What Happened to the Holiday Spirit?

What happened to the holiday spirit?

January.

Still cold. Lately, insanely cold. Still dark. No more parties. No more family gatherings. No more holidays. Nothing to look forward to for quite a while.

This is a common feeling many people have around this time of year.

Just this morning, I was driving the kids to school and I pulled up to the 4-way stop at the same time as another car to my left. We both thought we got to the intersection first so we started to go and then both abruptly stopped. Then we both started again and then stopped. I always think it is funny when this happens but the other gentleman clearly did not see any humor in this. At the same time, we both waved each other forward…the only difference was I had a smile on my face and he was pissed. I took a deep breath and sat into my seat with my foot on the brake and smiled bigger and waved him through again. He raised his hands up in frustration and sped off through the intersection so annoyed that I had added 10 seconds to his morning commute.

The rest of the drive I thought about that man and how different our days were going to be. I sit and think about how nice people were only a couple of weeks ago. We were friendlier to those around us. We greeted strangers with “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays”. While grocery shopping the other day it was quiet. There was no cheerful music overhead and people weren’t greeting anyone.

What would happen if we continued to hold onto the holiday spirit? If we chose to be kind to one another throughout the year? What if we never had to say “back to reality”? What if our reality was being in a constant state of joy and love? Imagine if we woke up in the morning and said to ourselves in the mirror, “I am going to be kind to others today. I am going to do something nice for someone just because.” It is not just about being kind to others. It is about being kind to ourselves. If we try to stay positive, we can find joy even in the dark, cold days ahead. How often have you thought in the last few days that the days are getting longer? Have you noticed the sun shining? Have you been happy that we had a heat wave yesterday with temperatures just above zero? I am talking about perspective and choice. We can choose to have a positive outlook and share it with others. We can choose to be optimistic if we want. And if we all chose to share this with others, it truly may make a difference. We can choose to be warm in our hearts while we shine brightly.