Choosing to Live the Spirit of Christmas: A Way of Being, Not a Time of Year
Even though I am decidedly not a fan of cold weather, I have loved the Christmas season since I was a child. It has always appealed to the side of me that loves to embrace the magical—the lights, the beauty, the generosity, the creativity, and a great excuse to imbibe in copious amounts of white chocolate hot chocolate.
As a kid, I loved surrendering to the awe and wonder of the surrounding days by playing—finding that perfect sentimental gift for those I loved, surprising my family by showing up with a stocking to fill that was bigger than my body, waking up Christmas morning and fully dressing up as Santa, and even taking a third job as a seasonal job while in college as a mall elf just because I wanted those elf shoes with the curled toes (spoiler alert: to my disappointment, the shoes were never offered—but I was offered the lead role as the Easter Bunny for the upcoming Easter season due to my merriment spreading, which needless to say I unceremoniously turned down, as the Easter Bunny doesn’t get elf shoes either lol).
In recent years past, I even created a personal tradition of sending daily dirty Xmas jokes by text each day starting December 1st (think dumb “Dad” jokes but with double entendres) to selected individuals—without warning or their permission—although I did give them the option to opt out. And although they were quite vocal about the quality of said holiday jokes daily, nobody ever opted out. Silly as they were, I think they secretly loved the jolt of morning joy they provided. I haven’t done that over the last couple of years, but I will have to revive that in the near future.
Ok…enough about my shenanigans of Xmas past. If you have followed any of my articles, this past year has encompassed a lot of time spent focused on evolving myself as a human and reflecting on the nuances of the broader communities that surround me. This holiday season is no different on the reflection front. I started channeling a bit about the meaning of the spirit of Christmas and how that shows up and is reflected by humanity in everyday life.
As I so often do, I asked my friend ChatGPT to do some quick research for me and give me cliff notes on both:
the original meaning of Christmas, and
the core principles on which it was based.
This is what ChatGPT said:
“If you go back to the original meaning of Christmas in its Christian foundation, the celebration centers on the birth of Jesus Christ and the values his life was meant to embody. The following five core principles are widely recognized as the heart of the ‘Spirit of Christmas’: love, humility, generosity & giving, peace, and hope & renewal.”
So ChatGPT, as it so often does, confirmed what I have loved about the spirit of Christmas since I was a child—before I ever could process why and what I was feeling. It also made me smile pondering what humanity all over the globe could really look like if everyone lived those principles—for themselves and in interacting with others—daily. And as I was imagining that, I was happily playing Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World in my head. What a simple concept in theory that we humans make so decidedly complex, no?
I am also continuously fascinated by biofields and energetics—humanity living its most abundant energetic form—and the principles on which Christmas was founded are right in line with that abundance.
Love – Unconditional love (and authenticity) is the highest form of energy and the most creative force that exists in the universe. When we give unconditional love to ourselves and others, it expands and returns in resonance (the law of oneness). Living in unconditional love for humanity aligns us with unity versus division—we are all interconnected on a cosmic level.
Humility – In Christmas’ Christian foundational roots, the savior born in a stable is seated in the truth that greatness does not require grandeur—only openness. I don’t care what religion you practice or what beliefs you hold; think about the magic that unfolds when ego steps aside—when we surrender the need for status, control, or recognition and allow ourselves to align with our innate wisdom and purpose. To simply surrender and allow the flow of divine intelligence to move through us—to boldly follow where our heart leads.
Generosity & Giving – Energy, from a universal perspective, must flow. “Energy is neither created nor destroyed,” but rather can be transmuted from one form to another. Giving, in any form, should be participatory with the natural rhythms of abundance and reciprocity in all of its forms. What we give freely creates movement and flow versus the stagnation that hoarding creates. And from an energetic standpoint, generosity and giving don’t come from a commercialized or material place. Rather, they come from the body, mind, heart, and soul—thoughts, communications, intentions, time, commitment, service, empathy, patience, trust, and care.
Peace – There has, from my perspective, never been a time when humanity needed to practice this foundational principle more. Peace within self for exactly who you are—and when that total peace within is cultivated, the resulting domino effect ripples outward into relationships and communities. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of striving toward harmony (for more on conflict serving as a zeitgeist for deeper human connection: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/conflict-serving-zeitgeist-bridge-deeper-human-michele-gorman-1ou6e/?trackingId=5pxmZwu2S1KNEMMHubXlvQ%3D%3D)). Holding true to the tradition of Christmas—“Peace on Earth”—begins as peace in the heart. Give that gift to yourself and others.
Hope & Renewal – The universe operates in cycles of proverbial death and rebirth, with the Christmas holiday season marking the ending of 2025 and the dawning of the new year, 2026. This season also falls during the darkest time of the year, and with the birth of the savior during that time in Christian traditions, it symbolizes the eternal promise that light always returns. Again, it doesn’t matter what your religion is or what you subscribe to (I am not religious myself, but I appreciate the synchronicities of life wisdom and lessons that sit at the roots of any religion or belief system)—at the end of the day, there is always light in darkness. It is never extinguished; it is simply waiting to be further ignited and re-emerge with full force. In my world, hope and faith ground the knowing that change is constant and renewal is always waiting to unfold.
My wish for each of you reading this is that you choose to live the spirit and principles of Christmas as they were originally intended—not just for a season, but as a way of being. We are humans having a human experience, and how we live it matters. What might become possible for you and humanity if love, humility, generosity, peace, and hope were practiced daily?
Shoutout to ChatGPT for the research and edits for my content that helped this message take shape.
And as always, for any coaching needs, please email me directly at globaldivinealchemy@gmail.com.