Yesterday was Christmas, a time for families and friends to get together and celebrate, in many different ways. Some people were joyous and full of love while others were sad and filled with memories of loss or pain. And then there were others who simply expressed “bah humbug!”. December is my all time favorite month. I love the chill in the air at night and the excitement I feel as each day brings us closer to Christmas. I have been this way most of my life. If you read my memoir, “For Dear Life”, you will remember the time I visited the nativity scene across the street from our house in Pennsylvania at the age of nine. It was a pivotal moment and I suppose it instilled in me the love I have for this time of year.
I received a unique and very special present yesterday from my daughter-in-law. As a matter of fact, she knows me and my sister so well that she gave the same gift to both of us and had us open them at the same time. It was a Blessings Jar. I have never heard of nor seen anything like it. It reminded me of when I was in high school and the drama club I belonged to used to take oranges and pin small notes to them saying things that made them happy. It was an undertaking I considered pretty cool back then. If you ever had a bad day, you would pull out one of the pins, read the note and smile.
Filling the Blessings Jar takes it one step further and creates a more spiritual experience. Write on one of the small cards provided something that you are grateful for, a blessing in your life at present. This should not be difficult to do. It can be something as basic as “I am blessed because I am alive”. Feeling blessed doesn’t mean that your life is perfect. It focuses on the state of your life right now and the gratitude you experience for all of it – the “good” and the “not so good”. It means accepting where you are in your life, knowing that it will change and being okay with that. It is knowing that you are right where you are supposed to be, the place that comes before the next place where you will be. (Does that make sense?)
Back to the Blessings Jar. You fill out all of the cards and then add to them as you think of other things you feel grateful for. When you are having an off day, a day less than joyous, pull out a few of the cards in the jar and read them. Think about them, experience the richness of your blessings, be thankful for them. More blessings will come. All you need is an open heart to receive them. The inherent magic in blessings is that they multiply, once acknowledged and appreciated.
Think about creating your own Blessings Jar, or Blessings Box or a Blessings Bowl – be creative. There are beautiful gift boxes at places like Michael’s or Home Goods, Marshall’s, etc. Buy one or make one. Then fill it up with the blessings in your life. Watch them grow and change your life in ways you can’t even imagine. :))
