I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! I love how 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. People soften their hearts toward one another and the act of granting forgiveness seems more natural rather than being a struggle. Differences seem to fade away and we are able to find common ground between us. It’s truly a magical time of year.

As Clarence Baird once said of 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…”

I love what he said. It’s a great reminder that this week is the perfect time of year to let go of past hurts and replace them with seeds of happiness that can grow. It’s the perfect opportunity to embrace the season and spirit of Christmas and close your book of grievances against the universe.

In just a few days 2019 will come to an end and we will not only begin a new year, but we will begin an entirely new decade! What a great opportunity for all of us to begin anew!!!

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )