Terry Paul Choyce
December 17, 2006, Brunswick Street United Church
I'd like to read to you part of an essay written by Nadine Stair when she was in her eighties.
"If I had my life to live over, I'd be sillier than I have been on this trip. I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would be crazier. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers and watch more sunsets. I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans....If I had my life to live over, I would start barefooted earlier in the spring, and stay that way later in the fall. I would ride on more merry-go-rounds. I'd pick more daisies."
Nadine is saying that she would relax and enjoy her life more. All of us need to enjoy our lives more. Every one of us worries too much, complains too much, gets overly stressed, doesn't take the time to deeply experience the beauty of everything, and often we think that playing, dancing, and singing are frivolous and a waste of time. And at this time of year, I think we are all at our worst. We want to enjoy all of the festivities and rituals of Christmas, but we are stressed out with too much to buy and not enough money to get what we want, too much to do and not enough time to really appreciate any of it, and feelings of guilt because there are so many who are having an even worse Christmas than we are, and we don't reach out enough to help them. All of this negativity has got to STOP! Life is too precious and wonderful to waste it in worry and sadness.
As Christians, this is our time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, who came to teach us to love each other, and God, to the best of our abilities. In our hymnal are the songs "Joy to the World," "Joy Shall Come," "Let the Heavens be Glad," "Herald! Sound the Note of Gladness," "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice," "Joy is now in Every Place," and many more songs that tell us to be happy that Christ came to us, and that God loves us so much. Our readings from the Bible today were full of words of joy. So let's live this gift of joy that we have been given!
This week I picked up a copy of the Wellness Networker and it has an article about laughter. It says that the average child laughs 400 times a day, while adults laugh 15 times. The article says "Kids will laugh for the simple joy of it. However, as we grow toward adulthood, laughter becomes censored as we set more and more conditions for happiness." As adults we say "I will be happy
when - I have a new house, or the kids are grown up, or I have the perfect mate, or I am totally healthy." Folks, it makes no sense to put off happiness to some future time. The time for happiness is NOW.
Richard Carlson, in his book You Can be Happy- No Matter What, says that "every feeling is a direct result of a thought, and we are the producers of our own thinking.. It is our thinking, not our circumstances, that determines what we feel... You are only one thought away from a good feeling."
Here is a little story that has a woman with an extremely positive attitude.
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today."? So she did and she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today."? So she did and she had a grand day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!" Attitude is everything
I could never be as positive as this lady - I am very attached to my hair. But there are other areas in my life when I can decide to make the best of a bad situation. When you come right down to it, most of our problems are just a matter of perception. We can see ourselves as victims or failures or martyrs, or we can see ourselves as people who are up for a challenge and ready to make our lives better. Each of us has the power to change their mind to me more positive. And this is one if the greatest and most important powers in the world.
So this Christmas season give yourself the gift of joy. It takes no money, no time, and no one to help you. All you have to do is make up your mind that you will see light - not darkness, hear music - not complaints, touch softness - not thorns, smell baking bread and not rotten eggs, and spend an hour soaking in the tub and just one minute cleaning the toilet. Enjoy making or buying your presents and cards, reach out to those in need if you can, and relax and feel grateful for all of the beauty of this season. Because Christ was born to bring more joy into our world.
Praise be the Lord
