Christmas

I like to use Christmas as my guidepost for the year. How I behave, what I do on this day in theory should direct and influence my actions for the rest of the year. I have long ago dispensed with New Year's resolutions. Instead I like to focus on the little things that I can do and that I can observe.

Christmas provides me with a wonderful classroom to examine human behavior. For many Christmas is the time of expectation and anxiety. For many it is just as difficult receiving a gift as it is giving one.

Christmas is a time of perception. How we perceive an event greatly affects how we relate to the event.

I am a photographer. I often look at people and imagine different camera angles, exposure settings, aperture settings. A good photographer, like a good painter wants to tell a story.

When I allow myself to remember that Christmas is not about buying and presenting all types of shiny, bright, new presents but about something more.

Christmas is all about remembering God, remembering the birth of Jesus. Christmas reminds us to love one another, to share our hope, to open up our hearts and prayers to each and every living human being.

This year the highlight of my Christmas celebration was attending Mass. How wonderful it was to see St. Matthew's Cathedral filled with people. How wonderful the choir sounded. How wonderful it was to feel the enthusiasm and warmth and love from the parish community.