And, maybe that's okay. Maybe it might be better to think about thinking about peace on earth and goodwill towards men on a date other than December 25.
Christmas is littered with anchors, things that allow us to remember all the things that Christmas has come to mean and has ever been about for us. And of course, for many people, Christmas isn't about anything other than stress, expensive presents and/or overeating.
For others, Christmas is a continual struggle to chase after fondly remembered memories that never seemed to be ahead and always behind.
And for others, Christmas can be about so many other things that happened so many Christmases ago now.
And all of these things can certainly be valid, I think. And they can all be valid at the same time. And things can also mean what we decide that they mean for us and what we allow ourselves to believe that they mean.
Symbols and Meaning
You see, Christmas and all of its trappings are symbols.It's just like the letter A is a symbol. The letter A means a specific sound because we've been taught that it means a specific sound when it's used in a specific way and we decided to adapt that teaching.
There's nothing intrinsic to the letter A that makes it mean anything. It's just our decision to see it that way and to think about it that way.
So imagine for a moment that somebody else was raised to think about the letter A as having an entirely different meaning or sound.
Perhaps to them it's the number six! Perhaps it's the symbol of their religion. Perhaps it's a drawing of a house or a tree, or a rocket ship.
Obviously, their experience of that symbol is very different from what yours might be. And all of our experiences of all of the symbols in our lives can become different when we begin to see them for what they are and think about them differently now.
Creating Symbols and Making Meaning
So, here's a thought experiment for you. Why not take one of the meanings of Christmas which is peace on earth and goodwill towards men and then think of some things in your daily life, some common everyday things, that could symbolize that concept for you. They can be something like a painting on your wall or even something as obtuse and seemingly unrelated as the gear shifter in your car.Imagine that for a while now, you're going to allow yourself to just play around with the idea of making that thing mean peace on earth and goodwill towards men for you. Think about it every time you see that thing or touch it or interact with it in any way (those of you know some NLP will know how to make do some anchoring for yourself to help you in this).
After a while, you'll notice you don't even have to think about it, the association will just be there. And then you might even begin to forget about it or maybe you can still allow yourself to think about it that way every time...
Because I suspect if you can allow yourself to think about peace on earth and goodwill towards men a little bit every day, perhaps every day can have a little of the kind of spirit that the best Christmases can have and, just perhaps your future Christmases can all be just a little brighter now.
To all of my friends, no matter what your personal or cultural beliefs, faiths or convictions, I wish all of you peace on earth and goodwill towards men, in just the way that would be the most appropriate for you and your lives in every day and in all the days to come.
A Merry Christmas to All, and to All, Be Well.
Michael Perez
Labels: anchoring, beliefs, Christmas, meaning, peace, symbols
