First a quote: “The Christmas season is a gift; it releases us from the priorities of ordinary time and gives us the right to give more, pray more, and love more.” – Charlie Brown*
Hello and happy Monday.
While my family has celebrated Christmas every year of my entire life, I am aware of the need for understanding, thoughtfulness, and respect for those who have different traditions, beliefs, and non-beliefs.
In addition to Christmas and Hanukkah, there are at least 14 holidays celebrated during this time of year including: Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Las Posadas, Diwali, Boxing Day, and the Chinese New Year to name just a few.
My wish is that we each take a few minutes to reflect on the last year with gratitude and grace, and that we look forward with hope, love, and compassion.
We all have an opportunity to be sources of happiness, joy, and goodness, regardless of our faith and beliefs.
It is true that our country, indeed our world, faces many difficult challenges ahead and very few are more serious than the rampant divisiveness and self-righteousness seemingly everywhere today.
There is also so much good everywhere if we only look for it and then “pay it forward” with grace and love.
Let us take this opportunity to celebrate what is “right” in the world. Let us also do “our part,” no matter how small, or seemingly insignificant, to make our world just a little bit happier, more loving, and more joyful.
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” – John Bunyan
For so many, the holiday season is not a joyous time. The lonely are often even more lonely, the sick can feel even sicker, the hungry feel even more empty, and in both their stomachs and their hearts. The stressed often feel even more stressed.
We can all make a difference for those people, maybe just one person at a time.
For the remainder of this Christmas/holiday season, regardless of your faith, personal beliefs, secular or non-secular, let us all seek to be more kind, and more loving. As John Lennon penned, “It is easy if we try.”
There are so many opportunities to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
“The greatest gifts are not wrapped in paper – but in love.” – Unknown
Thank you for reading my missives this past year. It has been my honor and privilege to write them. I’m looking forward to 2025 with hope, optimism, and happiness in my heart. Won’t you join me please?
I wish all a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year in 2025!
And for those celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas to you and yours!
How will you live, love, or lead differently, or better, during this holiday season?
Bonus Quotes Below.
Sincerely,
Bryan Yager
“Expanding Your Capacity for Success”
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- While this quote was attributed to Charlie Brown, I was unable to verify the source.
Bonus Quotes:
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“Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” – Calvin Coolidge
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When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed .” – Maya Angelou
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A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal. ” – Steve Maraboli
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You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ” – Kahlil Gibran
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“It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.” – Unknown
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Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance. ” – Roy T. Bennett
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“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.” – Jim Rohn
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“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” – Maya Angelou
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“Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.” – Barbara Bush
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“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
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“If you have much, give of your wealth; if you have little, give of your heart.” – Arabic Proverb
