I know what I really want for Christmas

I know what I really want for Christmas

I know what I really want for Christmas. I want my childhood back. Nobody is going to give me that…. I know it doesn’t make sense, but since when is Christmas about sense, anyway? It is about a child of long ago and far away, and it is about the child of now. In you and me. Waiting behind the doors of our hearts for something wonderful to happen. (Robert Fulghum)

When I was a child I loved the world. Like all children I was filled with innocence, wonder, joy, curiosity, and abundant energy. Children are the true Zen Buddhists of the world. They live entirely in the moment, and their natural state is contentment until the world begins to tell them who they ought to be, and this is when they begin to lose sight of their authentic selves. From the moment we enter the world we are shaped by culture, gender scripts, religion, advertising, and the media. It is a rare child indeed who can escape this moulding by society and remain true to their authentic self.
The good news is that we can we can sojourn back to that idyllic place of magic and wonder, by reclaiming the joy of our younger selves. It requires a purging and letting go of any beliefs that keep us rooted in the notion that we must amass a plethora of material things in order to be successful and happy. In truth, it keeps us yoked to a life devoid of wonder and magic.
If I close my eyes and think back on all the moments in my life that were joy filled and magical, material things never enter the equation.
I remember running barefoot over fields of grass, and the way the wind transformed the meadow into a sea of undulating green, my hair unkempt and a mass of tangles in the breeze. I remember swinging in my backyard, and imagining what it would be like to sail over the rooftops. I was convinced I could fly if I could just figure out how to counteract gravity. Even now, I’m still convinced that it just might be possible.

A number of years ago I began the journey back to my authentic self, reclaiming those parts of me that once spontaneously experienced wonder, joy, and fascination for the mystery of this vast universe of ours. It began with being true to myself and scaling back on anything that interfered with that process. I downsized my possessions, ridding myself of anything that I didn’t absolutely need. I took risks and spontaneously moved to new places where I had always wanted to live, sight unseen. There is a simply recipe for contentment in life. If something is getting in the way of happiness we must either accept it, change it, or leave it. It’s that easy. When we begin to view the world through the eyes of our younger selves, we begin to resurrect the magic that went dormant within us when we lost sight of those things that mattered most.

So take the first step. Revel in each new sunrise. Embrace the advent of a brand new day. Rejoice in the splendour of the closing of a day. Watch the way the sun tumbles below the horizon moments before the arrival of night’s purple legion. Run, leap, and climb. Dance naked in the moonlight. Listen to the wind rummaging through the trees. Walk barefoot through the grass. Dig in the dirt. Climb that mountain. And above all else, to thine own self be true.