~~The Gayla Pink Apple~~
One of the best parts of Christmas is the anticipation...
Who doesn't recall lying in bed, as a child, wondering what Santa would bring when the day finally arrives. As an adult, anticipation is the excitement about the arrival of loved ones, to wondering if they will be pleased with their gifts, and if everyone will love the Christmas tree. Wondering if snow might fall. Praying the turkey isn't dry, and crossing your fingers the cornbread dressing is good!
I love to celebrate this wonderful holiday with passion, color, and exuberance - over the top with sparkle and twinkling lights. Christmas wakes up my senses in a way that brings out the beauty of the season. Decorated garlands and the tree glistening of glass blown ornaments, and thousands of sparkling tree lights that wake up the room.
The smell of food, Christmas music, the visual beauty are all paths to the spiritualness of the occasion. In addition to gifts and food, we are drawn to the holiday because it symbolizes our highest ideals.
So turn off your mind for a few minutes and think with your heart. Our mind tells us that Santa doesn't fly through the sky and squeeze down chimneys in our homes, but in our hearts we know this energy is real, that the spirit of giving is real. His energy is represented in open hearts, in jollity, and in a giving nature. Everything he represents exists in all of us; Santa challenges us to put that goodness back in ourselves.
Christmas gives us permission to be childlike again, no matter what our age. Christmas brings back our sense of wonder and joyousness, the part of us that is closest to God. The scent of pine or cedar immediately takes me back to my childhood. Imagining that all the twinkling lights at Christmastime are the sparkling stars shining high in the night-time sky.
The icon of Christmas is the tree. A Christmas tree beautifully decorated with all the glorious ornaments and lights. Our Christmas tree gives me a walk down memory lane. Many of the ornaments represent a moment in my life. As I unwrap ornaments, I recall the who, what, when, and where of each one. It's sort of like a memory book hanging on the tree, shining brightly back at me, reminding me of who I am and the meaning of Christmas.
My daughter once wrote in a school paper that our home at Christmastime is transformed into a magical place. That confirmed for me that all those years of my decorating our home, and preparing for Christmas, indeed gave her, as a young child, a magical anticipation of Christmas.
I love the anticipation of Christmas,
Gayla
Who doesn't recall lying in bed, as a child, wondering what Santa would bring when the day finally arrives. As an adult, anticipation is the excitement about the arrival of loved ones, to wondering if they will be pleased with their gifts, and if everyone will love the Christmas tree. Wondering if snow might fall. Praying the turkey isn't dry, and crossing your fingers the cornbread dressing is good!
I love to celebrate this wonderful holiday with passion, color, and exuberance - over the top with sparkle and twinkling lights. Christmas wakes up my senses in a way that brings out the beauty of the season. Decorated garlands and the tree glistening of glass blown ornaments, and thousands of sparkling tree lights that wake up the room.
The smell of food, Christmas music, the visual beauty are all paths to the spiritualness of the occasion. In addition to gifts and food, we are drawn to the holiday because it symbolizes our highest ideals.
So turn off your mind for a few minutes and think with your heart. Our mind tells us that Santa doesn't fly through the sky and squeeze down chimneys in our homes, but in our hearts we know this energy is real, that the spirit of giving is real. His energy is represented in open hearts, in jollity, and in a giving nature. Everything he represents exists in all of us; Santa challenges us to put that goodness back in ourselves.
Christmas gives us permission to be childlike again, no matter what our age. Christmas brings back our sense of wonder and joyousness, the part of us that is closest to God. The scent of pine or cedar immediately takes me back to my childhood. Imagining that all the twinkling lights at Christmastime are the sparkling stars shining high in the night-time sky.
The icon of Christmas is the tree. A Christmas tree beautifully decorated with all the glorious ornaments and lights. Our Christmas tree gives me a walk down memory lane. Many of the ornaments represent a moment in my life. As I unwrap ornaments, I recall the who, what, when, and where of each one. It's sort of like a memory book hanging on the tree, shining brightly back at me, reminding me of who I am and the meaning of Christmas.
My daughter once wrote in a school paper that our home at Christmastime is transformed into a magical place. That confirmed for me that all those years of my decorating our home, and preparing for Christmas, indeed gave her, as a young child, a magical anticipation of Christmas.
I love the anticipation of Christmas,
Gayla
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