Monday, 30 December 2013

The True Meaning of Christmas and the New Year

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the craving of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has or what he does - does not come from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God lasts forever." - 1 John 2 (15-17)


Christmas symbolises unselfishness and generosity. It is a time of giving and being together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world and the light that shines within each of us.  We are born to new life as He was born in the manger of Bethlehem. We are ready to leave what is unwanted behind and embrace new habits, a new lifestyle, a new attitude towards ourselves, others and the world. As we discover what is really important to us and what we really want, we are ready to transform our lives. This is what I write about in my book "The magic of Willpower". There is a kind of magic when this happens, because everything falls into place, and instead of being at war with ourselves, we are at peace and we don't have to struggle to lose weight, give up smoking or drinking or controlling our anger. 

Christ is pure love and He dwells in each of us. Christ is the epitome of our highest ideals, of goodness, patience, compassion and affection. Christ is healing and growth and replaces dysfunction and destruction. "Do not love the world" means: do not thirst for status or material goods. We may be the hard working type and have a lot of ambition, chase after a lot of things, but this is not what Christ is about.  Or we can be the "lazy" type and give in to every whim and desire - with an attitude of instant gratification that may lead to painful problems such as feeling guilt and shame and having unhealthy relationships. It can also lead to being overweight or addicted to certain substances or  behaviours. 

Christmas and the New Year are a time of feasting and letting go before the first of January, a new beginning, with your New Year resolutions. Don't be too hard on yourself if you want these resolutions to last. Small changes are all you need to begin with. Look at the big picture. Listen to your inner voice and cultivate hope in your heart - no matter where you're at right now, it can only get better. 

With lots of love and my best wishes,

Bella

Painting: "The Nativity of Christ" by Vladimir Borokovsky, 1790 - 1825, Russia.

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