From Hart to Hearts
A Message from Rev Linda Hart for the month of December 2009
Though I have worked hard to have manageable holidays, it all can spin out of control if I’m not careful. Take the cookie explosion from a few years ago, for example.
It was a week before Christmas day, and I was looking around my kitchen at the containers that were filled with the cookies I had baked. Over the years, I’ve made six or seven varieties each year. Initially, I only made those cookies that my mother made when I was a child. Then, one year I found a recipe for Bishop’s bread, a loaf that was like fruitcake, but with chocolate chips and a lighter batter. It became one of our favorites. Peter loves snickerdoodles, (a light cookie covered with cinnamon sugar) so those, too, became part of our tradition. And of course, we needed to make some cut out sugar cookies for my daughter Claire to decorate. The numbers of cookies in our house mounted.
So, there I was in my kitchen that year, looking around at the six or eight dozen cookies filling containers on every countertop, and I thought “Perhaps I could bake another batch before Christmas....” What was it about eight dozen cookies that wasn’t enough? My small family of three surely couldn’t consume that many, couldn’t even give that many away! Yet there I was, checking the cupboards and refrigerator to see if I had enough butter, sugar and flour to get back to baking.
These winter holidays can make even the most centered of us a little crazy. We all long for times of magic and wonder, for a moment of deep connection to each other, for the chance to truly give to a loved one, for the possibility of making some small dream come true. And the paradox is that often the striving for such experiences will keep us from having them. The harder we work – at least sometimes – the less possible it becomes that we will achieve those precious moments we seek.
The best holidays for me are always the ones during which I can let go of the cookies, the baking, the decorations, and the expectations and simply allow those deeper longings to emerge. Being present to the many moments that come during these crazy holiday days may be truly the best gift we can give ourselves and our loved ones.
No matter what your celebration is this season – Chanukah, Solstice, Christmas or one of your own invention – give yourself permission to stop and simply be. Watch the flickering candles. Search the night sky for the star that just might light the way to peace. Listen to music that feeds your soul. And in the chill winter air, take a moment to snuggle closer to those you love. Pause to hear the sound of bells and reindeer feet. And breathe, deep and full and long.
The winter madness of this holiday season need not overwhelm our true hopes and dreams. All you have to do is claim some quiet and peace for yourself and what is truly most important.
May the season be bright and loving for you all,
Linda