Today’s the day: that infamous one we now call “Black Friday.” What are all those people doing out there, standing in line at 4 A. M., fighting traffic and mobs at stores? “Getting ready for Christmas”! Greens and lights and overinflated reindeer and suchlike are starting to decorate houses and lawns, for the same reason.

But how ready for a meaningful Christmas does all that really make us? I find that kind of busy stuff tends to do the opposite to me. I get fixated on the trappings and miss a full embracing of the Day’s core meaning.

I want really to get ready for Christmas this year: to sow the kind of thought seeds in my mind and heart that will bring forth an abundance of wonder, gratitude, and rejoicing in the core meaning of that Day.  I’m planning on posting one such thought each day on this blog, so it might help anyone else reading it to get ready that way, too. May a Christmas full of wonder “bless us all, everyone,” as a result!