Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas Magic

It's Christmas time again, and if the hype about 2012 is to be believed, this will be the last Christmas before the end of the world and ironically, the only Christmas in my lifetime that we do not have a tree. The roads are filled with more traffic, the weather is turning colder and the malls are filled with people hustling to and fro seeking the perfect gift for the people in their lives. The trees are trimmed, the stockings are hung from the chimney with care and the kids are all in bed, hoping Santa will bring them what their little hearts most desire. I've spent a lot of time this past week remembering the Christmas celebrations from my childhood and remembering the quirky old family traditions, most of them common to many families, each contributing to the whole of my childhood Christmases. Little things, such as leaving milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer, making edible Christmas ornaments out of rice crispies and peppermint candies, making cotton ball snowmen and ornaments out of coffee can lids and Popsicle sticks. The tradition that holds a very special place in my heart is to sprinkle sugar on the Christmas tree before bed on Christmas eve and it will grow candy canes magically overnight while you're slumbering. I remember creeping downstairs at the crack of dawn to find exactly what I had asked Santa for under the tree, pouncing on my brother's beds to wake them up so they could come help me get mom and dad out of bed so we could open presents, and playing with our new toys all day before the most amazing meal of the year was served to eagerly awaiting hungry little faces.

What I never gave a second thought to while growing up was exactly how much work it takes to make all those magical amazing memories happen for a kid. I never realized back then how tiring, expensive and labor intensive the holidays are. I have gained a whole new level of respect for everything my parents, family members and neighbors did for us growing up to make the holidays hold that special, magical place in our hearts. While I may not be able to thank each and everyone of them individually, may it be known to the universe that I fully appreciate each and everyone of them!

The most hard hitting realization for me this year was the food. I love food, I adore food and I am learning to fall in love with cooking it. Last night I went shopping with my brother for all the fixings to make a spectacular blast from the past Christmas meal using old family recipes. While wandering the isles filling the buggy with things like nutmeg and evaporated milk, Dodging perky middle aged women in Christmas sweaters and herds of people in their pajamas taking up most of the isles talking to each other I realized something. Well, several things really, first off, Why the hell are all these people in their pajamas?? I've watched enough "What not to wear" to know that Pajamas are for lounging around the house, not going on a shopping expedition. They are completely unflattering and present an image of "I'm lazy and don't care about myself enough to put on real clothes." Also, why are all these women wearing Christmas sweater vests, It's like they've suited up for war and are prepared to win the Mrs. Clause look alike award. (Except for the backwoods Christmas Dolly Parton look alike lady I ran into, that was pretty 70's retro and totally awesome!) But to the point, Holiday meals are a lot more work than I thought they were!

I'm staying with my brother through the holidays to help out with my nephew and I get to be nose deep in the 'behind the scenes' traditions of Christmas magic making. Helping my nephew decorate his own Christmas tree, watching him build a Lego Christmas land complete with stray legos as lego presents and being used as a jungle gym has reminded me what the holidays are really all about. It's not about the myths and legends that pre-date the holidays or who started what tradition. It's not about who is right and who is wrong, and it's not even about the food or the presents...it's about the memories. It's about making magical amazing memories for my nephew that will stay with him for his whole life, spending time with my brothers and sister in laws, spending time preparing a meal for my father and grandmother, and even the stress and heartache that comes with trying to make the life altering choices that are ahead of me in the coming year. When it comes right down to it, It's about family. And even though I have spent every Christmas with my family, this year it's different. We're not going to Grandma's house where there is no holiday cheer and no decorations, we're not all loading up and commuting and we're not all bickering and fighting. For the first time in a very long time, it actually feels like it's Christmas, the way Christmas SHOULD be. And that, includes a family recipe box, a day full of cooking and the smells and sounds of Christmas.

From my family to yours, whether you call it Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or The season of Bah-hum-bug... I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful holiday season, a fantastic new year and that you each get to experience the closeness and magic that comes with spending the holidays with your family, whether they be blood family, or chosen. :)

Monday, December 5, 2011

True Beauty

Your Body Is Beautiful The Way It Is
photo ©2011 Sarah Wade - Bardic Pirate Studio
 Stop for a moment. Ponder the amazingness of your body. 

Think about the miracle of each breath that enters into your lungs, effortlessly, without uncertainty. Think about all of your senses; you are tasting, feeling, smelling, hearing, seeing, incessantly; these sensations enrich your life, make it gorgeous, vibrant, liveable. 

Think about the uniqueness of your fingerprint, your eye color, your skin tone, your hair texture. Think about the beauty of your mind, how it houses memories, thoughts, beliefs, concepts, signals; how all of these things help you function, create and interact with other humans. 

Think about the body's spectacular natural rhythms; it sleeps every night, wakes every morning, it enables you to eat, digest food, expel waste, it allows you to experience divine pleasure in the form of orgasms. 

Think about your heartbeat, and how it has never, ever failed you. 

All of this is extraordinary!
But we do not focus on these marvelous things. 
Instead, we focus on how we need to lose ten pounds. How many grey hairs are peeking through our scalps. How the outside world perceives us (when in reality, they are probably not even paying attention to us). How small our breasts are. How much we hate our noses. How hairless our bodies should be. How insignificant we are. How perfect we should be, at all times. 

How irrelevant, when something so phenomenal is happening within our bodies at the moment.

There are billions of tiny cells within us, working for our bodies in harmony, without complaint. They are completely devoted to us; they practically worship us. These cells keep us alive, strong, healthy; even while we are fretting about cellulite on our thighs or our "unsightly" smile lines. They feel the vibration of your negative thoughts, these vibrations will even kill some of them... yet they keep working. Diligently.

This is remarkable.
So much time would be saved, so many cells would go on living, if we ceased worrying about our appearance. We would find so much joy in the incredible abilities our body is capable of. We would smile in spite of our imperfections; we would celebrate them, we would fall in love with them. 
We would make peace with the fact our bodies are beautiful precisely the way they are right now, because they are healthy, they are living, they are breathing. We have the ability to walk towards the direction of our dreams, to use our hands to write, to use our arms to embrace, to use our mouths to devour delicious meals and to use our voices to spread significant messages in the world. 

These are all miracles, precious gifts. 

This is my message to you: 
Do not upset yourself with thoughts of inadequacy. Do not get riled up at the number you see on a scale. Do not reject your body. Do your best to steer clear from self-judgement and critical thoughts. Realize that you are doing your body, all of those loyal cells, an unkindness with your self destructive mantras. 

Instead, be grateful of every breath, every step, every minute you are alive, blinking in this moment.

Realize that beauty is just a concept. Keep it in perspective. Meditate on the miraculousness of your body, the cohesiveness of your insides. Those are the things that truly matter. 

Your body is beautiful, perfect, outstanding; just the way it is. 

(P.S. I would really appreciate it if you would help me spread this message. More people need to realize the utter magnificence of their bodies.)

(I sourced this article from http://sexloveliberation.com/your-body-is-beautiful/, though I have seen it on a number of other blogs as well and none of them source the original author.)