A Christmas message:

Today is a day to appreciate all that is good in your life.  And yet it is also a time for many of contention — for not all people find their families a refuge from the cold.

We would ask you, this day, to spend a little time contemplating a family member with whom you feel a negative charge.  It does not have to be a large matter, though it can be.  We simply ask you to think of a family member whose presence, either physically or in your mental space, causes some level of discomfort.  If no one in your family comes to mind, then it can be some other person with whom you feel this discomfort.

Now we would ask you to hold this person in mind, and imagine this person as a very small child.  Simply imagine this person as a little one, playing with blocks, asleep in a crib, squealing and gurgling.  See their innocence.

Just hold this for as long as you can, and notice how you feel.  Notice the difference between the feeling of discomfort you associate with this person, and the feeling you feel as you imagine this person as a very small child.

On this Christmas, majestic ones, we would ask you to lay down your grievances, even if only for a few moments, and perceive the beings around you as they truly are.