Christmas Without
Expectation #Christmasday
Can you imagine asking your young child who has been waiting
364 days for Santa to come down the chimney to deliver all his/her wants and
desires to wait another day or two? Or worse yet, telling those same children
Santa couldn’t come this year. The children’s hopes and dreams would be dashed.
A great deal of precious zeal and joy come from the expectation of
Christmas—even for adults.
This year, Allen and I decided not to buy each other
anything for Christmas, because we wanted to save for our Caribbean vacation. I
thought taking the pressure off of Christmas buying was a good idea. I’m the
kind of person who likes to buy presents at odd times during the year when no
one is expecting. I do that with cards and flowers as well. The only time I
really go all out is on birthdays. Birthdays are all one person’s special day.
It just makes sense to honor that day and make it special. Where Christmas
seems to be more obligatory, rather than special any more. This is just my
opinion, but I’m sure many others feel the same.
One year all of my friends who usually traded gifts decided
to collect the money we would have spent and give it to a charity. To tell you
the truth, Secret Santa wasn’t all that fun with nothing to trade. Yet, the
thought was good.
In our family, because we have so many brothers, sisters,
grandchildren and friends who celebrate with us, we have often decided to do
Secret Santa, so that we could each get one big special gift. That, I have to
admit, was a lot easier and wonder filled.
I have noticed in life that most of our deepest wounds come
out during times of expectation: When we say “I love you,” what will our
special ones say in return? When we do our best to make a gift for someone,
will they smile and appreciate our intent, our will they fake joy? When we work
hard for that promotion, and the person who has done much less for the company
gets the honors, it never feels good. But how do we live life without
expectation? Is it possible to instill in our children at a young age the getting
on a special day isn’t a necessity?
When I was a kid, I was lucky to get one small gift; usually
it was clothing to stay warm. We had little money and/or my dad just didn’t
like spending his on Christmas. In fact, I remember him throwing twenty dollars
at each of us about two weeks before Christmas day and saying, “Here, go buy
yourselves something.” Yeah, Dad. Needless to say, he wasn’t my idea of Santa
or a hero. Perhaps, that’s why I have a lack of interest in Christmas. If it
wasn’t for my mother living with me, I probably would have never bought and put
up a Christmas tree. These things never interested me. However, I have to say,
that since I’ve began my own personal traditions during the holidays, things
have been better. I even enjoy looking at the beautiful tree every year since I
bought it.
Expectation is a part of life, probably the hardest part of
life. I try to live my life without it, but even though I know it isn’t in my
best interest to expect good from those who have hurt me in the past, I
continue to look for the greatest in everyone. I feel people can change. But,
to my dismay, most of them create the same attitudes like robots every year. If
I were smart, I would stop anticipating good, but perhaps continue to hope for
the best in all. Maybe the secret to not getting stymied by expectation is
simply knowing this one secret about God: Spirit is always providing DIRECTION,
not REJECTION!
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New Challenge: Go to Week 9 of the “Year
to CLEAR Challenge” at www.Bosebastian.com
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Look for MY LATEST BOOK: “Finding Authentic You, 7 Steps to Effective Change” with a
Year to CLEAR (C-larity, L-ove, E-nthusiasm A-nd R-elationship-Ready) on my
Website in the Webstore. Thanks!
Below is information that I will be sharing for about a
month, as not every person on my list reads the blog every day. If you have
already read it, just skip over it. Thanks for understanding.
A
Year to CLEAR Challenge:
(Please Know: You Can Join Us At Any Point in the Year
Challenge.)
The masses search outward for things that qualify them as a
person, but I always go inward for that which quantifies me for greatness. At
twenty-five I preached on street corners in NYC as an in-the-closet Pentecostal
minister. One day I heard a still small voice say, ‘God cannot be contained in a
book or a law or even in a religion. Dig deeper, reach further to find me, and
you will find your authentic Self.’”
A Year to CLEAR Challenge!
The acronym CLEAR
stands for (Compassionate, Loving,
Enthusiastic, And Relationship-Ready). The goal of this project is to
engulf readers in a weekly study that will transform them by removing blocks,
promote self-growth, and give them wings to fly freely into daily life. Each
week, by going to BoSebastian.com and choosing the Year to CLEAR Challenge tab,
a new challenge or thought to provoke conversation, growth, and group
functionality.
My vision is to make Finding Authentic You the book to
have in your Kindle or on your computer. The book is a comprehensive look at
growth—spiritually, mentally, and physically.
As a yoga teacher and student of the Ayurvedic tradition, I bring
to the table understanding of physical challenges, the ability to overcome
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The combination of all three in one book with an interactive
connection to like-minded readers, for one year, is what makes this Year to
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The One-Year Approach to Change
No one believes he or she can change overnight. But success in
change comes from the metaphors of nature. Seasonally, life changes all around
us in nature. Finding Authentic You offers a gradual change perspective,
looking at the triune aspects of change as in yoga: Body, Mind and Spirit.
Accessing the
ability to change and finding
yourself actually pursuing change must be a daily search, which I call
getting to the “observer mind.”
In this frontal cortex of the brain we find the anatomy of
change and the power to counter every negative trigger of the human process.
The workings of Hypnosis, NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) and EMDR (Eye
Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) are all positive actions to help the
mind and body flow to a positive space for change.
Every aspect of FINDING AUTHENTIC YOU fulfills this
constant need for diffusing the negative past and dreaming of a fulfilling
future.
Step 1: Recognize That Change is Inevitable
Step 2: Release from Resistance
to Change
Step 3: Understanding Change and Allow Spirit to Define It
Step 4: A History Lesson—About You
Step 5: Look at Your Past with Compassion
Step 6: Making a Strong Commitment to Change
Step 7: Dream Your Fabulous Future
TOOLS FOR CHANGE:
Go to Storefront to buy any of the following or make a
donation to Finding Authentic You: www.shop.bosebastian.com
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My Latest Book: Finding Authentic You—7 Steps to
Effective Change (800 page downloadable Kindle version)
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Go to Home Page: www.BoSebastian.com
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Bo Sebastian is a Hypnotherapist and Life & Health
Coach, available for private sessions to QUIT SMOKING, Lose Weight, New
Lap-Band Hypnosis for Weight Loss, CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR LIFE! at
615-400-2334 or www.bosebastian.com.
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Also, look for MY LATEST BOOK: “Finding Authentic You, 7 Steps to
Effective Change” with a Year to CLEAR (C-larity, L-ove, E-nthusiasm A-nd
R-elationship-Ready) on my Website in the Webstore. Thanks!
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