By Jen Flick
Yesterday we decorated our family Christmas tree. This activity resurrects a pile of emotions for me every year. Some are good – like the gratitude I feel for my husband and children and the traditions we’ve created. Some are mixed – like the nostalgia that sets in reminiscing over my children’s baby days while staring at my present-day son who is now taller than our six foot tree. Some of the emotions are downright uncomfortable – like the stress I feel due to increased demands on my time and energy. (“We have to get the tree done today! There is so much to do!” Sound familiar?) One thing that remains constant from year to year is my belief in the simple things and that they are the keys to my happiness.
For example, we still adorn our tree with the ornaments our children created when they were in preschool. What is more simple and precious than handmade ornaments with glue smears and glaring imperfections? To me they are a statement of what’s right and pure. Children create with vigor. They never worry about what anyone else thinks of their project, and they easily see the masterpiece of their artistry because it is an authentic expression of them. These handmade ornaments are imagination released and realized. So many of us get caught up in trying to be perfect (including me), when actually our brilliance shines brightest when we love ourselves just as we are – with every single glue smear and glaring imperfection.
When our daughter was three years old, our tree displayed a significant cluster of ornaments in one section
right at Olivia’s arm height. I fought the urge to rearrange them and spread them out “appropriately” on the tree. It was an exercise in acceptance, and honoring her participation. She was so joyful on each jaunt back and forth from the ornament box to the tree that I couldn’t possibly squelch her excitement and effort. Over the next several weeks, a few holiday visitors commented on that cluster and expressed their disdain, “I couldn’t live with my tree looking like that!” Funny thing is, those comments made me love it even more. That little group of ornaments represented some of Olivia’s first steps towards feeling in charge of life; while in direct paradox it reflected my willingness to ease up on having to be in control. The analogy was so simple, yet so profound. The memories I have of that year with that beautifully imbalanced tree still rank among some of my favorites.
Now my children are much older, and our tree is decorated very proportionately. Yet when we opened the box of ornaments yesterday, the reminders floated effortlessly to the surface: Life is more beautiful when we stay connected to our roots. Life fills with harmony when we learn to compromise. Life becomes joyful when we observe it through each other’s eyes. And perhaps most importantly, life is best lived when we keep things simple and celebrate our glue smears and imperfections.
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December 2016 | ElementsForAHealthierLife.com | 27