Firstly, all fall I have been patiently watching and waiting for the mountain goats to come down far enough to get photos of them. So guess what - yesterday they were right down on the highway and I didn't take my camera because I was going Christmas shopping and didn't want it in the car while I was shopping!!!  So, I saw them - but I can't show you.  : (  Maybe next time I will take my camera along regardless! The  Bighorn sheep where down on the highway too, but I see them near quite frequently regardless of the weather. And I do have photos of them from one other day, so will share them with you.

A small part of the herd that wanders this particular territory. None here with the big horns, which probably means they are mostly female and young ones. This was taken early fall.

It felt a little bit like Christmas while I was shopping in the mall and visiting family because all the decorations are up, the carols are being played, the Salvation Army kettles are out and the volunteers are ringing their jingle bells - but we have no snow yet. Don't know if we will get any before Christmas this year. Tonight is so foggy I can't see down the street. Makes it hard to drum up the spirit with no snow when that is the image for Christmas. I know that there are places that never have snow on Christmas - where it is summer time right now. But Christmas with snow is the image that has been drummed into my head all my life thanks to advertising, Christmas cards and stories.

I think it may be time we changed that to some degree. This is becoming a much more global world. People of all countries are connected with the click of a mouse. The image of Santa and his reindeer landing on a snow covered roof - hanging stockings on the mantle and leaving milk and cookies by the fireplace for an imaginary person must seem rather vague and meaningless to many. As will the image of well-dressed healthy people sitting down to a meal of over-abundance and a tree surrounded by ' perfect' gifts.

I am not being Scrooge-like nor trying to act like the Grinch, but I do think some things need changing and the only way that will happen is if we stop buying into an image that doesn't fit our own reality.  Ideas such as creating new traditions that are meaningful to your family group and letting go of traditions that are unrealistic under your present circumstances; buying only one or two specific people gifts (drawing names from hats); and donating time to help others less fortunate are often suggested as ways to reduce the stress associated with the Holiday Season. 

The Canadian Mental Health Association has 12 Tips to Reduce Holiday Stress  which include things like;

- make a budget and stick to it
- be realistic
- seek support
- take a breather
- forget about perfection
- don't abandon healthy habits
- set differences aside
- learn to say no

Basically, what they are suggesting is that we stop trying to live up to an unrealistic illusion of what Christmas is about, and take an honest look at our own feelings and desires. Underneath it all, Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ if you believe in the Christian faith, and if you do not, it has become a time to be thankful for the friendship and support of those who are near and dear. It has only become a time for 'exorbitant' gift giving to suit big business. If you spend the rest of the year paying off your debts, it serves a purpose - you pay interest on the amount all year long.

So let's all take a close look at who we want to say thank you to this year, and say it in a way that does not put us in to bankruptcy. Check in with your own 'spirit' and find out what will make it happy - what will fill you with joy and happiness. What can you do for others to say thank you.

Some of my own ideas are as follows;
1.  Find a project that several members of the family group are interested in and each contribute a share of time and energy to supporting that project ie;

- volunteer as a group at the same soup kitchen ... you get to spend time together and you help others at the same time,

- contribute as a group to a chosen project ... if each person contributes $20 and you donate as a group to a charity, it connects you to the other group members, makes you feel good when you look at the total, and can be affordable for tight budgets.

- pick one of your hobbies or learn a new one and spend time during the year working on creating gifts that can be contributed to charities. Quilting is an example of this (and yes I know, not everyone can or wants to do quilting- but it is an example of what I mean). 

2.  Could you put together a book, song, poem, scrapbook or something creative for each of your family members and trade them. Perhaps a list of all the wonderful things you feel about that person set in a frame. 

3. Get together and do something as a group. Skating, cross-country skiing, or walking for those who are fit - playing card or board games for those who are not. Do something different as a family group. 

Think about what you are good at and what gives you joy, and create something from that place within you. Share it with the world. That, after all, is what giving and sharing is all about. It's not about the state of your finances. And from my point of view it is something that should be done all year long - not just on one day, but beginning with this one day is a start at changing our list of priorities as to what is important in this world. 

Would love to hear your thoughts on what Christmas means to you and what you might like to do differently. What is the most important part of the holiday season to you?

Reds for the bows and balls, greens for the tree and holly and blues for the feelings many of us go through at Christmas time because of the expectations we place on ourselves and others. The ineptitude we feel when we cannot live up to our expectations for ourselves, and the disappointment we feel when others do not live up to our expectations of them are not intended to be a part of the Christmas spirit --- but they are all too frequently.

We are expected, and we ourselves usually desire, to gather family and friends together, to enjoy their company and wish them good cheer. But for many of us the distances we would have to travel make it near impossible - or the very least, make it expensive in time and cash. Add that to the expectation of having the "perfect" gift for everyone on our list, and the resultant feeling is stress, not cheer.

The image of family and friends gathered around the fire drinking eggnog and opening gifts is a lovely image, but not so easy to accomplish these days. The gathering urge goes back to when tribes would settle in for winter in one spot and help each other by sharing the food they had put away. They would pass on ancient stories  and discuss the years' happenings. In doing so, it was a learning time, a time for friendship renewal, and a time for saying thank you for all they were blessed with. In Victorian times people usually lived within a few days sleigh ride from the place they were born; they could go out and haul home a tree from the forest nearby; they knew all their neighbours and could gather together and sing carols. Such is not the case now. Families are spread around the globe, the trees are protected from being cut in most places, and the majority of your neighbours are strangers. So what do you do to make it feel like Christmas?

Well, for each person it is different, but the source of the Christmas spirit must be unearthed first, and then catered to. If the source of your spirit comes from attending midnight mass or singing carols - then make sure you do that. Even if you have to go alone, there will be plenty of others to share the spirit with once you are there.  If it is gathering the family for the Christmas meal and sharing stories - volunteer to serve to the homeless and listen to some new stories for a change ( now that you know Uncle Ernie's by heart!), or help put together Christmas hampers. Share the abundance you have in some way. If your spirit source came from hauling home the tree - look for a nearby farm that holds sleigh rides and join in the fun. Gather round the fire for cocoa after, to warm the body and the soul. Arrange an outdoor adventure of some kind - go skating, tobogganing, cross country skiing.... and share the camaraderie afterwards. Whatever it was that held the enjoyment of Christmas - find it, and do it.


For me, the spirit source came from the family gathering - putting aside all the other concerns for the day and sharing games and jigsaw puzzles and friendship in front of the fire.... gathering together to cook the meal and sharing the abundance. When I am not with family, that is what I draw on. I put away all my other concerns for the day and just BE. I find a cosy spot and do a jigsaw puzzle - I call friends and family on the phone, or connect with them on the computer, I make myself a good meal to enjoy, maybe go for a walk in the snow, and just take the day to be a human being - nothing more, nothing less - just be a human marvelling at life.