Gifts For the New Year

Dear Reader,

With the new year just two days away, we are still in the time of major holidays. This year, I have been reflecting on what some of these holidays mean to me – especially Christmas, a personal favorite. I keep returning to two phrases:

childlike wonder

unconditional love

I find that the meaning of Christmas shifts for me over time, but this year, those two phrases stand out.

I recently encountered childlike wonder when Louise and I went to the boat parade of Christmas lights in Portland Maine. It was held shortly after sunset in Portland Harbor, and we watched from the South Portland side, in Bug Light Park.

I had never been to a Christmas boat parade before. I was filled with excitement, and anticipation, and a lack of expectation that often comes with experiencing something new. We didn’t even know whether other people would be there to watch, but to our delight the park was busy with people, dogs and families with small children rolling in the grass (the weather was unseasonably warm.)

What fun!

After a beautiful sunset, we could see boats large and small lining up in the growing darkness of the outer harbor. All of the boats were decorated with Christmas lights, some from bow to stern, others on the masts, or the sails. I loved the simplicity and the slightly mysterious feeling of the colored  lights bobbing on the water in the dark.

A loud boat horn signalled the start of the parade. All the vessels sailed past the shore near Commercial Street, where the biggest crowd waited. It didn’t matter that the parade was short; it had spirit!

And at some point, I felt that same sense of childlike wonder I had so often felt at Christmas-time as a child, whether looking at the red, green and blue lights of our own Christmas tree, coming downstairs on Christmas morning and seeing that presents had magically appeared overnight, or just looking across the lake to see other lights shining through the falling snow.

I felt it first in my chest, then radiating through my whole body and it triggering my imagination. The feeling was truly delightful. Wouldn’t childlike wonder be a beautiful gift to take with you throughout the new year, dear reader? A tip – releasing expectations is key!

As for unconditional love, well, that one often comes up for me at Christmas-time, but this year I realized that it was another feeling I experienced even in childhood. Our family wasn’t religious, but I loved to sit by myself and listen to Christmas carols, the traditional ones. I recognised something deeply beautiful, and pure, coming from the words, the music and the singing voices.

I also recognized the same feeling at many different moments throughout the Christmas season – even from our family simply sitting together for Christmas breakfast in our little house, tucked away in the snow-covered woods of Maine.

I don’t think back then I would have identified the feeling as unconditional love; I just knew that it was powerful, and that I recognised it as special.

Unconditional love – regardless of the holidays you celebrate – isn’t that another wonderful gift to carry with you, ready to give and receive over and over again, in 2016?

I honour your loving heart,

John