It has been over twenty-five years since the last time I celebrated Christmas.
Back in the days, I was still a teenager with already too many piercings, very short hazelnut hair and a brand-new passion for the color purple.
[Hint: fast forward to today... My hair is long and mermaid green, piercings are not too many, after all, and purple still rocks]
[Close your eyes and...
Be thankful for the amazing people in your life.
Be thankful for the amazing people in your life.
Mermaid green hair is optional but pretty cool, if you ask me.
Pic: Me, December 2018 © Radoslaw Kosiada]
As a born and raised atheist that, by chance, spent her childhood and teenage years in a strictly Catholic country and grew extremely impatient about the whole Christmas hype, which in Italy can become absolutely huge, over the years I have been used to do my best to avoid Christmas and the Christmas preparations altogether.
And the questions about Christmas.
And the quest for rushed Christmas presents that are not always so authentic or well-meant.
And all the wishes and the postcards and the decorations and the big meals and people getting surprised because I don't celebrate the holiday and because no, I am not even Catholic. And I never have been.
Still, this year I upgraded my mindset about all Christmas-y things.
For the very first time, I realized that even if I don't celebrate Christmas, I can enjoy receiving the wishes of friends and loved ones, I can be thankful for their words, their messages and their thoughts.
In return, I can give my time, my words of appreciation and my affection as the sort of present I personally consider the most beautiful and precious among all.
And rightly so for 365 days a year, not only for Christmas.
["Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year",
says Ralph Waldo Emerson, as golden as ever]
Being thankful for the time, the experiences and the special moments shared over the years, and in particular this year, is, in the end, the way I can choose to celebrate Christmas with all the amazing people that are part of my life and that make my life, every single day, more fun, interesting, valuable, inspiring and full of love and surprises.
That's my "kind-of-Christmas-present-even-if-I-still-don't-celebrate-Christmas" to all my friends, this year, and to all the readers of the blog.
Thanks to all of you, 2018 has been so far a very special year in my life, and I'm looking forward to cherishing the last few days of the year while keeping up with all my goals and dreams.
For me and for you, a terrific quote that sums up the best attitude, not only for today but for every single day of the year. Even for non-Catholic folks like me.
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Francis of Assisi [1181/1182-1226]
This is for all my friends and loved ones.
I care about each of you and I am absolutely thankful for your presence in my life, which is, in the end, the best gift ever to me.
Tags: Happiness, Gratefulness, Gratitude at Christmas, Quotes, Christmas gifts reframed, Thankfulness, Christmas without being Catholic, Reframing
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