Well, happy Monday greetings once again everybody!
Welcome to this week’s post…number 150 to be exact!
WOWSER!
The Christmas carols have been sung, the presents have been unwrapped, the snow has yet to fall, and the cookies and sweets continue to catch our eye to tempt our tummies for that much-needed sugar rush.
Why is it that the holidays always seem to take forever to get here and then seem to be over in the blink of an eye?
It feels like it was just yesterday when I was hanging the stockings by the chimney with care or rocking around the Christmas tree as I helped trim it with my parents.
And now, like every other year, the post holiday depression seems to swoop in to overtake our lives.
Or is that just me?
Grab those scrumptious sugar cookies, cozy up by the fire with your favorite blanket, and let’s get on with this week’s post.
If, by chance, your detail oriented brain was not focusing on the title of this week’s post, you might have missed that it was a quote from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
The full quote, goes like this:
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.”
~Ebenezer Scrooge
One of my FAVORITE holiday traditions is watching A Christmas Carol with my mom and dad either on Christmas night or the evening after Christmas. And not just any version. I’m talking about the George C. Scott version from 1984. If you haven’t seen this version, do yourself a favor and check it out…even if it is after the holiday. I remember the Jacob Marley ghost scene always creeping me out growing up…and not going to lie…even at the age of 34, it still gives me goosebumps and chills.
It suddenly just got chilly in my room. Brrr.
I digress.
I don’t know if it is because of the state of the world we are living in currently or the fact that my brain has matured more as I’ve gotten older, but the above quote is something that has really started to get the wheels turning in my head.
And yes, the wheels are turning currently at 10:37pm as I write these words from atop the bed in my childhood room that I grew up in at my parents’ house.
Another Christmas tradition I’ve always loved. Sleeping over Christmas Eve/Christmas night.
But I digress…again.
I won’t bore you with the full details of the story of Ebenezer Scrooge because surely most of you already know how it goes, but the short story version is that a grumpy old man gets visited by three spirits and has a change of heart about the Christmas holiday.
As I watched the movie for what feels like the millionth time, I kept thinking about the quote that I shared above.
Why does it take a holiday that happens every December 25th for us as humans to open our hearts, love one another, and be kind?
Why are these entities aspects of life that we are not embracing and living out 365 days a year?
The world isn’t getting any easier.
And the dark days are far from over.
But we all need to have the revelation and epiphany like Ebenezer Scrooge did and wake up, open our eyes, and realize the beauty of what is around us and to embrace ALL we meet with unconditional love in our hearts.
While I’m someone who has often created “resolutions” for myself in the past to embrace in the new year, I’m going to take a different approach to 2022.
I’ve been looking for inspiration and thinking intensely about a singular word, phrase, or quote to help shape what I want my 2022 to look like.
And as I was looking for that particular entity, I decided to open up my 2022 planner (my literal favorite thing) to the date of my birth, August 27th. And this is the quote I found waiting for me:
“Any situation that you find yourself in, is an outward reflection of your inner state of beingness.”
~El Morya
BINGO.
If that doesn’t speak Mr. Sunshine, well then I don’t know what does.
Ladies and gentleman, I present you with my quote to live by in 2022. And what’s even better is that there are three words from this particular quote that I can extract to help navigate my 2022 even more.
-Reflection, beingness, outward.
I want to take time to reflect on blessings that I’m grateful for.
I want to work on a healthy state of beingness with my soul, the world, and others in life that I love.
I want to work on the outward part of Mr. Sunshine with a focus on fitness.
2021 has definitely been a crazy year for me–emotionally and physically with my Miles 4 Smiles campaign. I’ve learned a lot about myself which I’m anxious to share with you, but you’ll have to wait another week. By the way—you can still donate at miles-4-smiles.com! Last minute donations are greatly welcome until 12/31!
But for now, I urge you to embrace your inner Ebenezer Scrooge.
Wake up and open your eyes and heart to embrace ALL around you with love and kindness.
Sprinkle sunshine always,
JP!
Mr. Sunshine Smiles 