I’m not going to go on about how special Christmas is in this article, dear reader.
Well not much except to mention how it helps to bring out the joy, quality and magic of life all around us. And if there are bright eyed, happy, laughing kids to share the holiday with, well what more could you ask for?
Recently two of my close friends departed this life in separate road accidents. One day we were chatting, joking and laughing and just having a regular good time. The following day, right out of the blue, poof, they were gone.
The shock and numbness of their loss is profound. I regret that I can’t give them one last hug and squeeze and just one more “I love you”.
But they are no longer here in their physical form. So I wish them a silent “Farewell” and “Good luck” in the next world.
My point about Christmas and special times of year like birthdays, Valentines, Mother’s and Father’s Day is that they highlight that splendor of friendship, love and laughter, and the more you share this precious experience, the brighter it appears to shine.
I think that the goodness and life force we see and recognize in others may help to illuminate and brighten our own personal light of life.
Those are some of the special moments that seem most memorable and are the memories we wish to hold on to.
Looking at old photographs, for example, might well remind you of this. They have captured some sweet fragments, moments when times were good, you were young, strong and healthy and the world was yours to shape and sculpt to your dreams and desires.
You knew you were loved and you felt like a bright shining light.
So we’re busy and very much involved in our daily lives. We have things to do and places to go. And we often take for granted the smile from a beautiful child or the wag of a puppy dog’s tail.
Then one day we look back on it and it hits us. “If I only told them more often how much I love them and how much they mean to me.”
I don’t think it’s possible to love and care for others too much. In fact I think there’s not nearly enough love in our world.
Sure, you can spoil them with gifts and favors and such but that’s more of a humbling of yourself and buying their affections.
When someone is your friend and really cares about you, there’s no mistaking it. You know it.
So often these days our relationships tend to be so superficial, temporary and merely rituals of social niceties. Also, I would say that these are realizations which come to us more so as we advance in age. We may no longer be young, beautiful and objects of sexual desire as we once were years ago.
You know when someone is buttering you up and just trying to sell you a product or service. The sincerity and personal connection just isn’t there.
It occured to me many years ago that there is truth, beauty and light in each and every one of us. However, you may have to look long and hard to find it in some. But it’s there.
It usually shines brightly from the sparkling eyes of children. And it bursts out at you with their innocent exuberance. All you need to do is talk to them and smile.
But kids grow up and sadly they experience pain, loss and fear along with the other slings and arrows of our harsh world. Somehow they learn to buffer and protect themselves against these dangers.
They build bricks and barriers to hide behind for safety and security. And by the time they reach middle age, their entire exterior surface resembles that of a solid brick wall of protection.
I’m being very general here of course. We are not all solid as a rock. Some of us still retain a glimmer of light that shines through.
You and I are not the bricks which surround us. We built them and if they are not benefiting our life and living, then we can let them go.
And the most amazing thing of all is that on rare occasions you may see someone who shines bright, clear and beautiful and is a joy to be with.
Well, dear reader, I don’t think this is an illusion. I think you’re seeing the individual himself or herself as they really are, minus all their bricks of self protection.
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