If you look at the world today, you may feel like it’s a bit hard to be Ho, Ho, Ho-ing. Or you may be out shopping till you drop rather than to even be thinking about it all. My son and I recently had this discussion because he was feeling, understandably, overwhelmed with all the discord in the world and in his life. His sadness made me look at what I most value in my own life and it all came down to choice.

In every parable or story of this season, whether you believe them or not, there is an option for the hero or heroine to make a choice and that choice is the basis for the end result or out come.

Our situation today is no different 

We can get overwhelmed that the world out there does not seem to be changing in a positive way. I would agree. The rhetoric seems more caustic, the news seems more sensationalized and the world seems to be going to pot (no pun intended) …or not. But in my world, the truth is that it doesn’t really matter what the world does. What matters is what I do in the world.
In every situation that arises before us, there is a moment in which we can ask the question, What am I here for, and what is this circumstance here to each me? And, the only thing that matters in that moment is our choice and our answer to that question. No one of us can tackle the issues on this world stage alone. However, if each one of us stands in our own integrity and compassion, that alone can change the world dramatically, one person at a time.  Can you see how powerful you are and what a gift your free choice can be?

• Where there is fear, you can choose trust in yourself.  
• Where there is apathy, you can choose commitment. 
• Where there is distance, you can choose intimacy. 
• Where there is pain, you can choose healing. 
• Where there is separation, you can choose connection and unity. 
• Where there is judgment, you can choose acceptance. 
• Where there is hatred, you can choose love. 

YOU get to choose and that is the greatest gift of this life and this earthly experience.  You get to choose, and your choice matters more than anything going on in the world anywhere, because when it’s all said and done, and you life is over, you get to say, I did what I came here to do.
So as you celebrate this season and those whom you love and who celebrate with you, try to remember the greatest gift is not the one given during Kwanzaa, or wrapped with a bow or under a tree or near beautifully lit Hanukkah candles. The greatest gift is your choice and you get it every minute of every day all year long.

I know Barbara,  and all of us who are privileged to share our thoughts with you each month are so grateful for you in that you have given us this forum in which we can fulfill part of our purpose which is truth-telling and sharing our deepest beliefs. You have given us a place in which to make that choice and we thank you and we thank Barbara.

Our hearts are with you as be begin a New Year and we invite you to stand with us hand-in-hand and continue to make the choice to be who you can here to be and to fulfill the purpose you came here to fulfill.

We are a circle of light, and no one can make your personal contribution to light in the world but you. The Universe saves your place until you are willing to step into your power and make that choice.
Go ahead.

“Nothing you have ever done in the past and nothing you will ever do in the future diminishes or defines you in this moment. You have the right and all the tools you need to be your best self and the Universe has your back, and so do we.”

Go for it and have the best Holiday and 2016 ever.