As the holiday season unfolds, I’d like to extend my warmest wishes to you and your loved ones. In a world filled with diverse traditions, this is a special time when we can collectively embrace the universal values of Peace, Love, and Joy.
The true beauty of this season lies in its magical ability to bring people together, irrespective of their cultural or religious backgrounds. It’s an occasion to revel in the diversity that makes each of us extraordinary and unique. Whether you find joy in the twinkling lights of Christmas, the menorah’s glow during Hanukkah, the unity celebrated in Kwanzaa, or any other heartfelt tradition, may the spirit of unity and understanding find a home in your heart.
Embracing Diversity: Share Your Holiday Traditions
In the spirit of togetherness, I invite you to reflect on and share the richness of your own holiday traditions. What rituals or customs make this time of year uniquely special for you? Whether it’s a beloved family tradition passed down through generations, a favorite festive activity that brings unparalleled joy, or a personal ritual that adds a touch of magic to your celebrations—I’d love to hear about it. Let the spirit of the season weave a tapestry of collective joy that transcends boundaries.
Creating Warm Memories: Home, Laughter, and Love
As you step into and embrace this holiday season, may your home be filled with the warmth of love, the echoes of laughter, and the cherished company of family and friends. It’s a time to create memories that will linger long after the decorations are packed away. Here’s to a holiday season filled with shared moments, cherished traditions, and the promise of a bright and joyous New Year!
Jesus came to spread a message of peace, forgiveness and love to everyone and whether or not you celebrate Christmas, this can be a time for you to reflect on your life and look for how you can be more peaceful, forgiving and loving towards yourself and others.
When will you remember that what you do to another, you do to yourself and that what you think about another you think about yourself and when you judge another you judge yourself?
Until you are able to love yourself completely, you will not be able to fully love another no matter how hard you may try.
Many of you seek love from outside of yourself and yet true love comes from within and extends outwards towards others. Until you are able to give yourself love, you will not be able to receive it from others and you will continue to experience a sense of lack and unworthiness.
Marisa’s Musings
Have you ever wondered why so many of us have such difficulty loving ourselves unconditionally? As much as I’ve come a long way over the years towards loving myself, I still have a ways to go. I’m still hard on myself at times and will beat myself up when I’m feeling upset about not living up to my expectations and then I beat myself up more for beating myself up because I think I should know better. I forgive myself for the times I’ve fallen into this trap.
I’m still working on celebrating how far I’ve come instead of looking at how far I think I have yet to go to reach all my goals. For example, I used to hate myself and felt completely unworthy of love and had very low levels of self-confidence and self esteem. I’ve come a long way from that dark place and I’m so grateful for this.
Yes, there are still times when I lack confidence and when my self-esteem takes a nose dive and yet, for the most part, I feel very good about myself and what I’ve created in my life and I am filled with gratitude.
I believe the reason we sometimes have difficulty loving ourselves is because we’ve forgotten who we are and we’re living out our lives with the wounds from our past. During this festive and Holy time, let’s be more conscious of how we’re treating ourselves and do our best to heal our wounds and forgive ourselves for the times we’ve been unloving towards others and towards ourselves. As we heal our wounds and remember more and more about who we REALLY are, we will fall more and more in love with ourselves and this will extend to loving everyone around us more deeply and authentically.
I wish you much peace, love and joy not only during this festive time, but always and until we meet again, I send you love & blessings.
This video moved me to tears and made me think about how often many of us put off taking the time to visit those we love because we think we’re too busy. It’s so easy for us to get caught up in our day to day lives and lose sight of what’s really important…our relationships with our family and friends.
Is there someone in your life that you haven’t seen for a while and who you would miss if they were gone? If so, I invite you to reach out and make time to visit them, in person. Life is a gift and we never know how long any of us will have on this earth. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
