GNT #146: A Christmas message 🎄

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Growing up, the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann hung on a wooden board in our farmhouse, handwritten by my mom’s college friend, Jan.

It stayed on the wall through every season of our lives, and now it proudly hangs in my home.

There’s a section I always come back to on Christmas Day:

“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.”

Every year, those lines land a little differently.

Some years they feel like comfort.
Some years like reassurance.
Some years like a deep breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

But always, they feel true.

The world wants us to push, plan, improve, achieve, optimize. And there’s a time for that.

But not today.

Today is for remembering that you don’t have to earn your place. You don’t have to prove anything. Your worth isn’t tied to output or progress or how “together” you feel.

You are here - and that is enough.

The poem goes on:

“And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should…
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
keep peace in your soul.”

On a holiday that can be beautiful and complicated at the same time, this feels like the reminder many of us need:

Your life doesn’t have to make perfect sense today. Things don’t have to be fully figured out. You’re allowed to be exactly where you are - hopeful, tired, uncertain, grateful, all of it.

So this Christmas, here’s my gentle invitation:

Let the day be enough.
Let yourself be enough.
Let life unfold without rushing it.

And if you want to read the full poem, you can find the original text here.

Merry Christmas, friend. I’m grateful to share this world with you.

See you next Thursday.

-Colleen

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