“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
Ah yes, it’s the time of year when I enter my Cindy-Lou-Who-inspired existential crisis about the meaning of Christmas as I’m cursing all the ribbons, tags, boxes and bags beneath, and hurrying to hang stockings and a holly-who wreath.
I head to the store, to buy only a roast-beast, but instead am bombarded by more, more, and MORE! And the children unfurl wishlists galore!
And yet I’m reminded of what I already knew….
All they really want for Christmas… is YOU.
Attention is the most basic form of love. Through it we bless and are blessed.
-John Tarrant
The more I study, and practice, mindfulness, the more I am convinced that
mindfulness
and
attention
and
compassion
and
wisdom
and
love
are all pretty much the same thing.
When we truly pay attention to another, when we make space for their suffering, or truly see their goodness, it’s love. It’s in that space of curiosity, not judgment, where wisdom emerges. And from wisdom comes compassionate action.
So what if we made this holiday season about presence, not presents?
I’m so excited that the adults in my family have agreed to forgo gifts for one another and make charitable donations with the money that would have been spent on gifts. For Christmas, the only presents we’re bringing are ones that will bring us presence — a nice bottle of wine to share, a game to enjoy together, or a movie to watch while snuggled by the fire.
The Gifts of Presence Giveaway
In this spirit of giving and sharing, I am excited to announce my Gifts of Presence Giveaway!
Ready, Set, Breathe by Carla Naumburg
What greater gift is there to give your children than the gift of mindfulness? Carla Naumburg’s new book is packed with wonderful ideas for ways to practice mindfulness with your children. It’s giving them (and you!) the gift of attention, peace of mind, and deep awareness.
Carla has generously donated two copies of Ready, Set, Breathe for Left Brain Buddha readers. You can enter the giveaway below — two winners will be chosen randomly after the giveaway closes at midnight CST on Friday, December 18th. Winners will be notified via email by Sunday, December 20.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Brilliant Mindful YOU
I am so excited to kick off the new year with another session of my signature course, Brilliant Mindful YOU. This is a powerful, eight-week course to introduce you to the practice of mindfulness. You’ll learn how to cultivate presence, calm, balance, and ease, and start to put YOU back in control of your life! You’ll learn practices for working with difficult emotions, managing stress and anxiety, dealing with physical pain and discomfort, cultivating healthy relationships with others, building empathy and self-compassion, and integrating research-based practices for joyful, meaningful living.
Participants tell me that the course is life-changing.
Registration is now open for the Winter 2016 session, which begins on January 11. (Special EARLY BIRD pricing has been extended through December 20). For this Gifts of Presence Giveaway, I am giving away ONE FULL-PRICE REGISTRATION to Brilliant Mindful YOU! And, because this is all about the spirit of giving, the winner will also be able to give ONE FULL-PRICE REGISTRATION to a friend!
(a $298 value!)
Enter the giveaway below. One winner will be chosen randomly when the giveaway ends at midnight CST on Friday, December 18th. The winner will be notified via email by Sunday, December 20. (If you have already registered for the course and you win, your registration fee will be refunded — and you still get to invite a friend!).
In the meantime, I wish you and your family a wonderful, mindful, and joyful holiday season. Left Brain Buddha will be on a little break through the remainder of the year… and I’ll be back in January so we can talk New Year’s Intentions and discover the amazing ways we will bring brilliance to 2016!
Peace and love,
- A Mindful Approach to New Year’s Resolutions - January 13, 2020
- Just This Next Step - December 16, 2019
- WAIT: A Mindfulness Practice for Waiting in Line - December 9, 2019
