I find myself hesitating, trying to find the right words. Is the greeting “Merry Christmas” still appropriate, during such a grim year?
My inspiration comes from my granddaughter, as I watch her picking herself up from falling, and setting forth once more with hope and determination towards a target.
She falters, wobbles, but never loses hope. She’s going to make it across the room. Way across the room to a favourite toy, to the ornaments and lights on the Christmas tree, to the loving outstretched arms of her parents or grandparents — or to the sleeping dog (who may or may not spy her just in time to make his escape before she grasps his ear or tail).
She is a bundle of hope, faith and perseverance. And every time she gets up or steadies herself, she’s filled with joy.
Our world may not be a very merry place this year. But this Christmas season – this tough Christmas season — I wish you hope, faith, perseverance and joy.
May the words become actions and may the actions create reality for each of us.
Cynthia Reyes 
Let hope be a beacon as we go forward. Thank you Cynthia and wishing you joy now and always.
Thank you, Paula. wishing you health, strength and joyful times in this strange time.
Thank you, dear Cynthia! I have to keep reminding myself that hope, faith, perseverance and joy springs from within, and it is the only way to navigate life, especially now. Those little ones are the bright beacons that know the way. 🙂 ❤
I have to do the same, Lavinia. Take care and stay safe and healthy!
Merry Christmas to you and yours, Cynthia. It has been a tough year but the gift in it has also been adaptability and resilience. Children bring it home to us, don’t they?
they sure do, Marlene. Wishing you all good things.
Thank you for the beautiful blessings from you and the wisdom from your granddaughter! Rise and shine with loving words and action…✨
Thank you, Brad. Be safe and well!
You’re welcome my friend. ❤
I love this analogy/musing. Merry Christmas.
Thank you. My best wishes at Christmas.
TY, and mine to you & yours!
We are not the situation we find ourselves in and happiness comes from within, so we shouldn’t let any particular situation spoil our happiness.
You’re so lucky to have that little granddaughter! I wish I had a house full of them.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
We are lucky and blessed indeed. She’s such a joy. Wishing you all good things.
Merry Christmas Cynthia to you and to your family.
Thank you Fran. I wish you the same. And I miss you!
Lovely post, Cynthia. Your little one will grow up with so much love around her. I’ve been thinking about hope springing eternal and making a few irreverent 2020 Santa rocks to hopefully make people laugh…..including “2020 – Merry Christmas Anyway….”.
I like that! Merry Christmas anyway!
Wonderful message, Cynthia. Pleasant holidays!
And to you, Becky!
A joyous Christmas to your darling granddaughter! A tough year. May 2021 be a better one.
Wishing you and your family the best of health and peace and Christmas dinner!
Yes I think Merry Christmas is still appreciated and a beautiful wish to receive.
Thank you. Merry Christmas to you.
You found the right words, Cynthia. May your Christmas be as good as it can be.
Thank you, Derrick. Let’s make the best of it!
Dear Cynthia, I hope you’ve got through this crazy year unharmed. I’m not a bit in xmas mood, maybe when I start decorating the tree. Wishing you and your loved ones peace and love for Christmas and always, Annette
My best wishes in this strange time, Annette. We have to keep the faith.
The journey of a lifetime begins with each wobbly step. So does hope and joy. Merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year cause 2021 has got to be better than 2020. My New Year’s resolution is to find a reason to smile each day.
You said that so well. What a great resolution. I will try to keep it in mind – though I forget things, I will try it when I remember.
There is something about making the most of every moment, regardless of the situation, that children naturally get, Cynthia, but we have to learn over and over. Christmas and New Year’s always help to bring this message home. May this Christmas bring peace and joy to you and your family. –Curt
Yes, indeed, Curt. I hope Christmas was lovely for you and your loved ones. May 2021 bring times of joy, despite the strange times we live in.
It was Cynthia. And Peggy and I can almost always find something to be happy about, regardless of the situation. Thanks much. –Curt
I love how you describe the inspiration of your granddaughter. Thank you for the Christmas benediction. I accept it gratefully and with an open heart.
Thank you, Liz. My best wishes for you in the year ahead. Stay safe and well, okay?
You’re welcome, Cynthia. I’m doing my best to stay safe and well. I hope you’re doing the same.
Thank you , Cynthia, for this beautiful post.
Sometimes action creates the word the thought , no ?
Have a great Christmas
Love ❤
Michel
Yes, indeed. Michel. I hope 2021 is off to a good start for you and your family.
Happy – merry – Christmas to you, Cynthia. I think there are many ways to be merry, and anything that lifts ones heart does it. x
Well said. Merry Christmas.
I hope you do manage to have a merry Christmas, Cynthia, and a very happy 2021!
Thank you Cynthia. What a joy your little one must be. Have a wonderful Christmas with your dear ones and let’s hope for better things in 2021.
The best medicine any day of the week is definitely a beloved grandchild learning her way around. The smiles she brings to her face and yours are priceless. I remember those days with such fond memories. Enjoy every moment because it goes by so quickly.
Amen Cynthia. Wishing you a safe and happy new year. 🙂
Yes, I felt the same. How could I use the word “Merry”? Yet our grandchildren show us that each minute is something to celebrate. Happy New Year, Cynthia!
Maybe less merry, maybe more faith and perseverance … each year is different. And your little granddaughter reminds us – always important is hope. Best always to you, Cynthia.
And to you, my friend. Stay healthy and safe and find joy wherever you can.
I had a problem with ‘merry’ I am now having a problem with “Happy” as in New Year.
I want it/us desperately to be Happy as we transit this liminal space ” between what was and what will be” no doubt we will have events in our life that will make us feel ‘happy’.
We all need to take a long look inward and face not just the flaws in others but also in ourselves. There is no ‘us and them’ only ‘us’ some of us conscious, some just waking up and some totally unconscious.
We all hold a piece of the puzzle, those of us that are aware will have to dive deep to make up for the inability of those of us that can’t.
“we are swimming in clues”
I hear you and appreciate what you’ve written here. Thank you.
It’s tough. And you’re right: while it’s easiest to point at the problems we perceive as being outside us, we don’t get off that easy – there is work for us all to do. A blogger I respect and follow raised the question of healing vs punishment re: the US insurrection and I found myself grappling with my own negative reactions to this idea, especially as it concerned #45. Are some people so evil that they’re beyond healing? Beyond forgiveness?
And who am I to even entertain that idea, when I claim to strongly believe in forgiveness? And if I give in to that easy answer — that some people are beyond being healed and forgiven — what will I do when it’s my time to be forgiven – or the people I love? Where does that leave us all?
You’ve hit the nail on the head: we all have work to do. About our lifestyles and the environment, the way we think about each other, and the way we see our own roles in these formidable situations. Maybe we should come up with a better wish than “Happy”. Glad you visited.
That’s a good wish you wrote at the end of your post!
Talking and doing nothing has always been an issue, and more so during pandemic.
I felt also strange writing Merry and Happy this year, but I still did. It’s meant to be something different for each person.
These global times generalize everything and that’s the first step to things going in the wrong direction. One size fits all never works in real time.
I take you wouldn’t mind me wishing you healthy, safe and happy New Year!
Thank you, Inese. Of course I wish you good health and happiness in this year.
Maybe I wrote it not clear enough, I tried to wish you Happy, safe and healthy New Year!
It was clear – so clear I wished you back the same things!! So double wishes to you now!! (smile)