A mini Lego Christmas Tree.
How great is that?!?
I love Christmas trees. I also love America, apple pie, and my mother. But seriously folks, there is nothing better than a huge live tree, smack in the middle of the den, lit and full of a hodgepodge of decorations. I certainly understand folks who have "theme" trees with nothing but one color ornament or one type of ornament and they are lovely, but there is something magical and beautiful about that random assortment of gorgeous glass spheres and ceramic pieces coupled with a random assortment of Snoopys, Pooh Bears, college athletics, whomever's first Christmas, and whatever the little darlings made in Sunday School that year - that is a Christmas tree.
And after the Tree is in the stand, watered, lit and decorated, I love to turn out the lights and just sit and look at it. Perhaps with a warm beverage, perhaps with some soft music, but the best is just silence and the tree. Once I have done that, I know Christmas has almost arrived.
Silence is a rare commodity. We go go go and are surrounded by noise noise noise noise. After the kids are in bed and my chores are done, I crave silence (and PTI). As I wrote on Wednesday, "These days resemble that moment in a action movie with the car is jumping over the canyon or the hero is jumping from one building to another. Action is most certainly happening, but the music stops, the sound effects go mute, and all hold their breath," (wow, I just quoted myself, how pretentious).
I am reminded of a poignant moment during college. The fall semester was almost over and exams were in full swing. A fresh snow had fallen the day before and I was walking back from the library to the dorm around midnight. The world looked something like this:
And after the Tree is in the stand, watered, lit and decorated, I love to turn out the lights and just sit and look at it. Perhaps with a warm beverage, perhaps with some soft music, but the best is just silence and the tree. Once I have done that, I know Christmas has almost arrived.
Silence is a rare commodity. We go go go and are surrounded by noise noise noise noise. After the kids are in bed and my chores are done, I crave silence (and PTI). As I wrote on Wednesday, "These days resemble that moment in a action movie with the car is jumping over the canyon or the hero is jumping from one building to another. Action is most certainly happening, but the music stops, the sound effects go mute, and all hold their breath," (wow, I just quoted myself, how pretentious).
I am reminded of a poignant moment during college. The fall semester was almost over and exams were in full swing. A fresh snow had fallen the day before and I was walking back from the library to the dorm around midnight. The world looked something like this:
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| Photo by michell |
And the silence was deafening. There was no noise whatsoever, except the crunching of the snow beneath my feet. And yet, there was an energy in the air, a joy, a wonder. All was calm, all was bright. I strolled quietly, feeling the cold, dry air flowing in and out of my nostrils, and gazing at the lit trees and gothic buildings. I had the rare forethought in that moment to press record in my brain and cherish what I knew would be fleeting. The stress of exams, papers, and then the rush home for Christmas soon returned, but that walk was pure enchantment.
Christmas is less that 48 hours away. Don't panic. Don't move. Sit. Sit in the silence. Sit in the darkness. Relish the light and presence of the Spirit in this sacred time. Such meditative time can be difficult to find, but try. One must prepare the soul for the celebration ahead - the tree is a good place to start.
Have a good afternoon. See you tomorrow. Blessed Advent.
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