I am writing to you on Halloween, a time to masquerade as somebody we’re not. And, of course, I’m reminded that we don’t reserve the mask for Halloween. (I played a rabbit on Easter.)
Tomorrow begins November, a time of Thanksgiving. And Christmas, a time of giving, follows … more quickly than ever. We will be called on to play roles. Some of them will fit us; some of them will not.
My goal, more than ever, is to play only the roles that fit.
Sam and I want to include family, his family and my family, and make sure we don’t leave ourselves behind. We want to do what we do and give what we give wholeheartedly. Sounds simple. But it’s easy to slip into an expected role for the kids, the parents, the office. And there is only so much time to bake cookies and shop for “heart-felt” gifts, which can leave us serving up the “obligatory.” The real gift, however it is expressed, is love. Unfortunately, the love is sometimes bypassed for appearance or convenience.
Perhaps if we begin now to think of what we are truly grateful for and what we truly want to give, we can make Thanksgiving and Christmas as honest and meaningful as love is.
May we be thankful for love, or everything good. May our thanksgiving refine and multiply our love. And may it burst forth, as it did for Scrooge in “The Christmas Carol,” making it clear, to both us and others, what the true gift is.
And Happy Halloween!
With a growing love,
Jan
Jan's program for the quest of a lifetime.
Are you ready to live your destiny?