Tuesday, December 16, 2003

I just arrived at home for Christmas leave and I am already bored. It may be partly because none of the family is in the house. An empty house is always quite peaceful though. I tried reading a little Nicholas Sparks for a while but after a chapter, I could not read anymore. My brain is a little worn out after taking exams, which went quite well. My method of getting through exams has always been to relax my way through them. My parents would roll their eyes if they heard that but it really is my special way of getting through them. I usually make sure I get a lot of sleep. I don't really do that much studying for them if you are talking about quantitative hours studied but I make sure that while I am studying, I stay relaxed and just enjoy it as best I can. Lastly, I try to get something to eat before the exam and get a relaxing song in my head. Of course this method probably only works for me since I am a little stranger than your average person. Stressing over them would probably work best for you...
So it's Christmas season and there's supposed to be quite a bit of magic floating around somewhere. As I reflect on past Christmases, I don't remember my fantastic expectations ever being wholly fulfilled. I have seen the same regret in many other people so I am sure many of you can relate. I always keep thinking, maybe next Christmas will be that romantic Christmas I always dreamed of. As I thought about it though, I realized that any "magic" that was there during Christmas was because of family and friends who provided it with their love, mainly my mother and father. So I came to the conclusion that the season's magical quality just doesn't happen to show up during the last month of the year when snow starts falling, but people actually have to do loving things to make it happen. Maybe this would explain why my general air of selfishness around Christmas time has always seemed to spoil the season's magic for me and for those around me.
I am going to try something new this year though and I hope that you will commit to do the same. I am actually going to devote my time to making the season more magical for others. This doesn't mean I am going to come up with expensive gifts or write holiday poems for my mom. It's doing little things that ease the pressure and stress off parents such as helping keep the house clean and not complaining when I am asked to do something even though I already had other plans. God did the most loving thing possible in sending his Son for us during this same season and that's what initially started the magic. It is no surprise that by not thinking about ourselves and doing loving things for others, we are able to bring small glimpes of this magic to them.
I saw the movie "Love Actually" and I really loved it. I hear there are some other good movies out but haven't had much time lately to indulge myself. I finished "The Wedding" by Nicholas Sparks and would recommend it especially if you are a guy. It addresses and brings life to certain issues that many people don't consider when they get married. For now, I wait for my whole family to arrive later this week and also some friends. We are going on a tour of the White House which should be neat. Have a blessed Christmas as you bring magic to others!