Have all of the tragic events of this year changed how you are approaching this Christmas season and the rest of your life?

Personally, I feel released from all of the trivial upsets in life. I've noticed that I am approaching each day with a renewed sense of gratitude. It's almost as if my vision has become clearer and I am seeing things with a fresh perspective. I have a new attitude.

Joseph Campbell said, in the book, the Power of Myth, "People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive."

I believe that as children we are all naturally in touch with the "rapture of being alive." It's when we grow up that many of us slowly begin to fall asleep. We make choices that aren't our own, stay in relationships or jobs that don't fit who we are and, we forget how to play. Many of us end up living a "full" but "unfulfilling" life. This continually dampens the rapture for life that we were all born with.

Many say that Christmas is for children. If you have children in your life try to spend some time and observe them this Christmas. Experience their excitement and enthusiasm for life. Let them reconnect you to the dreams and wishes you once had as a child. Perhaps that is where the gift of rapture lies... in the spirit of childhood.

Maybe it's time to bring those childhood dreams out of the box you shelved away so many years ago. Breathe new life back into them. This could be the greatest gift you give to yourself, your family and the world this Christmas

Nancy D. Bishop is a Life Coach and writer. She coaches women at midlife to find their authentic paths. She has written many articles and publishes a free monthly newsletter. For more information on her coaching programs and to subscribe to her newsletter, visit her website at http://www.yourlifeyourway.com