Megan's Musings
Fall seems to give us the opportunity to sit in awe of Nature's beauty more than any other season. Splashes of color are everywhere; the Indian corn, pumpkins, and squash, the leaves on the trees, the amazing Autumn sunsets. It is truly a precious gift. One that is easily squandered away and then before you know, it's winter.

Change happens so rapidly. One day is warm and sunny with brilliant color and the next is cold, windy, and gray. Change has been the theme of recent days. Changes in our economy, changes in our leadership, and changes in our climate all offer us opportunities to reflect on and discover who we want to be throughout these changes. Do we choose to react to the changes or create something out of them? Do we choose to continue down the same familiar path because a different way is unclear?

It may seem an unlikely place to start, but answering some of these questions about how you approach the holiday season this year, may be an empowering way to embrace change. The stores are already playing Christmas music and attempting to drive the consumer machine that Christmas has become. Stress, family tension, high expectations, not to mention the environmental impact of paper, boxes, travel, plastic trees, twinkling lights on all day and night, groceries, groceries, and more groceries...you get the picture.

So how do we embrace changes in the way we celebrate the holiday season in order to create a celebration of light and love instead of plastic and stress? I suggest you take a few minutes, and reflect on what is most important to you. The next step may be to talk with family members about what is most important to all of you as a family and then together create a plan for honoring those priorities. It's about being intentional.

Simple changes can make a difference. For example, year after year I was disgusted by the amount of packaging and wrapping paper that piled up in the middle of the floor each Christmas day. It seemed like such a waste...fun to rip open, but not without some cost. Slowly I began giving all my gifts in cloth and paper bags which can be reused from year to year. I didn't do it all at once. It has been a gradual transition that gives me a little more peace of mind. (plus it is easier to wrap, taking a fraction of the time the traditional paper and tape method does).

If you go online and do a search on tips for green Christmas, simplify your Christmas, or fair trade gifts and you will find lots of suggestions. But the important thing is to choose changes that work for you and your family and are in line with your priorities. So I wish you great fun as you create new ways of being throughout the holidays and beyond.

Love and peace to you,
Megan Cameron