The Christmas Cheer has started. Some love it, some hate it, and many people indulge in it. In my case, Christmas reminds me of my childhood-“that sweet innocence of waiting for the end of the year to arrive.
To enjoy unwrapping presents, hanging lights, seeing cousins, singing songs, eating cookies, and feeling on vacation.
Santa Claus eventually left my heart, the presents turned into a single gift, and family time became tedious. My Christmas spirit dwindled. But this Christmas, I had a change of heart, I proposed to keep it eco, hopeful, and joyous in a different way. Encouraging with my inner conscious child, without indulging in the marketing traps.
It all started with books. This year literature has been my closest companion, my partner, and my most loyal escape. Whenever I felt like traveling to a different time, to be seduced by words, I found a cult inside the pages of 23 books. My muses inspired me to create the ultimate solution to the Christmas Tree debate: instead of buying a fake or real tree, I made a tree with what had already been a tree that was transformed into different universes: my books.
I first started creating a conscious circle representing social justice and sustainability, the tree’s base. The base was composed of second-hand books from my degree in International Relations. These I got from previous students that wanted to make an extra buck from those theory-heavy textbooks. Reading about Constructivism, Peace Theory, and Sustainable Development pushed me into adapting a more conscious lifestyle in which my mind can settle for hope rather than pessimism.
The following books that started to give height to my nerdy Christmas tree were about social justice, anthropological studies, and psychological literature that have allowed me to reflect on my identity, adding perspective on my surroundings and diverse struggles and identities.
Once I’ve had created a strong base of the tree consisting of non-fiction books that add reality to my life and understanding, the rest of the books were filled with parallel universes of fantasy, love, inspiration, lust, womanhood, and escapisms. My best friends, lovers, and joyous companions make life easy, fresh, and a rollercoaster.
Although I’m not religious, I esteem literature and knowledge; they keep me hopeful, joyous, and happy to live in a world with writers, thinkers, and artists. So, my Christmas tree represents in what I believe: the power of education, introspection, sustainability, social justice, imagination, and the unbearable lightness of being.
