As snow begins to fall and the deep freeze of winter sets in, we again gather with family and friends, singing and dancing around the Christmas tree or lighting the menorah or Kwanzaa candles. All will be well as we let the holiness in us shine forth, celebrating what is Holy in others and in the universe. Ah, what peace and joy.  What greater abundance than the love of family and friends celebrating together!
 
Hmm. Time for a reality check? This serene scenario may play out in a few fortunate families. Let’s face it, however, for many of us, the reality of the Christmas season is something entirely different. 

For starters, the pace of life has gotten so frantic that the added demands of preparing for the holidays often seem to intensify life’s difficulties.  As much as we all love our families, being around them for extended periods of time may cause tempers to flare and old wounds to resurface. We may love giving and receiving gifts, but many of us end up buying too many gifts that cost too much. Ugly materialism and debt creep in, despite our best intentions. Children are delighted with some gifts and disappointed with others that didn’t meet expectations. Family members complain behind other’s backs.  One person is left to do most of the cooking and clean-up and is besieged with work.  Too much food is made, and, despite our resolutions to the contrary, most of us end up eating too much, feeling bloated, stuffed and guilty afterwards. 

For others, the holidays can be the loneliest time of the year.

In short, amidst all the hectic demands of the Season, sometimes we lose touch with what the holidays really mean. The peace and tranquility of the holidays get overshadowed by emotional remnants of the past, over-consumption, and sheer exhaustion.  The holidays are anything but Holy Days.

Yet, holidays can be an opportunity to go inside and reconnect with what is important. It can be a time to reflect on the role of Spirit in our life; a time to dwell in the presence of God, Divine Spirit, or the Universal Life Force, however you want to think of that mysterious, sacred force that pervades existence. The holidays are here to remind us that life truly is a miracle of holiness. It is a chance to look inside and to feel the presence of the Holy in our life.
Although life is more pressurized and intense than ever before and at times may feel like more than you can handle, the difficulties and challenges, the pain and suffering–amidst the joy and happiness–are what real life is all about.  Holidays will continue to bring us challenging and joyful moments, tons of work, conflicts, and “stuff”  to deal with. They are supposed to!  We all mess up from time-to-time, forget the Spirit inside, and go off track. Making mistakes is how we learn.  Trouble and suffering gives us the opportunity to again seek Spirit.  Even bad times can contain grace.

True peace and joy is not about living a neatly sanitized, practically perfect life. It is about being totally authentic in every way.  Living life fully–with sorrow and joy, pain and happiness, agony and ecstasy–is what true spiritual practice entails.  It is only our limited perception and false expectations that make us think things are imperfect.  This is the true core of any spiritual teaching: that we have the potential for living an authentic and full life with the divine spirit infused in us, integrating both suffering and happiness.
 
So keep the holidays holy, by being fully you, and knowing that the God and the Divine Spirit, your higher Self, the innermost, divine part of your own nature is with you and always available to you.