Three Great Christmas Gifts
It feels like some cosmic being took all the work that was supposed to be done in the months of shutdown and has tried to squish it into the months immediately preceding Christmas. In an already chaotic time, this particular year feels ultra-pressured, an echo of the now-familiar uncertainty that Covid-19 has brought into our world. In the words of George Lucas, “Always remember, your focus determines your reality."
Where are you putting your attention in this pre-Christmas season? Here are a couple of places where a deliberate shift in your focus can help you to tap into the good and strengthening in our world, and move through this time with purpose rather than overwhelm.
Look for conversations and connections that build and encourage. Grab a coffee/tea/beer/wine together and give a half hour, spending it deliberately connecting with the people in your life is an investment well worth the effort.
Have fun. I came across a game called “Getting Lost”. (https://gettinglost.co.nz/) I’m sure someone secretly tapped into my brain and marketed it as I have distinct memories of playing this with my now-adult kids in their school holidays. Costing as little as some petrol and a picnic basket of food, we’d pile in the car, and each person would get to give the next direction - turn left at the next intersection; drive ten kilometres and then turn right at the first intersection after this, etc. We had glorious fun getting lost in our beautiful country and would come home energised and engaged with one another. Where could you go?
Give someone else a hand. Some ideas: plating up a few meals and taking them out to the homeless in your town; buying a Christmas gift for a child and putting it under the local donor tree; making some biscuits for your neighbour; gifting a goat to the SMILES programme or making a donation to Youth Encounter so they can help more NZ kids shift to a better life focus. Shift your focus to making a difference, and it lifts your internal barometer.
Remember, it’s neither the journey nor the destination that is the most important part of this season - it’s the people who are with us that make the difference. Let’s help one another to have a fantastic December!
