Around the holidays we tend think about what we can do to better the lives of others. An ongoing mantra that sounds beautiful is “Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men!”  While this is a great thing if it could happen, Peace on Earth sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? If you were tasked with making this a reality, where would you start? At first it was so overwhelming I couldn’t imagine what to do. Like a child faced with cleaning their messy room, it seems like it would be a lot easier to crawl under the covers and just hope it happens on its own. Then it hit me, like any big goal, it starts with a smaller goal and works outward. Okay, that helps a little but who or what should be the catalyst for such a beginning? Then it suddenly became clear . . . peace for the world starts with our peace in the world…and that peace starts within each one of us. Now we’re on to something but, again, where do we start?

I come to this with kind of a different angle given my particular area of expertise as a beauty and life coach. Years ago while working as a makeup artist, it became very clear that much of the inner turmoil and lack of peace that we experience comes from allowing ourselves to be caught up in superficial things like external beauty and material possessions. While millions are constantly searching for an outer “fix,” the real connection to harmony and beauty is feeling bliss on the inside and radiating that out to the world.

Even before thinking of the gifts you would like in your life, start finding your peace by thinking of those you already have. Your gifts can be your beautiful smile, buoyant personality, intuitive feeling and connection to those around you, constant optimism, or just about anything else. By taking this mental and emotional inventory you remind yourself of the value that you already hold rather than thinking there must be something more. This is the point after all, that you are already more than enough!

All too often we think of ourselves in terms of the mizpah, the beautiful necklace that we give each other as friends. It’s the heart that is broken and each of us takes half to symbolize the eternal bond with the other. The true gift is in letting yourself be complete and giving your whole heart to as many people as you can throughout your life.

We can also achieve peace by remembering that we are all gifts to the world. We are such wonderful gifts in fact, that we should be re-gifted often. And as those gifts we are not our wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows—we are a joy-filled bundle of beauty and divine purpose! You know as well as I do that what really matters is not only what’s inside the box but if it does what it’s intended to do. If it is a beautiful diamond, does it sparkle and shine?  If it is a toy, is it fun to play with? 

When you are true to your purpose and simply enjoy being, you are a source of beauty for the world. Before making your New Year’s resolutions, take some time to explore what it is that brings purpose and joy to you. Consider what you would be doing in your perfect job, relationships, and personal life that will bring beauty to your soul. Now take this a step further and write it down and create your special gift list. There is something about the process of putting pen to paper and seeing your dreams in front of you that helps bring them to reality.

Put yourself under the mistletoe and pucker up, it’s time to love you!