Magic and Miracles

Do you ever feel sad at the end of the holiday season?

I always do, but I never really slowed down long enough to figure out where the sadness was coming from until this year.

On Christmas night, I found myself in tears watching my little boy sleep because neither one of us was ready for the magic to be over.  We didn’t want Cookie the Elf to go back to the North Pole, we didn’t want our friends and relatives to go home, we didn’t want to stop watching holiday specials or singing Christmas carols, we didn’t want to have to wait another year for Santa to visit, and we didn’t want to stop talking about the details of the baby Jesus in the manger under the big star.

Once I thought about it, I realized that I felt this way every year for as long as I could remember.  Christmas night is a lot like the last few hours on a Sunday before a busy week or the last night before school starts in the fall; we try to hold on to the fun and excitement, but it is overshadowed by the reality of the coming day. 

I felt this way a few times this year since I was blessed with many magical moments that I didn’t want to let go of or trade in for a mundane follow up experience.  Thankfully, Christmas night was a turning point for me. 

As I explored the sadness and looked for the lesson, I realized that I didn’t want Christmas to be over because it is the one time of year that everyone believes in something bigger, allows themselves to feel the magic and joy, and truly stop to think about “peace on Earth and good will toward men”.

Think about it… For the last month, it was completely acceptable to approach strangers with a smile and a happy greeting.  Most television stations aired shows and movies that celebrated hope, kindness, magic, and the power of belief.  The radio was a perpetual source of upbeat tunes, many with spiritual messages.  People didn’t hesitate to mention their love for Jesus, because people are a lot less judgmental when it comes to the birth of a savior – especially if it means they get presents for his birthday.  Talk of angles and elves that come to life in the middle of the night was commonplace and no one was even a little bit afraid of the old man who sneaks into millions of homes in the middle of the night.

For the month of December, people choose love and faith over fear and that is my favorite definition of a miracle.  With so many daily miracles and all of that magic, it is no wonder so many of us get sad when we see December 26th on the calendar.

On my quest to understand this sadness, I’ve had a lot of great conversations with different people, some religious, some agnostic, and even a few who don’t like the idea of Santa OR Jesus but who still enjoy the holiday season because of the way that it impacts people in general.  So far, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are as many different ways to worship Jesus as there are stories about Santa.  At the end of the day, it does seem to come down to a few common denominators like love, kindness, and angels along with an overall need to believe in the magic of the unseen and in the possibilities that are available to each of us when we choose love and allow ourselves to connect to ourselves, each other, and something much bigger.

Since it has taken me 34 years to see all of this, I thought I would use this week’s blog and video to ask for some insight and advice from all of you.  What do you do to keep the magic and miracles alive throughout the year?

Clearly, a large portion of our society doesn’t keep the magic alive or else there wouldn’t be such a stark contrast between December and January, but my big realization this week was that we can choose to change that and, if many of us choose to create a shift, it could easily be felt by others. 

At the very least, I would like to compile your best thoughts, ideas, and suggestions into a resource for other people who want to experience magic and miracles all year long.  So please, comment below, tag some people who might have different ideas, and keep sharing the blog and video until we have enough to work with.