YesYouCanChoose

Think of all the things we decorate. We decorate our houses. We decorate our tables. We decorate our Christmas trees. We decorate floats. We decorate ourselves with jewelry. I would like to propose to you that this Christmas, you decorate your heart.

How do you decorate your heart? Well, since each of us has different tastes, ideas of beauty, talents, and creativity, the way you decorate your heart will be totally up to you. No one will do it like another person. Every heart will be unique.

Still need some help with this concept? Let me give you an example. Since it is the Christmas season, let’s use a Christmas tree as an example. What do you put on a Christmas tree to make it look beautiful and appealing? You string lights through the many branches of the tree. You put ornaments from long ago or those your children make or have made for you or you buy new ones. You put colorful ribbon laced throughout the tree. You may place poinsettias on the branches. You may string garland around the tree. You may put tinsel on the branches. You might top the tree with a star or angel or Santa. Everyone puts different items on their Christmas trees to make them special and uniquely theirs.

So now let’s substitute heart decorations for the items you put on a tree. The lights could be a cheery and positive disposition making you glow during the Christmas season. The ornaments could be memories that you share out loud with those you love. The ribbon, oh so continuously strung around the tree, could be the chain of friendly smiles you give everyone you see. The poinsettias could be the extra good deeds that you go out of your way to do during the holiday season. The garland could be the flexibility you exhibit when holiday happenings interfere with the normal schedules. The tinsel could be the time you take to make the holidays special by putting up a tree or decorating the house or making cookies. The tree topper, my personal favorite, could be the genuine hug you give each person who makes your life beautiful everyday or even once a year.

And just like when you stand back and look at your tree after it is decorated and you say, “Wow, that is beautiful!” you can also stand back and look at your heart and say, “Wow, that is beautiful and I love the person I have created.” You get this warm, wonderful feeling of really loving yourself. It’s okay to love you for the way you are behaving.

When you behave in a loving way, you create an environment in which others sense that warmth. When they sense the warmth, they are more likely to reciprocate the same behavior. When they reciprocate the same behavior, you feel your warmth coming back to you. They also pass the warmth on to others and then others feel the warmth too. See the chain reaction you have created by just decorating your heart for Christmas!

So you can choose to decorate your heart or not. If you choose to decorate your heart, you will feel good about you. When you are feeling positive about yourself, others will sense the warmth around you. When others feel warm towards you, they have the opportunity to give warmth back to you. If they choose to be reciprocal with the warmth, you feel it coming back at you. When you feel the warmth given back to you, your heart glows. When your heart glows, you feel satisfied with your life. When you are satisfied with your life, you are happy. So choose to decorate your heart during the holiday season.