Every year from ever since I can remember, I have associated Christmas with a poignant sadness.
Not only that I sometimes unwillingly reminisce about the cold winters back in the communist times when our main source of heating in the flat was an old electric heater which proved to be pointless when the electricity was cut off, but I also can't stop thinking about the many years I have spent Christmas away from my family until I felt it didn't belong to me anymore.
When I was a child, Christmas was a joyful celebration and like millions of children around the world I too waited for Santa Claus to bring me presents.
But he only came at kindergarten and somehow he only brought me things I didn't want. I remember once Mum asked me what did I want for Santa to bring me and I was embarrassed to tell her I wanted a toy so I said I wanted a sweater, though secretly hoping for a doll. And guess what? Santa did bring me a sweater. I was painfully disappointed. I couldn't believe Santa listened to my lie and not to what my heart wanted.
Anyway, years later and I felt the sadness on many Christmases spent away from home, especially last year when my flight got cancelled and had to spend another Christmas in an empty London with no jingle bells.
But you know what? This year I am happy either way! Because Christmas is just another day and it really should be Christmas every day!
What really is the point and spirit of Christmas? It's not about the millions of things that people rush to buy and wrap them up to put under the tree and it's not about the new dress at the Christmas party. It's about the joy and gratitude and it's about helping!
I feel blessed that, probably for the first time ever, I put no pressure on Christmas day and truly believe that the legacy of it lives in my heart every single day of the year. And this has been proven to me by so many people that have supported and encouraged me in my charity trekking fundraising and the more you receive, the more you want to give. So I say, give love everyday and make everyday a Christmas day!
I have come across a young Romanian girl that has a brain tumour and needs help and decided to write about it on my blog. They are presently working on arranging a PayPal account so people (including myself) can donate online, but in the meantime, if you live in Romania and would like to help someone who might not be able to make everyday a Christmas day without help, you can find more details on this blog "Ajutati-o pe Ana" (Help Ana).
No comments:
Post a Comment