Christmas Beginnings

From "The Shop Around The Corner" (1940)



There is a great Christmas present to be found in the movie "The Shop Around The Corner" (1940) starring Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullivan and Frank Morgan (the wonderful Wizard of Oz) among others.  It tells the story of budding, albeIt confused, love and friendship.  Everything points to a Christmas revelation and does not disappoint. Other movies such as "You've Got Mail" were inspired by the light spirit and good humor of this classic.  The movie is also gives us reason to look more closely at what life is really offering.

We are usually in a hurry or at least transfixed by our daily duties and obligations. There is a whir of activity that sometimes clouds our view and obscures the fact that the most magnificent things are going on right in front of us. The commotion and noise muffle the sweet sound of friendship and even deeper possibilities of relationships. Then comes the Christmas season in which the lights, decorations, generosity of strangers and anticipation of something wonderful surround us and give us pause. Suddenly, we become aware of some of the miracles that have been there all along.

Lonely hearts and missed opportunities can all find healing at Christmas. There is a conspiracy of beginnings that signifies the very message of the season. The world is created anew in the birth of a savior. Kings and shepherds gather together as comrades. The impossible becomes possible. There is no doubt about it. What a great opportunity to look more deeply, listen more closely, and open the gifts in front of us. It must be that the wonderful is coming.

Slow Down

The busyness of life often rushes us past all of the miraculous things that are happening all aroun us.  We rush from activity to activity, from crisis to crisis and fall, exhausted into our beds to gather enough energy to do it all again the next day. We are so consumed with the goings-on around us that slowing down and looking inward requires a determined act of will. Like the constant thirst of a desert traveler, greed consumes us, stealing our attention away from the graces of life. When we continually want more, we find ourselves noticing what is missing rather than savoring the deep enjoyment of contentment. Contentment, unlike greed, helps us live fully. We become aware by seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling, feeling the God-given gifts that are right in front of us. When greed severs us from contentment, our soul withers from a lack of grateful awareness.

How can we accomplish this? The first discipline is to live attentively. The Buddhists call this mindfulness. All it means is to be aware of life. Hear the silence of the snow. Feel the cracks in the earth. Look into one another’s eyes. Pay attention to every single moment and that moment alone. Feel it. We will take it into our bones and let it transform us.  The second discipline is to learn to let go. We can begin to simplify life. Simplify possessions, thoughts, desires, and our expectations. When we can let go, our arms are open and ready to receive all the good things God longs to give us.