“Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
Our troubles will be out of sight.”
(“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”)

One phrase that’s always interested me is “light-hearted.” A common way we hear it is this: “That movie is a light-hearted comedy.” This usually means it’s a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and doesn’t labor to make a grand statement about how life should be.

Maybe that’s the best way to interpret the lyric in our quote above. “Let your heart be light—from now on, our troubles will soon be out of sight.” Does this mean we should be light-hearted because our troubles will be soon be gone? Or could this mean when we purposefully lighten our hearts first, our troubles seem to diminish as a result?

What would happen the rest of this year, for instance, if I chose to not take myself too seriously, and chose not to make a grand statement about how life should be?

What if I just accepted myself, and the way life is, for just a little while? If I let my heart be light, would my troubles seem out of sight?

(I’ll let you know after the holidays.)

Here are the best three versions of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”:

1. Frank Sinatra
2. Michael Buble
3. Ella Fitzgerald

Peace begins with pause,