A Little Bit of a Christmas Message

Of all the Christmas messages I have received, this little message has stayed with me the longest, has stayed the most.
Robert Louis Stevenson had it right, all along.

I won't call myself a Christian although I put it into practice every day that I breathe. 
Seeing people with crosses swinging from their necks as they swear, act rude to others, flip the bird as they cut someone off in traffic or are cut off, even cheating on their spouses, I don't want to be associated with those images.
Proclaiming to the world to be a follower of Jesus Christ, with a cross hanging on a chain around your neck, as your actions proclaim the very opposite of what it stands for.

The planet, Venus, appearing closer to earth in the night sky, often during the day, as well, was the very star followed by wisemen, shepherds, etc, as the story goes. Every year, I watch for Venus to shine bright in the sky as a herald to the Christmas season.
Is it any wonder that Venus is the love planet? The goddess of love.

Love

Love

Love

As Venus shines so bright in the heavens, people run about to parties, shopping, scrambling, often at a fevered pitch.

Take some time, peeps. Gaze at that beautiful bright star. Stop to contemplate the love you can show to others. Take a friend out for lunch, go to an animal shelter to cuddle a kitty, walk their dogs. It's all in the spirit of love. Loving someone, something outside of yourself with the singular thought to spread kindness & love.

Is it a surprise to you that your efforts will have a ripple effect?

You may be saving the life of a helpless animal when you keep them socialized. Someone who is barely surviving financially or emotionally, who is your server at a restaurant, will appreciate a little compassion in the form of finances or kindness. 
How about both!

Kind acts of love will speak more about you than any crosses you hang around your neck, your rear view mirror, the walls of your home. Actions with the pure intent to spread good will speak volumes more than having bibles sitting around your home. Being kind for the sole sake of being kind with pure intent to forsake your needs to benefit someone else.

Get out there, shed the chains of the world, free your heart to breathe love in, exhale the materialism of the world, inhale love, exhale the breath of kindness upon others, repeat, repeat repeat.