I've been selfish. I was selfish when I was eager for my presents to come. I was also selfish when I decided that being forced to wait was a good thing because it was getting me something else I wanted. But more than that, I've been selfish this whole month. It's not that I got greedy for presents (okay, maybe I got a little greedy toward the end there). How I was greedy was in how I went a whole month trying to find ways the feel the Christmas Spirit without having a single thought of how I could helps others feel the Spirit, too.
Ironically, if I had spent more time trying to bring the Christmas Spirit to others, I might have succeeded in gaining the Christmas Spirit. It's often true that when we bless others, we gain blessings ourselves, so if we want blessings for ourselves, what we should really do is look for ways to bless others. I didn't really do that this year. I may have blessed others' lives as a by-product of singing hymns or doing other Christmasy things, but that's not why I did them. I did them for myself.
Next year, I'm going to try not to be so self-centered. I'm going to try not to worry about finding ways to get the Christmas Spirit, but rather, I'll look for ways that I can share the Christmas Spirit. And I'm pretty sure that if I can get someone else to feel the Christmas Spirit, I'll start to feel it, too. So next year, assuming I remember any of this, I'm going to focus less on myself and more on others. That's one of the lessons we're supposed to learn from Christmas anyway: To give is more blessed than to get. I'm going to try to remember to give more next year, mostly because I currently, selfishly, wish to be more blessed.
1 comment:
I think we all have selfish thoughts and selfish moments, however your behavior and your words are almost always totally unselfish. Give yourself a little credit. It's good to want to do better, but don't beat yourself up. You are doing better than you think. (even Elder Holland says so)
Why wait for Christmas? Keep Christmas with you all through the year. The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of Christ, right. We want His spirit all the time. You may not sing Christmas hymns (but then again, why not if you feel like it?), but you can share His spirit any time anywhere.
If you are talking about the holiday specific excitement, I think that what would help me is if I start planning and preparing WAY earlier. Think about Christmas cards and presents that you will give and what activities you want to participate in long ahead of time. If I planned better, I would not be so stressed. Stress is hard on the spirit. If I prepared earlier, I could relax and enjoy all the songs and activities and I could do service.That's what I think for me, maybe it's the same for you.
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