Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Celebrating Holidays!

How do you celebrate?
Holidays are Holy Days.
Do you make each day holy?
What would that look like?

From ancient times we have images of peoples eating too much and getting drunk on holy days.
Many of us have memories of our parents and relatives eating and drinking too much on holidays.
What is your history of celebration and remembrance of special days? Birthdays, graduation, etc.?
How do you think of celebrating? A sacred time to give thanks or a day off to get drunk or be careless?

When nations or civilizations fall, they do so with an attitude of hedonism or self indulgence.
When people allow themselves to fall into complacency and lack of self respect, relationships deteriorate.
When our culture forgets decency, respectfulness and being conscientious role models, we all lose.
When we are helpful, kind, hard-working, generous and honest with ourselves and others, we all benefit.

A day off from working for money can be a day offered to Spirit in celebration and gratitude.
A special day of celebration can be truly given to those for whom the day is celebrated.
A holiday can be a time of physical, mental and spiritual renewal and remembrance.
A holy day can be useful to remember our wholeness and holiness and the blessings of today.

What can we do to celebrate that does not involve over-indulging in eating and drinking?
We can simply rest, relax and enjoy the beauty and goodness around us.
We can plant some flowers or vegetables or work in our yard.
We can give our time to clean up and beautify our neighborhoods or our own homes.
We can sanctify and bless others’ lives by being loving and kind to those around us.
We can share our thankfulness with those who may be alone or in need.
We can gather people to gather to enjoy each others company with games or family activities.
We can enjoy nature and the out of doors with biking, swimming, hiking or flying kites.
We can read a good book or finish incomplete projects.
We can learn something new and share with others our accomplishments.
We can take a look at ourselves and make new choices that benefit us.
We can watch a good movie. (We saw “Babies” yesterday and loved it!)

Whatever you do when you are celebrating a holiday, do something you can feel good about!
The best way to tell what is highest and best for you is to feel really good about yourself and at peace.
When we finish our day, we want to feel pleased, happy and at peace with how we have spent our day.
When life is done, we want to see ourselves as having done our best and lived with wisdom and love.

Enjoy each day and make it holy, happy, healthy and helpful.
Blessing us all and our wise choices,
Betty Lue