Home at Christmas May Be Somewhere Else

For all of us who can't go home for  Christmas, know that we are not alone. And there are as many reasons as there of us.

How many times have I suggested to another that it is all right not to go home. It is all right to create one's family from friends who love us, who accept us, and who do not judge. It is all right to create a family that will be with us when we most need them, and who will be there when joy is abundant.

Yes, I know how painful it can be to "not go home." Even after we have our family who loves us and with whom we will be spending the holiday, it can be painful.

Some may laugh and say, "Yes, painful as in the pain you feel when you're abused, but you love your parent anyway!" What seems natural, may not always be wholesome.

Remember, for reasons of health and sanity, we have to let go, really let go, and "let God." Or, as Buddha would say, it is only because we are attached that we have pain. When it is for our emotional and spiritual well-being, we need to practice non-attachment.

For to let go is really to acquire something greater.

And as you build an alternative home to which you can go at Christmas, be assured, that you are among many, too many, who have to do the same.