught up
in the frenzy of Christmas.
I
say frenzy because that’s what the
last week has felt like: shopping for gifts and groceries, baking cookies and
quick bread for gifts, wrapping and boxing all the gifts for sending to friends
elsewhere.
Then,
decorating the house and the tree and writing messages on Christmas cards.
. . . by Marcel Rieder, 1898
Next,
shopping for the ingredients for the Christmas Eve meal at my home and for the
pies and salad I’ll take to the Christmas Day family gathering at my brother
and sister-in-law’s home.
And
finally, getting ready for a guest who’s coming to spend a few day with me and
the cats.
Each
year, those of us who celebrate Advent and Christmas must decide how we will
embrace these two seasons. This year, the planning, shopping, decorating,
gifting, and visiting have ensnared me.
I
started off with good intentions, but I’ve gotten lost in the maze of trying to
do too much in too short a time. And that “too much” is mostly unnecessary if a
person—like myself—would like to live the simplicity of Advent and of the
age-old story that prompts the celebration of Christmas.
It
is a story of the birth of a child. Like Nelson Mandela, this child grew up and
found himself interacting with those imprisoned by illness and need, ignorance
and hatred, fear and greed.
His
response, like Mandela’s, inspires all of us. Both dedicated their lives to
helping others. Both gave us the gift of their wisdom. Their lives were great
gifts from and to the Universe.
_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg)
. . . "The Magi Journeying" by James Tissot
The
giving of gifts at Christmas comes from the ancient story of the Magi visiting
that child born long ago in a far-flung Roman province. These wise men brought
with them gifts for the child and so, we, too, bear gifts for others during
this season. A tapestry depicting this event would be sewn with multicolored threads—the pink-tinged joy of dawn and the golden contentment of sunset.
This
year, I have lost both in the flurry of gift giving. So yesterday I wrote myself
a letter to be opened on the first Sunday of Advent in 2014. In that letter, I
advise myself to enter the season of simplicity with a heart centered on the
truths underlying the Christmas stories of a birth in Bethlehem, a visit by
awe-struck shepherds to a manger, and a journey by three gift-bearing magi.
Within these stories is a humanity I want to embrace. And that demands a
simplicity I lost this year.
But
the season is not over. And so last evening, I decided to give myself the
gift of time. Time away from feeling that I must do this or that or something
else that in the arc of my life is a merest grain of sand.
By
giving myself the gift of time, I hope to enter into a simplicity that will
bring forth the gratitude and wide-eyed wonder that for me is essential to the
celebration of Christmas.
And
when I return to posting on January 9, 2014, and to reading and commenting on
your blogs on January 6—the feast of the Three Kings—I will be able to truly
respond to them because I won’t feel the frantic need to get “this” done so
that I can move on to get “that” done.
In
your blogs, you share your lives with all of us. I am choosing to read those
blogs when time permits me to respond thoughtfully and fully to the life you
share. I trust fully that you understand this.
May
the remainder of Advent and the entire Christmas season bring you whatever your
deepest heartwish is. Peace.
The
paintings are from Wikipedia.
You can't enjoy the season if you are frantically doing things. I wish for you what you always wish us--PEACE!!
ReplyDeleteDear Fishducky, yes, since I posted this frenzied story, I've settled into doing just what needs to be done that day and let go of worry. Such a difference in how I'm feeling! Peace.
DeleteWhen my friends say they aren't ready for Christmas, I tell them it doesn't matter because Christmas comes anyway. We might as well take time to appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Dear Janie, you are so right. I make this mistake almost every year during the holidays. I'm hoping that what I've learned this year will remain in my mind for the future. Peace.
DeleteHave to take a step back sometimes indeed or you'll go crazy and start rhyming like the cat lol
ReplyDeleteDear Pat, exactly! I needed to take a "step back." But at the best--or worst--of times I could never rhyme like the cat! That's a special talent I don't have. Peace.
DeleteYour intentions are lovely parts of your expectation of the season; sad that a flu cut your time so short. I hope your letter to yourself also said Good Job, Dee. You finished your preparation before Advent. Well, possibly excepting the groceries. Have a wonderful time with your friends and relatives and cats.
ReplyDeleteDear Joanne, my letter didn't say that, but it's on the computer so I can go back and be gracious to myself. Thank you for reminding me to do so. Peace.
DeleteSimplicity and time are both HUGE gifts. And increasingly necessary in my world if my brain and body are not to melt down. Which I forget. Far too often.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the reminder - peace and love are flowing through cyber space to you.
Dear EC, thank you for arcing peace and love to me. I've been feeling so much serenity since I wrote this post and simply let go of planning, planning, planning what to do next. I hope that you, too, are gifting yourself this season. Peace.
DeleteTime is such a wonderful gift - we all should learn to use is sensibly. Wishing you a peaceful Christmas.
ReplyDeleteDear Annie, I wish you also a peace-filled Christmas. I'm so hoping that the gift of time I'm giving myself now will extend into the new year. Peace.
DeleteKeep it simple was something I tell myself, but then feel that resolution slip away. "The gift of time and reflection" is the best of all we each can give and receive. Thank you, Dee.
ReplyDeleteDear Susan, yes, "keep it simple." I tend to analyze up the Yazoo! And so I make things complex. Sister Dunstan, who taught me philosophy and logic in college, told me one starry night as we walked to the residence hall, "Dee, never mistake complexity for depth." I've tried to hold on to that, but I always seem to begin machinations in my brain! Peace.
DeleteI wish you a peaceful and contemplative season. It’s not too late to slow down and return to what is important for you. Whether the story is true or simply a lovely fantasy, the sentiments behind it are worth taking to heart.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you, dear Dee.
Dear Friko, I wish you also peace and contemplation. I have slowed down and settled myself into simply being. The stories for me are lovely myths that reveal great truths. As all myths do. Peace.
Delete"Time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted time," a quote I just read on another blog and it spoke to me. This year, I was done with everything early, except things I like to do in the last minute, like wrapping presents for my husband and setting out the decorations here at home. In Sweden, we did not do that until the last week before Christmas and then let it stay up until 12th night. So, backwards from the way it is done here, but at least our tree was always fresh on Christmas Eve. Have a wonderful holiday season, my friend.
ReplyDeleteDear Inger, I so like that quote. I enjoy "wasting" time by reading and holding the cats and simply gazing out into the back yard and watching the wind flutter the oak leaves. Like you did in Sweden, I leave the tree up until the 12th night--the Epiphany. I now use an artificial tree because keeping one alive for five weeks--the time it is up--is difficult. I hope you, too, have a "wonderful holiday season" filled with many blessings. Peace.
DeleteEnjoy the time off. Please never feel b ad about resting. Resting and putting your feet up and doing what you really want to do even if it is not much is very important for your spirit. Have a very Merry Christmas, even if my wishes are too early.
ReplyDeleteDear Munir, thank you for the Christmas wish. Since I wrote this post and stopped myself from plunging even deeper into anxiety about getting things done, I have experienced great peace and serenity. A blessing. Peace.
DeleteIt sounds like you are well on the path towards contentment and simplicity. I know I certainly understand when you are absent for awhile. My thoughts and good wishes for you don't go anywhere. See you later... and thanks for the update. :-)
ReplyDeleteDear DJan, yes, I am feeling content because I've simplified what my expectations are of myself and what I'll get done. Yesterday I baked cookies again--macaroons drizzled with chocolate and ranger cookies. And I completed the card sending. I simply let myself roam through the day doing what I wanted when I felt like doing something. So lovely. Peace.
DeleteBeautiful post, Dee. I think I've finally gotten beyond the bronchitis I had and am now able to just enjoy the season. I'm in the gift wrapping and card phase and I'm praying for each person as I write and address the card. It gives me a calm dimension. I'm going to take a blog break, too, and then come back in the new year with more energy. Happy, healthy and a very merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteDear Carol, I'm so glad to learn that you bronchitis has vamoosed and that you, too, are now enjoying the season. That's the thing. I miss the joy of the season because I'm so busy being busy.
DeleteYour prayer as you do each card is such a lovely tradition. I will remember this next year and send the prayerful thoughts I have about each card recipient to that person with the card. Peace.
I just read all your past posts as I was behind. I am pleased that you feel better and you are wise to plan to return to a simpler lifestyle, if that suits you better. I hope you will have the Christmas you wish for and have a great time with your family and friends.
ReplyDeleteDear Vagabonde, simpler does suit me because I've always tended to stew about things. I'm Irish and I've always said that we Irish can make a stew out of any situation! Simplicity has always been appealing to me and I think that's one of the reasons I entered the convent all those many years ago. Peace.
Deletetake care of yourself. Enjoy your family for the Christmas Holiday.
ReplyDeleteDear Mimi, and you, too, take care of yourself. I'm thinking this is your first Christmas without your husband. I know from other friends that the holidays are so hard when a loved one is gone. Be gracious to yourself. Please. Peace.
DeleteI am glad you feel better. I had to rethink my priorities too!!! Ended up giving my two weeks notice at my little part time job. I'm so excited to not work!!! Sheesh, they scheduled me to work on Christmas Eve. I will miss my family celebration??? But this will be the last time this ever happens...
ReplyDeleteDear Turquoisemoon, I'm glad that you, too, were able to stop yourself in your tracks and rethink your priorities. It makes such a difference, doesn't it? I've been retired since 2001 and so I can appreciate your excitement over not working. May this season bring you your deepest heartwish for your life and your world. Peace.
DeleteI so understand those 4 week long, two week vacations. I missed your flu bout while I was gone and am just so happy you are past that hurdle now.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you have given your self the gift of time. What a blessing that is and one of the most valuable possession we own that we too often spend unwisely. You have your priorities right.
May your Christmas be peaceful, stress free, healthy and ever so enjoyable.
I wish those same thoughts for your New Year. See ya in 2014.
Dear Arkansas Patti, I hope your trip was a good one and that you came back rested and ready for the holidays. I am feeling stress-free right now. Today I'll go to my middle niece's home for a cookie-baking gala. She invites all of us every year and we get to take home so many tasty cookies. I baked two recipes yesterday in my own kitchen because her kitchen is small and the younger generation mostly bakes on the actual day. Peace.
DeleteMerry Christmas, Dee. I hope that next year (and from then on) you can find the PEACE and CALMNESS of Christmas which you richly deserve and yearn for… I used to feel that last-minute stress --but things have changed for me. I love Christmas --and try not to get stressed out about anything these days… Hope this works for you next year!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Christmas… God Bless.
Hugs,
Betsy
Dear Betsy, I'm so glad to learn that things can change--as they have done for you--and that I can embrace peace and serenity/calmness at this season of the year. Peace.
DeleteA post full of insight and truth, Dee. I hope you manage to recapture the simplicity and peace you long for. Wishing you joy and deep contentment at Christmas and into the New Year, dear Dee.
ReplyDeleteDear Perpetua, I have "recaptured" the gifts that mean so much to me. What I need to do is to remember how Christmas was in the convent. It's been 47 years--almost to the day--since I left (on Christmas Eve). The convent--like Scrooge after his nightly visitations--knew how to celebrate Advent and Christmas and the Twelve Days. Peace.
DeleteI bid you peace and and reflection, Dee, as you enter into your gift of time. What a magnificent gift to give oneself at this time of year. You know, I love Advent as much as I love Christmas as much as I love the 12 days following Christmas all the way up to when, as my girls used to say, "the wise guys come". We keep our tree and decorations up until then.
ReplyDeleteThis year, with Tom's surgery this past week, I made a point of doing what I could for gifts and decorating beforehand, knowing my time would be limited afterward. As he recovers (and which is coming along very well), we find we are taking more time to sit and talk, enjoy our own decorations, and wrap ourselves up in the Christmas spirit. Out of every crisis comes opportunity. This is ours, and you have yours, now. Enjoy each moment, dear Dee, and relish the fruits of the season.
See you next year.
Dear Penny, I just went and read your two blogs and so learned about Tom's operation. I hope that his recuperation is continuing to go well and that the coming week will see the success that both you two and the doctors hope for. There is such serenity woven through your words in the comment you life here and in your two postings. You are a model to me of how to live in the present with grace. Peace.
DeleteSo glad you're taking care of yourself, and giving yourself the gift of time and being in the moment. Hoping all your planning and work leads to days of celebration and joy and love. Wishing you a season of love and light.
ReplyDeleteDear Deb, I'm taking such good care of myself that it's a wonder to me! I've just now wrapped a few gifts and then I'll go and shovel the 1 1/2" of snow we got last evening and then I'll take a shower and put myself and the cookies I baked yesterday in the car and hie to my middle niece's home for the cookie fest! And I'm feeling so content about all this. May you, too, enjoy "a season of love and light," Deb. Peace.
DeleteI like your idea of using a letter to yourself to remind of lessons learned this season. My wife and I recently read through some of our old journals and they had the effect of reminding us of some things about our old lives that we gave up when we began our new ones. Those memories fade and the reminders are good. I think your note is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteMay your Christmas be a blessed and joyful time of peace.
Dear Bill, reading through the stories and journals of the past always helps me remember who I've been and what I have to be grateful for in this journey toward wholeness. I've kept a gratitude journal for about 15 years and when I read the entries for each day of any one year, I feel gratitude, pressed down and overflowing, for my life. Peace.
DeleteDee
ReplyDeleteYou have been one busy lady and flu making it's entrance. It sounds like you had a very festive holiday, filled with family, friends and love. I'm very remiss with my comments these days because my house is still under construction from the pipe burst. I keep finding new places of water damage that went unseen at first. I am doing most of the painting myself so I had no Christmas this year. I'm not complaining (really) just offering an explanation of why I get so dang behind. Actually, the old house will look better when finished than it did before the flood. LOL
Love and peace to you.
Dear Manzanita, thank you so much for reading this posting. I'm amazed that you've done any reading during such a busy time of your life. I've done so little reading of blogs that I didn't even know about your burst pipe. I'm wondering if it froze in the winter weather. Once I start blogging again, I hope to discover what's been happening with you. Take care and be gracious to yourself. Peace.
Delete"Coming Home To Myself" has been included in the A Sunday Drive for this week. Be assured that I hope this helps to point even more new visitors in your direction.
ReplyDeletehttp://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-sunday-drive_29.html
Dear Jerry, thank you for your thoughtfulness and may the new year bring you an abundance of health and the fulfillment of your deepest heart wishes. Peace.
DeleteI was away from blogs for a while, myself. Enjoy the season and the new year. Bless you, Dee! May this be a most wonderful year ahead. :) :)
ReplyDeleteDear Rita, I am enjoying the season. Today's I'm making 100% Whole Wheat bread from a recipe I've had for 44 years. It's given me hundreds of delicious loaves of bread. May your new year be wonderful also. Peace and blessings on you.
DeleteI have been away for awhile, Dee, also seeking the simplicity of life among the chaos. Unfortunately, more sadness came into my life and I have been dealing with that, but rather than give into it all, I accept, and try to move on. Today I thought of you and hoped you were doing OK but saw you have not posted in a few weeks. I hope you are just resting from all that is expected during the holidays and are taking a break. Know that you are thought about, know that we are concerned, know that we all care about a special lady named Dee.
ReplyDeleteArleen
dear Arlene, I'm so sorry to learn tht sadness has come into your life. I hope to return to reading and commenting on blogs this coming Monday--a week later than I thought I would. I hope then to discover what this sadness for you has been. I so hope that you didn't lose a loved one.
DeleteAs for myself, I am doing well. I'm ready to resume my writing and bloggiing routine and to move into into the mainstream of life. I've really taken time to simple "be" for the past four weeks. Like has been and is good. Peace.
Hi Dee, I'm sorry to hear that you had the flu and glad you were able to enjoy the Christmas season, even tho you felt frazzled, as many do during this hectic time of year.
ReplyDeleteMy love of the Christmas season gives me reason to pause to enjoy it right from the get-go. :)
Wishing you a Happy and Health year ahead.
Warm hugs:)