December 24, 2025
The older I get, the more I realize that Christmas does not announce itself the way it used to.
It doesn’t kick the door in. It doesn’t grab you by the shoulders and shake you awake. It shows up quietly. Sometimes too quietly. And if you’re not paying attention, you can miss it entirely.
That’s probably why today’s Thought of the Day and Question of the Day feel like they belong together. They’re both about attention. About noticing. About what changes when we slow down just enough to listen.
Thought of the Day: “The world changes when we change what we pay attention to.” — William James
This thought feels simple at first. Almost obvious. Of course things change when we look at different things. But the longer I sit with it, the heavier it gets.
Because what we pay attention to is not neutral.
It shapes our days. It decides what feels urgent and what feels invisible. It determines whether we experience life as a series of interruptions or a collection of moments worth keeping.
Right now, attention is one of the most contested resources we have. Everyone wants a piece of it. Notifications. Headlines. Algorithms. Even well meaning people who just need one more thing from us before the day ends.
By the time December 24 rolls around, a lot of us are running on fumes. We’re thinking about what still needs to be done instead of what is already here. We’re staring at lists instead of faces. We’re physically present but mentally somewhere else.
And then we wonder why the season feels thinner than it used to.
William James isn’t saying the world magically transforms when we change our focus. He’s saying our experience of it does. The same room can feel empty or full depending on what you notice. The same day can feel exhausting or meaningful depending on where your attention lands.
Christmas is still happening. The problem is not the holiday. It’s that we’re often looking past it.
When we shift our attention, even slightly, the world responds. Not because it changed, but because we finally showed up to it.
If this thought landed for you, you might want to explore the Thought of the Day archive and see which ones meet you where you are right now.
Question of the DayWhat is your favorite sound at Christmas? I like the sound of all the tiny bells.
This question feels light on the surface. Almost playful. But it sneaks up on you.
Because sound is a shortcut to memory.
You don’t have to think hard about it. A single sound can take you back years in an instant. No effort required.
For me, it’s the small bells. Not the loud, performative kind. The quiet ones. The ones you only hear if you’re close enough. The kind that show up on a door, or in a child’s hand, or somewhere in the background while something else is happening.
They don’t demand attention. They reward it.
Maybe for you it’s the low hum of conversation in another room. Wrapping paper tearing. Footsteps on the stairs earlier than expected. A familiar song drifting through the house while no one is really listening, but everyone feels it anyway.
What’s interesting is how rarely we notice these sounds when we’re rushing. They only exist for the people who pause long enough to hear them.
This question is an invitation. Not to answer it quickly, but to let it tune you in. To walk through the day with your ears a little more open. To notice what’s already happening without needing it to be louder or bigger or better.
If you want to sit with more questions like this, you can wander through the Question of the Day archive and see which ones open something up for you.
Christmas Eve doesn’t need to be perfect. It doesn’t need to be Instagram worthy. It just needs your attention.
The world will meet you there.
If you’d like to keep starting your days with one thought and one question, you can join the daily email and have them waiting for you each morning.
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