“Get rid of the trash to make room for the treasures. Let the things that are important take center stage.” —Peter Walsh

This seems appropriate as we contemplate the Christmas season.

Each year we are tempted to buy more and more stuff.

We fall prey to the holiday sales and the feelings of obligation to buy yet another something for somebody who already has too much.

Sorry….channeling my inner grinch a little too much there.

Be thoughtful about how you spend your time and money this season. Contemplate whether you are adding treasures or trash.

Make room for more of the great stuff and move past the good.

Make it a great day.

Merry Christmas.

Jake

Bob Goff is known for his fun and whimsical personality. He famously put his personal cell phone number in the back of a NYT bestselling book, and he expects and answers calls. He makes himself available.

He also says he plans his calendar nine months and one day in advance, no further, in case he is to be become a grandfather. His purpose is to be available.

Busyness is no way to measure a life. Busy is a thief. It’s a phantom measure of worth and success and it will never get as much done as availability will. Remain available. Learn to say no, and measure your life by the things you get to say yes to.

Quoted from: https://www.becomingminimalist.com/better-ways-to-measure-your-life/

I really liked this excerpt from this blog post.

It’s all too easy to buy into the lie that busyness is a badge of honor and something to be proud of. It’s not true. Don’t believe it.

We really don’t have that many levers when we look to control and manage our lives, but we do get to choose how we manage our time.

The article talks about availability – I’ve also heard it called margin or breathing room.

There’s a lot of great stuff waiting for some breathing room in your life so it can makes it way in.

The holidays are a great reminder of this – slow down and enjoy them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting.

It is happiness because we see joy in people.

It is forgetting self and finding time for others.

It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. – Thomas S. Monson

Don’t let the season pass you by without noticing and being a part of it all.

Look for the joy in others.

Forget about yourself and make time for someone you love.

Focus on what’s really important.

Simple reminders.

Merry Christmas.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/UV8x7H3DD8Y

There have been so many Christmas songs created over the years.

And each of us has our favorite(s).

Don’t let the season pass without cranking up some of your favorites.

Make it a great day.

Merry Christmas.

Jake

Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses. Alphonse Karr

For some reason this reminded me of the important relationships in my life.

Each relationship includes an imperfect human being that has both thorns and roses.

I can choose to complain about all the little idiosyncrasies or I can choose to look at their uniqueness and wonderfulness.

It’s easy to get caught up in the negatives. We’re wired to avoid the pain of the thorns and so we allow ourselves to focus on the wrong things.

Instead, look for the roses today in your relationships.

Look for the good in each of the people you encounter.

I promise you they have them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.

This is from the beginning of “Love, Actually”. It has made it on to our list of annual Christmas movies to watch.

The above is the very beginning of the movie.

It’s a great reminder that love is all around us.

Sometimes we forget.

Sometimes we let ourselves fall into the trap of thinking only of ourselves. We forget that we are happiest and at our best when we are loving others.

At Christmas we are reminded of these simple truths.

Let these Christmas feelings soak in. Make them part of your day. Then sail right on past Christmas. Loving and serving others well into the New Year. Maybe if you are lucky, it will become a habit (if it isn’t already).

Make it a great Christmas.

Jake

“Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone, and as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

— Marianne Williamson

What a great reminder – you were meant to shine.

Not in a way that puts others down or takes away from them – they were meant to shine as well.

The first sentence sets the stage perfectly – we were made to serve the world (God).

For some reason, it’s easy to miss this idea and buy into bad thinking.

Either the thinking that you are worthless and aren’t made to shine or that you are in competition with others and to outshine them you must diminish their efforts or somehow exalt yours.

We let fear and selfishness dominate our thoughts and diminish our impact.

When we let go of our fears and lean into our God-given gifts and talents for service we inspire others to do the same.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“And despite all this, Christmas comes. Whether we want it to or not, whether we are in the mood for it or not, we must hear again that Christ, the savior, is born.“~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer works Volume 10 Barcelona, Berlin, New York, 1928-1931 This year, regardless of what you love or hate about the Christmas season, keep it forefront in your mind that the birth of Christ, who lived a sinless life and died to rescue us from certain death is the reason for the season. Have fun, enjoy family, enjoy too much food, but don’t lose track of the reason we have Christmas. – from a blog I read (should have copied and pasted the authors name as well).

Each year as the Christmas season begins (after Thanksgiving) I work to remind myself of the reason for the season and that this is a time to be joyful and peaceful – not stressed and worried.

Each year, the Christmas season is a reality we all must face.

We must make the choice to be thankful, joyful and peaceful.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. – William Arthur Ward

Being thankful is the beginning of a better and more full life.

When we are thankful for what we have we transform our attitude and prepare ourselves for more of the same.

Think of an area of your life where you want to see a change.

Find something in that area to be thankful for.

Maybe an example would help.

Let’s say you wanted to save some money.

First, be thankful for whatever money you do have.

Treat that little bit as if it were a blessing.

And then you will have the attitude it will take to start adding more.

Make it a great day.

Jakeu

I Receive ALL of Life with Thanksgiving –

I have gratitude for EVERYTHING

that has ever occurred to bring me to this moment.

I give thanks for the joys and the sufferings,

the moments of peace and the flashes of anger,

the compassion and the indifference,

the roar of my courage and the cold sweat of my fear.

I accept gratefully the entirety of my past and my present life.

– Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It takes a very mature person to be thankful for ALL of life, I know I have lots of room for improvement here.

I won’t challenge us all to immediately become thankful for everything, but maybe we could take a step in that direction.

As you think about what you are thankful for this year, challenge yourself to go beyond your usual answers.

Family, friends, faith, home, etc. are all great and worthy of our thanks, but let’s add to the list this year.

Maybe even find a challenge or struggle to be thankful for.

Make it a great day.

Jake