Calaidescope World

A Christmas Message

Season's greetings, friends!

I'm sharing Jeanette Winterson's Christmas message to her readers with you. I agree with her, but can't articulate this message the same way she can….

Happy Holidays!

"...the spirit of Christmas, because there is such a thing,...is about generosity, forgiveness, re-birth, chances, miracles, even. It can’t be found in December frenzy, but it can be found by refusing to follow the shopping agendas, and creating real space for yourself, your loved ones, and also for those who have very little this year."

"But leaving aside all the crap – and there is plenty, this is the season of goodwill , and perhaps a good time to make peace with someone with whom there is a genuine grievance or a misunderstanding? If Christmas is to have any meaning – and it should – let it be its own message, and not one of fake sentiment or religiosity. The birth of Jesus is about new life, new beginnings, new possibilities, and it happens not when everything is going well, or in a 5 star hotel, or when we’ve just won the lottery, but in there with the animal feed, in the stable, cold and dark and unprepared for. This is a no-frills moment. Anyone can be generous and easy when everything is perfect – but a new chance, for yourself or others, just doesn’t usually happen that way.

"Change, when it comes, is often uncomfortable and not at all how we imagined it. The clichés and the sentiment aren’t present in the Christmas Story – we added all that later. An unmarried mother gives birth in a stable – try that now and the tabloids would be after you as unfit, the child would be taken into care and Joseph would be named and shamed – and given a DNA test.

"It is an uncomfortable story, and one that is worth a close reading. The moment, when it happens, is never easy, and the miracle we say we long for brings as many problems as it solves, because it demands an entire re-configuration of who we are."

"The wind is howling outside – sometimes I can’t believe that I am half way through my life, and it feels precious and clear, and not be spoilt by own stupidity. It would be stupid not to live in the moment, which is not to say to live irresponsibly, but to live as fully aware as possible. To live in the fullness of time, and not on its edges. The wind will uproot me one day, and I’ll be gone, so when it comes to pauses – like Christmas, I want to remember what things matter, and what really doesn’t."

"Don’t go mad, don’t get tired, don’t be pointless, don’t waste time, this Christmas. Love where you can, help a stranger, and if you are the stranger who needs help, ask for it.

"Doesn’t matter if this isn’t your faith, or if you have no faith at all – there is enough here for everyone, and the symbol of Christmas is powerful because it is true – new life, a new chance, a change to the existing order – a Dream, (actually there are 4 dreams in the Nativity story), a Star, a Baby, Love."

www.jeanettewinterson.com

posted by Calai @ 11:47 AM