SHARE

Lately, I've become aware of how important it is to share,  whoever we are / whatever we have, with others.

Of course this is the centre point of our Christian faith that we love one another just as Christ loves us.

The challenge arises when we may feel our 'treasures' or our personal 'person' will not be appreciated, may even be disdained by others.

It doesn't matter.  Mother Teresa had a good take on this.

If we feel we are not understood or appreciated or loved, LOVE anyway.

The person who gives most is the one who receives most.

By sharing who we are and what we have, we allow God to step into our lives and spoil us with His Precious Love.

GRUMBLE-LESS!

Christmas is a great time to share and show our appreciation for each other.

We reach out with cards and emails and gifts.

This is good and yet, in a way is un-necessary when it comes to love, because when we love someone we show this love is our disposition towards them.

We always know when we are loved and being loved.

Also it occurred to me that grumbling is a fast way of losing peace of mind and spoiling what can be a wonderful experience, especially good relationships.

As a child I had an experience of this when I was disappointed with the present I received for Christmas.  Somehow I knew the gift had come from my parents and it hurt to think they didn't get me what I wanted, so I sulked. 

Lucky for me my mother could read me like a book and soon got me into good form again, even helping me to appreciate my new scooter.

Now I realise that it was my grumbling that made me unhappy.

This can happen with little things, and big things too.

Little grumbles are like weeds that grow in our mind. Grumble-less and we will have a happy and beautiful life.

HUMILITY

When it comes to living a spiritual life, the most important ingredient is Humility.

Humility is the ability to see the Truth, in who we are / what happens etc.

We are told the Truth will set us free. 

This is good to remember when we find ourselves in difficult situations or conflict of one kind or another.

Christ has told us, 'I am the Truth... '

If this is our belief then we can be led to humility by following the teachings of Christ.

And what are the teachings of Christ?

'Love one another as I have loved you... '

This is a tall order for today's world where we are encouraged to look out for ourselves, often at the expense of others.

Therefore, Humility when practised, will teach us all we need to know about Love and show us how to be Christ-like.

The Gift of Wisdom

Living in a family / community / with friends is a great blessing.  It's hard to even take on board the amount of grace that comes with good company.

Of course, it's not always a choice to be alone and many people who are would love to live in the company of others.

This is part of the choices we make, and are made for us when we lose loved ones.  Yet, God is good and will and does inspire us to reach out to others, and vice versa.

Unless we are a perfect person there will be conflict and misunderstandings, and all this is good.

As a person we have a need to be emotionally intelligent and be able to gauge what is right and wrong.  Saying that, it is a fact that what might appear right to me could well appear wrong to someone else.

This is where Wisdom steps in. Ask for help / guidance / support.

God is not stingy, and does not hold back from helping us.  

Begin by believing we have the gift of wisdom and follow through by using it.

Reflect within and let wisdom out!

Be Honest!

To be honest is always the best policy, and yet we may fall short of being honest in many ways. I wonder why?

Perhaps it's because we don't like to face unpleasant situations.  We have a natural tendency to be a good person / to like others and to be liked by them.

This is a positive attitude, yet even so it can at times, lead to dishonesty because we want to please and be pleased.

Our desire for peace and comfort will often step in and blind us to what we know, in our heart and soul, we ought to do.

This desire to please is a good thing, yet can so easily turn into something that is not right.

Honesty demands that we are true to ourselves.  This requires a love for the truth, regardless of how we feel.

It's in our nature to avoid pain and discomfort. This can be good if we learn to interpret it the right way and realise that there is a price to pay for peace of mind.

The choice is ours to make.

It's good to remember, the Truth will set us free! 

Preparing for Christmas...

Today I began to prepare for Christmas by putting up some decorations. I must admit that this is not my favourite pastime, and yet it does put some glitter and glamour into our lives.

It is a treat to walk down Wicklow main street and admire the efforts that have been made to create a Victorian Christmas look, by the local shopkeepers etc.

Perhaps the child in each one of us does love a bit of glitter and glamour, some way to be cheerful and have fun.

So, I will renew my efforts to prepare for Christmas, on the outside, yet more importantly, on the inside too.

Have I a place of friendship and greeting for He whose birthday it is? Will I be able to add some 'spiritual' glitter and glamour to that special feast of Christmas?

Do hope so, yet see I've work to do !