Christmas can be a time of great joy. Christmas can also be a time of great sadness. What causes the difference? Sadness abounds when a person focuses on what they do NOT have. This was brought home to me just this last week.
Decorating for Christmas is so much fun for me! I remembered that my precious daughter in love, Tisha, had adorned a special ornament with a large bow and tied it to the leg of a table in my den. The ornament is a red ball with a dog sitting on top. My previous dog’s name, Miracle, was engraved on the red ball. I looked forward to finding the ornament and tying it to the leg of the table once again. As I was tying the bow around the leg, I suddenly got this heavy feeling. I felt some sadness. I felt a sense of loss. Miracle had made her transition last December 30th. All of the goodies Miracle got to eat last Christmas was a part of our farewell to her.
Suddenly I thought, “What am I doing here? Why am I going back into the past? I have a GREAT new dog, Grace! How about I embrace having Grace instead of feeling sad that I no longer have Miracle?”
I took the ornament down and placed it back in the box. I found Grace and gave her a big hug and thanked her for being my precious doggie companion.
I choose today to embrace what I DO have instead of focusing on what I DON’T have. This is a much happier way to live!
