Whether you celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, or it is an opportunity for the kids to get gifts from Santa, there is no question that it is a special time of year for many.

At the same time, there is a lot of pressure and stress that comes with Christmas time.  It is supposed to be a time of joy and love, yet it turns into anxiety and work.  In some ways, it would be easier to only celebrate it as a religious holiday and not engage in the gift giving and, for some, traveling.

I write this as someone who experiences these emotions at times.  It is stressful getting everything done and making sure that everything is just so.  Sometimes life is easier when you set low expectations.

I have to remind myself to step back and take in the positive things and the good things that go along with Christmas.  We look at lights as a family, and play Christmas music when driving.

I write a lot about liberty, and sometimes we forget to exercise the liberty that we have.  Sometimes that is as simple as enjoying our material wealth while spending time with family.  We don’t have to go out and hunt for our own food, and we can buy gifts for others even if times are tight.

Sometimes I see liberty advocates who are just miserable people to be around, which actually works against spreading the message of liberty.  If you are trying to convince someone to be more sympathetic to your pro liberty views, it isn’t going to work if you are seen as a miserable person.

I also think of Harry Browne’s classic book How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World.  Sometimes we box ourselves in by our own choices.  We are complaining about our liberty being taken away by the government while we don’t celebrate the many ways in which we are free.

I like to remind others (and myself) once in a while to set some time aside to laugh and to love.  Enjoy the good things that life has to offer, and don’t always focus on the things we don’t have.

Merry Christmas!