Christmas Memories and Christmas Present

I'm fully enjoying my time in South Carolina and I feel grateful for this time that I'm spending with my family. I've been keeping up with my yoga practice and noticing the differences of practicing at a higher elevation (the house is situated on a mountain). This morning I practiced The Five Tibetan Rites and am still feeling the energy circulating through my body. If you'd like to practice, click here for a great version of the Rites from Yoga Today's Sarah Kline.

I notice that I'm quite nostalgic this year and I've been revisiting a lot of old family traditions that I haven't participated in for quite some time. Despite the fact that my brother and I are in our 30s and 40s respectively, the other night we put decades-old cookie cutters to good use and decorated butter cookies in all kinds of festive shapes to holiday tunes sung by Nat King Cole and Andy Williams -- all while Mom beamed with pride as she watched our creative endeavors (she also chided us for eating too much cookie dough and cookie decorations). Just yesterday I read an amazing blog post from personal coach extraordinaire Drew Rozell that brought back yet another childhood tradition. The post, entitled Do You Believe, captured one of my favorite memories from childhood -- trolling through the Sears Christmas Wish Book in search of things I desired from Santa. I'd dogear pages and circle the longed-for toys and then compile a list for Santa.

When I celebrated Christmas as a child, I was enchanted by receiving gifts. I loved tearing through the wrapping paper, eager to see what would be unearthed. And the feeling of having all of my desires come true -- magical! I understood there was a deeper meaning to the holiday, yet my focus seemed to rest solely on my own little world and the greedy desires within it. It was fun to watch the faces of my parents and brothers light up when they received a gift that they wanted.

Even though decades have passed, I am still inclined every now and again to dogear a page that boasts something that catches my fancy (I've ripped out quite a few pages from yoga magazines -- instead of stuffed animals and games, it's now books, CDs, and yoga accessories). I still love receiving, but the emphasis is less on gifts and more on the feeling behind the gifts. These days when I find myself desiring something, I often find that what I really want is the feeling I believe the thing that I desire will give me. Let's just say that my list for Santa looks very different now than it once did.

Now it's all about feelings and states of being rather than things. Do I still enjoy receiving gifts and tearing through that wrapping paper? You bet! Nowadays I only get a fraction of the amount of gifts that I used to receive as a child (my parents were very generous to us kids) yet I feel that I'm receiving so much more. My yoga practice has reminded me that the best gifts in life are always laid before you -- you only have to recognize their presence and welcome them into your life (and say thank you, of course).

Namaste!

Comments

[Kavi]

Nice Articl