A CHRISTMAS REMINDER

     Today is Christmas and as we spend time with our families and enjoy our gifts, let us keep in mind what Christmas is all about. Christmas is not really about the gifts that we recieve or the best parties of the season or even the great places we can visit. I believe Christmas is about how much we can give of ourselves, how much we can enjoy and be thankful that we can be with our families and how far we can go in planning how well we're going to do the following year to make our lives and the lives of our loved ones a better one.

      Just yesterday I had to be reminded of what Christmas is really about. Even though my holidays were always filled with joy, laughter, family and many, many presents, I was missing out on a important meaning of this season. Every year I planned for yet a better Christmas to an almost perfect one with much to drink, eat and much more presents. To my surprise, every year got a little less abundant and less happier.I wasn't in the Christmas spirit as I always was, I didn't want to visit family anymore,  I even came to the point that in the past few years, I've found myself struggling to buy my children gifts for the holidays.

        All that have read my other posts know that this past year has been a transformational one for me. I have known so many new things that I never thought would ever evolve in my persona. As these holidays approached, I was stressing the fact that I didnt know how I was going to come up with money to buy my children the gifts that they deserve; realize how many times we find ourselves doubting our own strengths and forgetting that we are children of the most high God and nothing is impossible if we truly believe that everything in life is possible. And as I thought about the negativity of things, I subconsciously started fighting with my conscious and prayed and reassured myself that something great was happen even if I didnt have any money to buy gifts and that my children will understand. Amazingly, both things happened!

         I woke up early yesterday morning, got some choirs done, went to pick up my son who was coming home for the holidays from college at the Orient point ferry, came home and cooked enough food to feed an army and by the time it was 2pm, I had everything I had planned done. 

         Miraculously, my husband came home about 2:30 pm with great news. He was given a bonus from his job that enabled us to buy gifts for all my 5 children including my 3 grand daughters, one of my husband's friend and my daughters' friend which I consider like my own.

         Observe how I too, still am not fully aware on what the true meaning of Christmas is, well I do know but I think I need to be reminded so I can instill that truth in my thoughts and beliefs. As I sat with Emma on my lap (my youngest grand daughter) and helped her unwrap her gifts, I recieved a text. Anthony Robbins tweeted "The best present of any Christmas is the gift of being with those you love! Hope you are sharing that gift today!" And surely and much blessed, I was. Writing this gives me goose bumps.

          I didnt realize that giving the gift to my children that I am always there for them is the best gift ever. I would not know what I would have done on Christmas days had I not had my mom around to cook for us or just be there in a warm and loving enviroment and I'm sure my children feel the same. I'm sure that my children will give up any gift if they had to choose them over me. Thankyou God, for making my life completely family happy!

         Even though next Christmas is another year away, let us continue to believe in the true meaning of Christmas. As we are reminded that Christ was born on this day, let us be born again too, not in religious ways if you chose not to but in ways to make our lives more fullfilled.  Let's make our lives more whole, more peaceful, enabling us to live our passions, live our most highest potential. Let us go on a journey in which we will commit ourselves that when the ending of next year comes, we can look back and truly say, "I've made a change in my life for the better and I have made a difference in a person's life or people's lives." Wouldn't that be a great satisfaction and achievement?!!


            I believe that if we can make a difference in  person's life, we are unconsciously making ours much better in ways that we've always dreamed of. I am committing myself that for next Thanksgiving, I will volunteer in a soup kitchen or anything similar to help feed the less fortunate. Next Christmas, instead of buying gifts and cooking for my family, I will invite less fortunate families to my home and cook for them and buy them gifts. I've already told my children about my plans and they are happy to help my plans become a success.

           Please feel free to to share any plans to make our world a better one. See you soon in a more fullfilled, abundant and different world.
                        
                      Marilu Nunez