I decided to name this piece Cultivating Cheer because it is not uncommon for this time of year
to be challenging for people; some have lost love ones, some are alone, some
have financial burdens, or any number of other obstacles. So how do we do this?
Depending on where you are in life at this moment, it would be very easy to
just enjoy the lights on the homes in our neighborhoods and skip the holidays
all together, so that is why approaching the holidays this way intrigued me.
Merriam-Webster defines cultivating as to foster the growth of. My family knows
that we are facing some very challenging days ahead in 2019, so Cultivating Cheer…well it has been a
challenge. So how am I personally Cultivating
Cheer this holiday season? I have always been a firm believer in the idea
that when life tosses me lemons I can either make lemonade and buy lemon
flavored desserts to share with others or have a sour attitude.
This past week I watched the movie Christmas in Mississippi. Cenla’s own Faith
Ford plays the part of a widow who is decorating for Christmas. When her grown
daughter comes home she tells her mom she does not have to go to such extremes
to decorate. Faith’s character explains she is decorating for herself simply because
she likes to. Last month I wrote about finding balance in my life, and I am
doing this in a way that I have never known before. I am not creating and
organizing to impress others. I am creating and organizing so that my little
empty nest is a nest I want to come home to. Faith Ford’s movie really
reiterated for me the idea that creating and decorating for the holidays is not
about doing this for anyone else, it is about doing it for our own enjoyment.
In my own quest to cultivate cheer this holiday season
I will decorate because I love all things Hallmark and white twinkly lights.
For
me personally, I have always found that the best way to cultivate cheer is by
creating things for others. Sometimes people know they are from me, sometimes
they do not. Sometimes they are received graciously and sometimes I never know how
they are received. When I do things for people, whether it is to cook a meal,
make a gift, or simply send them a God Wink book, I do not ever do these things
expecting anything in return. My mom use to say that everyone deserves a happy every now and then and I find great joy
in doing this. I have found that cultivating kindness, even if the recipient
does not know who we are, cultivates cheer in our hearts and souls.
To cultivate cheer this holiday season what if we
send an anonymous gift to a friend that finds the holidays painful? What if we
write a note to a colleague, friend, or neighbor and tell them how much they
mean to us or what an impact they may have had on our lives? What if we set up
our little tree with the white lights and listen to festive music, and not
think of the things we have lost or the trying days ahead?
When we cultivate things we are helping them grow.
When we smile, studies have shown that it helps lift the spirits of others. So
I challenge you all to work on Cultivating
Cheer this holiday season. You never know, it may help make this season
bright for a multitude of people.
Until next year….
Blessings,
Pauline
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