During this holiday season I\u00a0send my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to all of you for your continued support in my mission to help golfers achieve joy, peace and awarenesses in their lives and in their golf games.\u00a0In this spirit is the following interpretation\u00a0of gift giving by Sarah Breathnach.<\/p>\n
“Christmas is <\/em>about gifts.<\/p>\n The real<\/em> role of gifts in the Christmas story is different than the gifts found at the malls or in mail-order catalogs.\u00a0 The gifts in the Christmas story were wrapped in miracles.<\/p>\n The first gift was of Spirit: unconditional Love<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The next gift came from a Jewish teenager named Miriam, who was known to her family and friends as Mary.\u00a0 Her Christmas present was selflessness<\/strong>, the complete surrender of ego and will needed to bring Heaven down to earth.<\/p>\n The gifts of her fianc\u00e9, Joseph, were trust and faith<\/strong>.\u00a0 He trusted that Mary wasn\u2019t pregnant with another man\u2019s child; he believed there really was a Divine Plan to get them through this mess.<\/p>\n The Child brought forgiveness.\u00a0 Wholeness.\u00a0 Second chances.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The angels\u2019 gifts were tidings of comfort, joy and peace<\/strong>, the reassurance that there was nothing to fear, so rejoice.<\/p>\n The Sheppard boy\u2019s gift was generosity; his favorite lamb for the baby\u2019s birthday present.<\/p>\n The innkeeper\u2019s wife\u2019s gifts were compassion and charity<\/strong>; a warm, dry, safe place for the homeless family to stay, her best coverlet to wrap the new mother and little one, a meal for Joseph, the donkey\u2019s fresh hay.<\/p>\n The three kings arrived in Bethlehem expecting to find a newborn prince in a palace, and instead found him in a cow stall.\u00a0 The shocked Wise Men unwrapped golf, frankincense, and myrrh, but their Real gifts were wonder, acceptance, and courage. <\/strong>\u00a0They offered wonder by surrendering logic, reason, and common sense.\u00a0 Accepting the impossible, they suspended skepticism long enough to double-cross the insane King Herod, frantically searching for the child who would change the world.\u00a0 With courage\u2014at the risk of their own lives\u2014the Wise Men helped the young family escape to a safe haven in Egypt.<\/p>\n Christmas is<\/em> all about gifts.\u00a0 Nothing but gifts.\u00a0 Gifts tied with heartstrings.\u00a0 Gifts that surprise and delight.\u00a0 Gifts that transform the mundane into the miraculous.\u00a0 Gifts that nurture the souls of both the giver and the given. \u00a0Perfect giftsl\u00a0 Authentic gifts. The gifts of Spirit, a frightened teen-age girl, her bewildered sweetheart, the Child, the angels, the shepherd boy, the inn-keeper\u2019s wife.\u00a0 The gifts of the Magi.<\/p>\n Unconditional Love.\u00a0 Selflessness.\u00a0 Trust, Faith.\u00a0 Forgiveness.\u00a0 Wholeness.\u00a0 Second Chances.\u00a0 Comfort.\u00a0 Joy.\u00a0 Peace.\u00a0 Reassurance.\u00a0 Rejoicing.,\u00a0 Generosity.\u00a0 Compassion.\u00a0 Charity.\u00a0 Wonder.\u00a0 Acceptance.\u00a0 Courage.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n To give such gifts.\u00a0 To truly open our hearts to receive such gifts gratefully.”<\/p>\n From: \u201cSimple Abundance, A Daybook of Comfort and Joy\u201d, <\/em>\u00a0Sarah Ban Breathnach<\/p>\n Let the brightness of the holiday season shine in your life <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n bringing you<\/strong><\/em> peace, harmony and love for yourself and all that you do.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During this holiday season I\u00a0send my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to all of you for your continued support in my mission to help golfers achieve joy, peace and awarenesses in their lives and in their golf games.\u00a0In this spirit is … Continue reading