Tis the Season

Tis the season for joy so why are there so many with downcast eyes? It is the time to look at the merry but with eyes down low the lights cannot add a sparkle. It is the season to count the good and remember hope yet hearts filled with pain find it hard to remember a good time. The beauty and the peace stream by landing no crumb of blessing on these weary shoulders.

Often times the decorations lifted up are not seen as tokens of fun and beauty but instead of commerce and manipulation. Lights intended to add a sparkle to an eye and merriment to festive scene instead spark resentment and frustration. When we cast an eye to these faces we often wonder why Ebeneezer left his office. Those of us who enjoy the season and lift our eyes to see the joy wonder how they could be so low.

The answer to this question is varied and depending on the person twisted through years of information and perception. Yet one truth stands above the rest, they can no longer truly see good. Their hearts are filled with pain, frustration and yearning each one searching praying hoping for the joy others see yet rejecting it.

So as you see such a one do not become frustrated or angry simply offer a smile and wish them a merry Christmas not to rub it in but in an attempt to chip away at the pain residing in their hearts. Perhaps an offer of warmth and a nice cup a tea is possible revealing a gimps that good still exists. It is not the offer that is important it is the recognition that they exist and are visible. And perhaps through more than just a few bumps and passes perhaps a crumb will fall from the masters table to land upon their hearts and cause it to melt just a little. Each moment each event adding one small token one event of evidence that good still not only exists but is present.

Tis the season and we each one have a chance to offer it to those we meet extending a hand and a smile building not distance but inclusion in a world that is quick to teach us to exclude. Be yourself this season but see those who walk with eyes cast down not as obstacles but instead as an opportunity to share the season.

Many blessings and may you indeed have a very Merry Christmas!