Christmas Wish List

​

What I wish for you this Christmas won't come in a box

or be tied with ribbon, doesn't arrive by mail or cost a cent.

Yet the list is long and sent from my heart

as it opens to yours.

I wish for you:

the joy that gratitude bestows,

the splendor of a rose from bud to full bloom,

the energy of authentic passions honored

without concern over worldly success,

the freedom of never judging anyone,

the contentment of knowing yourself as your own best friend,

the wisdom to appreciate your mistakes

and forgive the missteps of others,

the compassion required to embrace the world as it is

rather than as you would remake it,

the surprising delights of solitude,

the power to let go of regrets as well as anxiety

in order to live gently in the moment,

the vision to see yourself and everyone else

with the eyes of the heart

whose only reality is Love.

Lastly I wish you Light to reveal

these gifts as yours

waiting only to be

unwrapped.

​

Arlene Gay Levine

​

First published in Christmas Blessings (Warner Books)