PORT ALBERNI, B.C. — Although Alisha Pauling is looking through old pictures, she doesn’t need them to remember her Christmases past. She has a photographic memory.
“I can recall events, senses, smells,” Alisha says, along with every feeling from almost every day. “I can be transported back in time.”
One of Alisha’s earliest happy memories is when she was two, driving around in her grandpa’s station wagon, looking at Christmas lights.
“And it just sparked some light and wonder and feeling of magic,” Alisha smiles.
On the other hand, Alisha’s hardest memories are from when her remarkable gift started making her feel different than others.
“It was a little sad,” Alisha says. “I felt like I had to hide myself.”
But no matter how many bad memories she made during the year, Alisha could always count on Christmas to make countless good ones.
“It was the space and the place where I noticed people put differences aside,” she says.
So although Alisha was “dimming her light” in public, she felt inspired to brighten her home in private, with increasingly elaborate and creative Christmas decorations.
“I felt like I was in touch with this inner creator,” Alisha beams. “This passionate, uplifting side.”
Alisha began transforming every room in her house over the holidays, decorating 25 diverse trees, and unabashedly being herself.
“And being fearless who I am,” Alisha says. “Because I knew that would help serve the greater good.”
Alisha felt so empowered by the positivity inside her home, she felt compelled to share it by being fearlessly festive outside, too.
She began staging huge displays in her front yard, filled with a cast of Christmas characters from wooden cut-outs to giant inflatables, all supported by homemade decorations, and bright lights.
“I hope (visitors) can tap into whatever joy-filled feeling it might bring,” Ashley smiles. “And bring a spark of connection.”
And even if you don’t have a photographic memory, Alisha hopes her display inspires you to create the kind of Christmas you’ll never forget.
“Christmas to me is not one time a year,” Alisha says. “It’s a mindset, and how I want to show-up and be in the world all year round.”
