Tag: December

The Thing About Being Authentic Is You Can Claim Your Religious Belief And Not Worry If It Alienates Others

The Spirit Of Love Unites The World

Many Mid Life Celebration blog readers don’t celebrate Christmas. That’s cool. And many do celebrate Christmas. That’s cool too. No matter what you celebrate this month, we are all united in the foundational element of every religion – love. Here’s to our December celebrations (and please pardon jeff noel if he missed any):

Al Hijra – Muslim New Year: Nov. 26 – Dec. 24
Ashura (Islamic, Muslim): Dec. 5
St. Nicholas Day (International): Dec. 6
Bodhi Day – Buddha’s Enlightenment (Buddhist): Dec. 8
Virgin of Guadalupe (Mexico): Dec. 12
Santa Lucia Day (Sweden): Dec. 13
Las Posadas (Mexico): Dec. 16 – 25
Hanukkah (Jewish): Dec. 21 – 28
Christmas (Christian, Roman Catholic, International): Dec. 25
Boxing Day (Canada, United Kingdom): Dec. 26
Kwanzaa (African-American): Dec. 26 – Jan. 1

Our world has much to be thankful for. Go, slow down. Be thankful.

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Christmas Eve Joy

Evergreen - Finland
Evergreen - Finland

What Joy it is to simply be alive to experience Christmas Eve one more time.

It is so easy to take the gift of life for granted. Would you agree?

As we count our blessings for making it to mid life, let us endeavor to help others learn from our successes and our challenges.

You have my commitment. I’ll continue to write five daily blogs to help bring a balanced approach to life’s four big choices:

  1. Mind
  2. Body
  3. Spirit
  4. Money

What will you commit to?

Hey, I know its challenging to read all five every day. It is not an expectation, only a wish.

If I didn’t believe reading these each day would help others make the world a better place, I wouldn’t do it.

But I do believe.

And may I put it in a different perspective? Think about what it takes to write them, let alone simply read them.

Enjoy this Christmas Eve, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, please know that I wish you three simple things:

  1. Peace in your Soul
  2. Joy in your Spirit
  3. Love in your Heart

Winter and The First Robin

Alaska
Alaska

Winter. Winter Solstice. First day of Winter.

It’s obviously winter in the northern states, with the freezing temperatures and all the snow.

But in Central Florida and at the Walt Disney World Resort, it’s difficult to tell when winter arrives, if in fact it ever does.

So today, as we mark the official calendar day that winter starts, I am still listening for the first sign that winter has arrived.

The morning we hear the first Robin Red Breast chipping, we are quietly full of Joy. That’s when winter officially starts for us.

Mid Life Holiday Stress

Mid Life holiday stress can rob us of the joy  we could be experiencing, if only we could focus.

But how are we supposed to focus when this time of year is so hectic?

And it occurred to me that this time of year has always been hectic. Ever see “A Miracle on 34th Street“?

It was inspired on Christmas eve, 1944, when Valentine Davies, a screenwriter, went gift shopping for his wife.  It was hectic, crazy, and lacked the spirit of Christmas we all know in our hearts, but often fail to make time for.

Valentine set out to create a movie that would help remind everyone that the spirit of Christmas and Santa Claus, is real.  Very real.

Considered a “B” movie, it was released during the summer, and never advertised as a Christmas movie.

The American public embraced the movie so much that it ran in theaters straight through the end of the year.

It is one of the all-time great Christmas movies and one that my family and I watch every holiday season, when we can find the time.

Midlife Shakespeare

“What’s past is prologue.” – Shakespeare

What’s past is simply what got us to where we are today. I’m thankful for that.

What’s here and now, is what will be past tomorrow. I’m thankful for that too.

What lies in the future is the choice we get to make. Our story is being written one day, one moment at a time.

To be or not to be, I mean, to be thankful or not to be thankful, that is the question.

And starting tomorrow, December’s question is, “Am I joyful and do I spread joy?”