Merry Christmas sweet friends

I am down for the count today insomuch as I am feeling far too unwell to go to Christmas dinner. So instead I thought I would share a couple of Christmas treats here with you.

one of the sweetest & most poignant scenes in an animated cartoon

and something sublime from my beloved King's College Choir

Wishing you a meaningful holiday full of love and well-being.
May every day be to you a very merry Christmas.
God bless us everyone.

When it's okay to regift

Not sure what to give your loved ones this year?
Especially those who have every 'thing'.
We all want to offer presents that are unique, fresh, inspiring and magical..... and frankly, ones we can afford.
So how about regifting?
........... Do I sense furrows and frowns at the thought?


What if I told you could give everyone on your list gifts they would carry with them every day, gifts that would cause the recipients to silently thank you every time every time they enjoyed your gifts... gifts that would enrich their lives for years to come... gifts they would never need to dust!


Imagine being able to actually give out things like creativity, love, kindness, warmth, humor, friendship.  Who wouldn't love to receive those?


The best news is these are gifts you already have in your possession.  We've all been born with gifts that are particular to us in the way they are expressed: our soulfullness, beauty, talent, intelligence, thoughtfulness and so on.  These are gifts too precious and desirable not to share.  In fact, it would be just plain selfish to hoard them!


The people in your world truly wish for what you have to offer.  Ask them, and I think you'll find that many will say, all they want for Christmas...
is YOU!


joyfully, gratefully yours...

Simultaneous Wow... NOW

The other day I wrote about that sweet viral occurrence known as the ripple effect.
Today I am thinking there is an even greater, lovelier, more powerful effect -- that of simultaneous good.

I was enjoying the proverbial 'reason for the season' by watching a touching video account of what things would've been like If Mary and Joseph Used Facebook.

It includes 'likes', the creation of groups, totally believable reactions from faux friends, geo-tracking... all the latest and greatest FB has to offer.  While going with the flow of the video I was momentarily arrested by an entry about the famous shepherds that were quietly going about their business in the hills nearby.  Joseph wrote "Some shepherds just showed up"... and then:

The idea that "they already knew" was what got me.
HOW did they know?
How could they know?

If we go with the idea of the ripple effect then someone must have witnessed or heard about Jesus' birth first-hand and told someone else who told someone else until the news traveled along a line of communication to the shepherds.  But this was not the case.  They got the message, the "good news" straight from the source, from the Divine Love that was there on the scene orchestrating the entire event and keeping the babe safe from the bustling environment of the "inn" that Joseph and Mary were turned away from.

I realized this kind of cause and effect has great implications when it comes to our lives and economy.  Elementary economic theory indicates that their is a trickle down effect when money stops flowing somewhere.  If your boss does not pay you, you can't pay your gardener who can't pay his plumber who can't pay his babysitter who can't pay her bills.... a downward spiral scenario we are confronted with daily.

But what if we are not dependent on others who are dependent on others?  What if we get our information and news straight from the source and are dependent only on the report that comes to us from Divine Love?

When our thought is open and calm, free from the clamor of society's distractions... as was the shepherds'.... then we can tune in and hear the angel's song assuring us of glory, peace on earth and goodwill toward men.... and we can start living out from that premise, that standpoint of good news, and expect peace of mind and goodwill toward us.  And soon, every day can feel like Christmas.

The Priorities of Christmas Present

"But you were always a good man of business, Jacob," faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.

"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again.  "Mankind was my business.  The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business.  The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"

Excerpted from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens -- this quote served as my corporation's manifesto en sum.

Pretty, please

This holiday season, may your dear loving heart realize 

that love actually is

all around you

Love Actually - All I want for Christmas is you