Happiness is Holiday Blessings

This time of year we’re surrounded by blessings. The moments when we’re with family, cooking up holiday treats, sipping special beverages around the fire, or making a snowman. We come together this month in a way that enhances our joy. And we’re blessed by it. 

Kids are showing us how to still believe in something magical and bigger than us. They show us their list to Santa and write him letters, send him emails. We see the joy they have as another present is slid under the Christmas tree, and if the kid is anything like I was, he’s probably shaking it to see what’s inside. Then there’s the litany of “ohs and ahs” from children as they see a gigantic Christmas tree like my niece just did, standing beneath it with her mouth open in awe, looking so small in the face of that fabulous fir. 

And beneath all of this connection and rapture are the blessings we hold in our heart. For our health. For the safety of our family. For our jobs. That we are okay.

And in taking a moment to see those blessings–all of them–our happiness grows.

Our hearts want to burst, and we find ourselves recalling good memories of people who have passed on who used to make certain holiday cookies or their own version of Bailey’s, like my great-aunt. 

Blessings are all around us: in people, in decorations, and in food.

And yet our biggest blessing is that we are here in this place, right now. As New Year’s edges closer, we start to ask: how have we fared this year? Am I where I thought I’d be? Am I somewhere better? Time enough to reflect on that.

Be in the moment. Savor the holiday blessings in this season of light. It’s the place to light a candle for your dreams and let them soar.

It’s where happiness truly reigns.

 

 Image courtesy of franky242 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net