Christmas season casts a truly amazing spell on the world. People’s walls come down, their hearts are softened, they notice the needs of strangers, they have the desire to care for their fellow man, and hurts anger seems to get let go and be replaced with the Christmas spirit of love. It truly has an incredible way of causing people to soften their hearts toward one another and granting forgiveness seems natural rather than a struggle. It is a time when our differences seem to fade away and we find common ground between us. Yes, this is a truly magical time of year if you are willing to allow yourself to feel the magic of Christmas.

Rather than sharing a story today I wanted to share an amazing quote about Christmas:

“Of all the holidays there is none that enters so fully into the human heart, and stirs so many of the higher sentiments. The thoughts, memories, hopes, and customs linked with it are bound by antiquity and nationality collectively; and by childhood and old age individually. They embrace the religious, social, and patriotic sides of our nature. The holly and mistletoe entwined among the evergreens, the habit of giving gifts to those we love, the presence of the Christmas tree, the superstition of Santa Claus, all combining to make Christmas the most longed-for, the most universal, and from every standpoint, the most important holiday known to man…

…It is a desire to sacrifice for others, to render service and to possess a feeling of universal brotherhood. It consists of a willingness to forget what you have done for others, and to remember what others have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you, and think only of your duties in the middle distance, and your chance to do good and aid your fellow-men in the foreground—to see that your fellow-men are just as good as you are, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts—to close your book of grievances against the universe, and look about you for a place to sow a few seeds of happiness, and go your way unobserved..” -Clarence Baird

I love the part where he says it’s a time to close your book of grievances against the universe. It is such a great reminder to all of us to let go of the past, replace the hurt with seeds of happiness that will grow as we get out there and do service for others. There is no better time to forgive others than now. As we come closer and closer to the close of 2013, make the decision to forgive and forget and leave the past in the past. Decide to truly let things go, grant forgiveness to all, and allow your heart to feel nothing but love for others. Close your book of grievances and leave it behind. Doing that is the best Christmas present you can give to yourself because it will give you the gift of inner peace, the greatest gift of all.

God bless you and may you grant yourself the gift of inner peace!
~Amy