I
remember seeing a sign hung up in some store somewhere that said
something like…”The hurryier I go, the behinder I get….” Well, I
know how that feels. I’m stuck back in August and here it is
almost Christmas. Strange, isn’t it how our concept of time
changes, as we get older? When we were kids, it seemed like summer
vacations would never get here. Christmas was always ages away.
Time passed so slowly. Then it somehow started to speed up for
some reason or another. One day it’s July 4th and the
next day you are watching the Christmas decorations go up all over
the place.
Of course, this really is not a true
indication of the approach of Christmas since they start putting
up trees, lights and elves in September in some places. I can
imagine that our holiday customs would get confusing to someone
from some other country. About October of each year, we start to
see the orange and black of Halloween, then the fall colors of
Thanksgiving mixed in with the red and greens of Christmas
appearing in various displays all over the place. If you are
concerned about making the proper fashion statement you might ask
yourself “ What colors should I be wearing?” It is not uncommon to
see pumpkins, wooden turkeys and decorated Christmas trees in
someone’s yard all at the same time.
Very strange times indeed. Therefore, as I
sit here, drinking a cup of coffee, and watching the rain, I am
acutely aware of what holiday we are approaching this week. Of
course, it is Thanksgiving, which is really one of the best
holidays of the year in my opinion. No gifts, no guilt, just a
great time to reflect upon our lives and put everything into
perspective. I like to think of it as a self-awareness audit. How
am I doing over this time last year? Well, for one thing I am
still here, which is a great item to be thankful for. My health is
great. Another major plus to give thanks for. You can sit down and
start thinking about all of the bad things that have been
happening to you, but I suggest that you do not. Instead, I
suggest that you take a few moments off to do a personal inventory
of all of the good that you can think of.
Have you made any new friends this year? I
have. Have you smiled more this year? I have. Have you helped
someone out in some form or fashion and they thanked you for it?
Did someone help you out in some way or another? Just look around
you and think of all of the things that did not happen to you this
past year. Self-pity is one of the worse enemies that we can
suffer. It is one that will drag you so far down so quickly that
you do not know whether you are coming or going. If you have
access to a television (and who doesn’t?) then it should not be
too hard for you to look at your life and compare it to the folks
over in other parts of the world. If you fail to see that you are
better off and have more going for you with more opportunity than
just about anyplace on the planet, then I truly feel sorry for
you.
While I will admit that our system is far
from perfect, it sure beats anything else I’ve ever seen out
there. The fact that we can disagree and even put our
disagreements in writing is something we all should be mindful of
as well as to be thankful for. This is a great nation and we are a
great people. The only person stopping you from achieving your
dreams is you. Be thankful for what you have, give away what you
do not need to someone who can use it. Take a few moments to
reflect on what is and not what could have been. Hug somebody and
say hello to everyone. Take care and have a great holiday.
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