It is one week before Christmas. It seems that everywhere I go, everyone asks me the same question: are you ready? The final push is upon us! There are lights and trimmings to decorate our homes inside and out. There is seasonal food to prepare, gifts to purchase, programs to attend, family get-togethers, business parties, on and on! Everywhere you go, Christmas music is playing, bright lights and evergreen garland dominate the décor, every store you enter– from the grocery to hardware store – has carved out a holiday section to entice you to buy before Christmas gets here. You cannot miss it! Christmas has to be the most anticipated day of the year.

So what happens to us each year at this time? We rush to make all of these things happen – stretching budgets and our sanity – to make a special moment on December 25. It is a race that takes nearly a month to accomplish. The effort put into this one day is more than most of us put into any other day during the year. Have you ever asked yourself why? Let me get a bit reflective. I think we try so hard at Christmas because we all have some common desires:

• We desire to be loved
• We desire to show love
• We desire for there to be harmony in our lives

Now let me just give a disclaimer before we go any further. I am not a psychologist; I am a marketing consultant. However, as a marketing professional, I know that what we buy has a lot to do with the three desires I just listed, and that is never more evident than it is at Christmastime. We will buy anything – and I mean anything – to try to meet those desires. What is the one thing I could receive that means that someone loves me? What is the one thing I could purchase that would show I love someone? And ultimately, what would bring me harmony in my life? Who would I need to spend time with, give gifts to, eat with, share stories, games and laughter with on Christmas Day to meet those desires? The reason we are feeling the rush to get everything in line before December 25^th gets here is we are all trying to live in accord with these three desires, and we have a fast-approaching deadline to make it all come to a peaceful conclusion.

Let me suggest that the love and harmony that drives us to this point may be easier to attain than we are making it. They call Christmas the day of peace and goodwill to all men. You might recognize those words from the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” from a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow wrote the poem in 1863 in the midst of the Civil War. His son, Charles, was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church, Virginia, a few weeks prior to Christmas. Two years earlier, Longfellow’s wife had died after being fatally burned in a fire. He found himself on Christmas Day in 1863 alone and in despair. So, as Longfellow heard church bells ring on Christmas Day, he wrote the words:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Longfellow and his peers had a reason for such pessimistic words in 1863. The world was not a place of harmony and those he loved were gone from his life. He was not alone. The war claimed one in every five soldiers.* Regardless of which side of the conflict you were on, everyone knew someone who had been a casualty of the war – you could not escape it. Newspapers were filled with lists of dead and missing men. The nation was in a state of mourning that lasted four years. However, as Longfellow searched the depths of his heart, he discovered something that surprised him: he found hope. He began to realize an inner peace that shattered his skepticism. He finished his poem:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Beyond the presents and the trappings of the season, look for the inner peace that Longfellow found. You will not find it in a retail shopping aisle nor can it be delivered in a box to your door before Christmas Day. You will find it inside your heart. It is there where you will find harmony in the midst of the busiest week of the year. Have a Merry Christmas!

_______________________

Photograph of Longfellow by Julia Margaret Cameron in 1868

*There were 2,750,000 men who fought the American Civil War for both sides of the conflict. The reported number of soldiers killed in the war varies depending upon the source, but is generally reported to be 620,000. Some have claimed as many as 850,000 died when you consider the impact of wounds sustained during the war and the declining health issues they posed after the war. Also, diseases contracted during the war killed more soldiers than did the actual battlefield fighting.