Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!”

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “Maybe __________ ,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.”

— Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

When I was a little girl, one of the best parts of Christmas was wrapping Dad’s present for Mom. I found so much joy in choosing the perfect wrapping paper and in making bows from curling ribbon that I just knew were way more awesome than any found in a store. What I treasure in this memory has nothing to do with any of the things in the packages, just as my gaudy ribbon bows did not add any tangible value to the gift they embellished. (However, that my dad always asked me to do this —even his last Christmas with us four years ago— was and still is a precious gift and memory.)

I still enjoy many of the sights and sounds and smells of this Christmas season, but not when they become the focus or are used to cover truth. Yesterday while traveling, I began thinking about the made-for-television version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and decided to read the book again. Through the years, the story of the Grinch’s attempt to steal Christmas from the Whos down in Who-ville has come to have meaning for me far beyond the obvious. Thus, my decision to use the ___________ in place of Christmas in the quote above.

More and more I see that what is essential to our joy, our happiness, our contentment, our celebrations, our love of who we are ourselves as well as our love for those who share life with us, cannot be purchased or packaged. Try as we might to find just the right anything to give ourselves or others true joy, whether through material gift or gesture or words, it is never the thing that will give real joy — regardless of any ribbons or colorful packaging.

Just as was true for the fictional Whos, I believe that which brings the richest joy to life is authentic relationship. The Whos needed only the presence of each other, hand-in-hand, to have joy and reason to celebrate through their singing together. There is no store where this can be found. There is no way to package or wrap this or any place to add a ribbon. Beautiful even so, yes?

The story of the Grinch’s foiled plan holds a deep truth for every day.