7 Tips for Shining Your Light at Christmas!

Christmas is a loving, family time for many people, but for others it can be very lonely and depressing. Some people have suffered significant losses in their family or jobs. Others simply never had supportive partners or families to make the holiday feel warm and loving.

Photo by flaivoloka

The frantic shopping and gift-giving can also be difficult and challenging for people who are struggling financially. Many people are simply happy when Christmas is all over and they can go back to the normal routines of life.

What Makes Christmas Special?

Love is the essence of Christmas. It’s not the gifts, or the fancy dinners or showing off for all your friends and family. It’s the love you give from your heart that makes Christmas special and memorable.

Have you ever experienced a Christmas where everything looks good on the outside, but it just doesn’t feel right on the inside? I definitely have! When that happens, it’s because somehow the necessary love was missing from that situation.

All the expensive gifts or fancy dinners and extravagant celebrations in the world don’t make up for the feeling of loving and being loved.

How Can You Shine Your Light This Christmas?

The shining star at the top of a Christmas tree symbolizes love shining out into the world. The precious baby born in Bethlehem came to earth to teach the meaning of love. But as dysfunctional humans, we distorted that meaning and translated it into many unhealthy messages.

The good news is that we all have the opportunity to return to the purity of that love that was given to us at Christmas and learn to shine our love to everyone we meet.

Here are 7 tips for shining your love and light this Christmas:

Start with loving yourself unconditionally. The love you give yourself will naturally overflow to the people around you.
Be especially kind and loving to yourself when things in your life are difficult and challenging. Those times when you are challenged are the same times that you need to give yourself a little extra kindness, patience and understanding.
Be a good listener when other people are feeling challenged. Don’t give advice, just listen from your heart and tell your friend that you love him (or her) and that you believe things are going to get better in his (or her) life.
When you can’t afford gifts, write a note from your heart to the people who matter to you and tell them why you love them. It may be fun to offer the gift of sharing some time together in the near future, doing something you both enjoy.
Practice random acts of kindness with anyone you encounter. It’s fun to be creative in the moment and think of little ways you can make someone else’s day better.
Find people and activities that help you feel loving and connected. Maybe you’ll want to attend a Christmas Eve service somewhere to connect with others who are focusing on love.
If you’re alone this Christmas, invite someone to share the day with you. It doesn’t have to be a fancy dinner or an extravagant show. Just brainstorm something you could do together that you would both enjoy.

Whatever you do, remember that Christmas is about giving love from your heart. Don’t worry about the fancy wrapping. Focus instead on the genuine feeling of wanting others to know how much they matter to you and how much you appreciate having them in your life.