What the Hell’s so special about December? Absolutely nothing. Calendars are changed time & again, traditions are tweaked over the years & holidays are moved about as if in competition. Thus, it’s not the month, the time of year nor even the holidays being celebrated we should give a damn about. It’s the opportunity to do so. Although those opportunities aren’t equally distributed across countries or throughout various job descriptions, the emphasis on the very things we should be giving particular attention to year round is just about universal. Let’s not look a gift horse in its proverbial mouth.

Hi there, horse called gift, what mouth? I just appreciate YOU! These intersecting holidays, traditions & family gatherings that come at the end of every year have brilliant timing. What better way to wrap up one year & prepare for the next?! It’s not about resolutions but rather refining the resolution in which you view your life. Our lives are not only larger pictures made of smaller panes but are each a small pane in the larger picture that is the world. That creates two important responsibilities. Regardless of our personal level of awareness, we are world citizens & yet must heed the needs in our own lives in order to have anything to give.

Give yourself the best gift of all — take stock. By focusing on what’s most important to you, you’ll know what to spend your time on through the holidays & every day as well as what goals to work toward in the new year. It’s the simplest equation in life; by prioritizing the things that matter, we have more time to enjoy & make the most of them. You may not be looking for or even want change but you most likely do want a continuation of what’s good in your life. That’s only possible by supporting those very things (& people). Beyond not taking all we value for granted, neither can we take for granted what is & isn’t possible. Question your status quo.

“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal,
and that every path may lead to peace.”
~ Agnes M. Pharo ~

We’ve got a shitload of celebrating going on & a practically universal focus on all the salient issues.. As I said last year, take advantage:

Be it merry or happy, Chanukah or Advent, Kwanzaa or Boxing Day, Winter Solstice or multiple choice; may the season hold both meaning & moments of joy. Whether you’re recreating traditions or creating new ones, have spent too much or have nothing to spend, what’s clear & what matters is taking the time to reflect. What do you believe, what are you open to &, moreover, who do you love but, most importantly, how are you showing it? From taking time to be kind to yourself to the thoughtfulness you’re showing to those around you, it’s not that December has a corner on the market nor should but with all these holidays intertwining; take advantage, people! [Do read the rest, if you haven't already.]

My own life has changed this past year yet stayed the same in important ways. I lost Taz but gained Pagan, Dave lost the job that made our new home possible but is following his heart, we had to forgive ourselves the debts & accept the miracles but still have no furniture. What we’re always striving for are small but effective changes, sustainable choices & a continued focus on only that which improves our lives. Whatever your take on those ideals, seize this opportunity to set aside anything that’s not adding to your overall happiness. From how we celebrate the holidays themselves to what we plan for our futures, let’s not be afraid of failure nor let ourselves be derailed by it. If anything, it should rerail us.

Failing towards success: Discover what doesn’t work & let it go. If anything goes wrong (or less than right — read “not as planned”) this holiday, laugh it off & look past it to the heart of the matter. The same goes for our day-to-day living. Use your plans as guidelines, your dreams as goals & add in something just for yourself each day. Let those “selfish” moments fuel all the selfless ones while that emerging balance begins to define all you do. Have a Hell of a Happy Merry Christmaskah-Advanzaa-Boxing Solstice &, when the gift horse bucks you, just climb back on.

(|_|*cheers*|_|)
“I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays–let them overtake me unexpectedly–waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself: ‘Why this is Christmas Day!’”
~ Ray Stannard Baker ~

PS: Perhaps the most significant change this Xmas is that it’ll be spent w/family for the first time in many years! RhodesTer & I have always worked jobs that only get busier this time of year; had he not been laid off, he would’ve been working til midnight both Christmas Eve & Christmas..

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”
~ Burton Hillis ~

Ever have one of those lives? We all have blessings others don’t & curses that differ from each other but also have more in common than meets the eye. A nice example is my fairly newfound friend Charee; I’ve never been business-minded & she has better health than I but we feel a kinship, strongly relating despite our differences. One of the many things we do have in common is an appreciation for Fiona Apple who wisely asserts two states of being in her song, “Extraordinary Machine.”

“I’m good at being uncomfortable so I can’t stop changing all the time.” Always exploring, never settling, my life’s indeed a journey yet that doesn’t keep me from enjoying the various stages. As with any travel plans, delays occur. I could get caught up in the lack of progress being made or simply enjoy the detours. Part of the mystique that is Charee is her openness to life’s oddities despite a more regimented routine. Our choices direct our travel but we’re also simply along for the ride. There are those who can’t reconcile the ever-present yin & yang of all we are & do.

“He’s no good at being uncomfortable so he can’t stop staying exactly the same.” Thus, they shield themselves. The most common shielding comes in the form of preoccupation — be it with goals, busyness, problem finding & solving — the blinders stay firmly in place. If you come across someone that’s not struggling in some way, chances are they’re not delving deep enough to stir up trouble. Then there’s the rest of us.. Our war zones vary & our battles require differing armament but we’re together in the trenches.

Willing to question, provoke & change; we uncover new possibilities, recover old truths & discover ourselves. The key to navigating the inevitable upheaval is not to get discouraged for resolution’s also inevitable. We don’t need to protect ourselves from chaos so much as learn not to take it on as our own. We can take responsibility without shouldering blame by focusing on the wherefores not the “where’d I go wrongs?” Already opting to post weekly til my blog’s on WordPress, I skipped a week. Worse yet, I didn’t use that time as intended.

My health had its say in that pseudo-decision, as did the need/desire to catch up on replying to comments before generating more. Alas, I only finished answering comments on the post I’d been answering the week before but they are loverly & worthy of replacing posting a week ago. Recognizing that I’m currently anemic & suffering — as my mum aptly called it — an energy crisis, I choose to continue on as I’m able; no more, no less. Despite my love of comments & replying to them, the brain fog I’ve endured for the last two weeks existed.

That’s right, it existed, it simply did. That’s all there is to it; I accept it, learn from it (I’m eliminating what processed foods I can.) & move on. Living surprisingly decently right at the poverty line still clarifies the vicious cycle poverty is. The impact on health alone is no small one; not owning a bed or being able to afford decent food keeps stamina at a minimum for anyone. Although I hate to cry “poor me,” such realities create a downward trend with my already ailing health. Since we’ve all had struggles & distractions, let’s dialog, setting our struggles aside & making our distractions worthwhile. Comments? Comments, anyone? I will answer.. eventually..

(|_|*cheers*|_|)
“Transformation contains both change and stability, plurality and unity, movement and constancy. It has the nature of life, namely, to connect organically the polar opposites, the stumbling blocks of logic, and to unite them in an all embracing rhythm.”
~ Lama Govinda ~