All the Love in the Universe

My thank you letter to Jenny -

We have been made to think that if we aren't shrieking in delight from food and presents, and hugs and laughter that we aren't celebrating Christmas the correct way. We're doing this Christmas thing all wrong if we are sad or lonesome, or dark and disconnected-- and Americans HATE to do things that are so very American wrong. There have been millions of images painted depicting the perfect Christmas scenarios being played out, these pictures and postcards are the rules sheets, we have to make ours look like theirs, and every year we do our best to paint our own pictures to prove that we did Christmas right. We are just like the good looking people in the pictures. Look at all of us having so much fun on Christmas. Hold up your perfect gift and smile. Yay! We win. Start chant: U.S.A. -- U.S.A.

If you are tired of this modern version of Christmas than I am telling you that there is hope. Something happened this year that changed everything.

This isn't a sour "what does it all mean" post. It is just a reminder that at the core of the holiday there is goodness and spirit and heart, and even if you don't spend your celebration standing in a church squawking out Joy to the World, or buried in a pile of presents under a big plump Grand Fir, that this holiday can be enjoyed just by showing someone love. More importantly showing love to someone who needs it the most. The smallest displays of love and humanity are more powerful than you might be able to imagine. Try it out. Hundreds of people recently discovered this very thing this past week when they participated in the most gorgeous beautiful thing to happen on the internet... ever. Wildly popular humor blogger "The Bloggess" reminded the internet exactly what Christmas should feel like again. if you have not heard about what happened, please read here. It had nothing to do with buying the perfect gift, or baking the best cookies, or having the most lights on a house. It was about being connected to one another. Simply being there for one another. She created a space for people to open up and ask for help that needed it, and people had the chance to listen, and then to react. And the reaction was inspiring. The reaction was incredible. The reaction was Christmas. It had arrived in a brand new way. The way it should always be. Her story has been such an inspiration she has been making national news all week .

One of the things that I hear more than anything else around the holidays are people saying things like: "Well I'm not going to let them ruin my Christmas with their problems!" Shouldn't we be taking a step closer to actually hear what their problems might be, and then seeing if there might be something we can do to help out? It might be that we have pushed "family" so hard on Christmas that people forget to let anyone else in. People forget that we have space in our hearts to let in more. We have room. We really do.

The history of Christmas has been written by merchants in America and there is no end in sight to the lunacy of abundance. It is going to get worse year to year-- will there be a breaking point? I personally feel like this singular event that was created by Jenny (The Bloggess) is the start of people taking back their holiday. I feel like it is bigger than we know right now. She made a place that gave people the opportunity to be good and decent and it took hold and shook people up. She made a space for people to feel safe and loved enough to open up and share their personal stories and ask for help when they needed it. There was no shame in any of it. I think people fully understand with the way things are in America, that we could very quickly end up in the same dire situations where we need help. My family just two years ago was in that situation, I couldn't find photography work and Cole was still an apprentice, and we were hurting. We got through it and created the work, and we have been lucky. Lucky! In a season that usually makes me feel kind of lousy about how people behave, I fell in love with strangers.

I can't thank Jenny enough for what she did this year. I have my fingers crossed that this will carry through and continue to grow over the years and touch more and more people. She is Christmas this year. Thank you Jenny.

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