This week, I’ve been trying to get into the spirit of Christmas; a little early, but it’s due to the fact that I promised to write a poem for the local newsletter, a sort of advert for the writing group, and the deadline was this weekend. Well, I sweet-talked the editor into an extension (easily done, as I’m married to him!) so the deadline is Tuesday.
I know not everyone who reads this will celebrate or even mark Christmas, so saying I feel ‘Christmassy’ might not mean much. That made me think maybe I should write a poem about what being ‘Christmassy’ means to me.
So I did a little word association, and here’s what I came up with:
Butterfly tummy
Family
Friends
Sharing
Joy
Thoughtfulness
Cold noses
Twinkling lights
Charity
Welcoming
Excitement
Decorations
Carols
Traditions
I am sure over time other words will crop up, and people will feel different things, but this is at least a part of it for me.
Looking at this list, I noticed something important. See those words I have highlighted? Those words are about peace.
Those words are fundamentally a part of a peaceful worlds: being part of a community with family and friends; sharing what we have so people are safe and secure; being joyful and thankful for the positives in our lives. Being thoughtful about others and about our own actions and responses. Being charitable – this doesn’t just mean giving money out but also being kind and caring, giving the benefit of the doubt. Welcoming others into our lives as new family, new friends.
Put aside the religion for a moment, if you can, and take away the veneer of commercialism that has made Christmas a slick advertisement for all the latest things.
What remains is an opportunity to focus on, and make time for, other people.
That’s the spirit I want to get into, and that’s the message I want my poem to convey.
Happy writing,
EJ
🙂
Becoming a writer 
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