Anticipate Celebration

Next week marks a major milestone in the New Beginnings household: Our daughter turns five-and-three-quarter years old. You read that correctly - not five years old (been there and done that) - not five-and-a-half years old (checked that box too) - but five-and-three-quarter years old. And there will be a celebration!

Now before you roll your eyes and bemoan the way modern parents are raising snowflake babies who need constant adulation, let me scale back your vision of excessive indulgence. We are not hosting a party. She will not receive gifts. There will not be a cake (though a candle may find its way into something on the plate...). This tradition simply provides an opportunity to come together in the midst of an otherwise unremarkable day to reflect on the passing of time, share smiles, and enjoy each other's company.

I think we need more of this in our world right now.

Yes, we are in the midst of the "most wonderful time of the year" - full of festivities, family gatherings, and faith traditions. Celebration is never on more prominent display than during this five-and-a-half week stretch. But for many, the holiday season generates far more anxiety than joy - perhaps highlighting physical and emotional distance from family and friends, triggering painful memories of a lost loved one, or drawing attention to a lack of material resources enjoyed by seemingly everyone else.

But even these very real and deeply felt challenges do not preclude the ability to find and appreciate small, simple pleasures. It could be the release of a new book you have been eagerly anticipating. Tiny signs of improvement during a long and slow recovery from an injury. Eggnog appearing in the grocery store cooler (or is that just me?). The magnitude of the occasion and how you choose to commemorate it are less important than the simple act of celebration - making way for the holistic shift that occurs when you intentionally reorient your mind to the good that surrounds you.

Whatever your feelings about this period of pomp and circumstance, I encourage you to identify one reason to celebrate today. The exercise just might spark sources of joy you didn't know existed. Anticipate celebration - and watch as the opportunities for more continue to grow...