December has arrived, the Christmas tree is up and lit,
though further adornment will wait for now.
The lights on the eaves of the house are hung, the wreathes are up and a
new laser based moving light show showers the front façade. The lawn remains pleasantly green and
complements the scene fairly well, only a fresh snow would be better. That will need to wait for a much colder
front to displace the 50 degree afternoons still hanging on in southern
Maryland. There are a few touches left
for the outdoor display. The polar
bears, a mama and cub, are not yet done hibernating from their summer slumber. Rather ironic when you think about when the
bears would actually retreat to a cozy den.
The rack hung from the garage ceiling could only be home to a facsimile
of a true bear. Beyond that only a couple fake Christmas trees, small ones,
remain to be placed as sentinels on either side of the front door. It’s a lovely landscape once illuminated.
You would think it easy to sink into the season based on
these surroundings and those so similar all around the community. The hustle and bustle has begun in earnest,
though perhaps not as easy to see as when shopping required a trip to the local
stores and malls. The prevalence of
shopping electronically from the warm comfort of your couch or desk makes it a
bit harder to notice. I suppose if you
closely observed the package delivery services you would know that the full-on
shopping blitz is well underway. The
Holiday parties are scheduled, tickets bought, and Secret Santa gifts
purchased. There are even a few desks at work that have lights and ornaments
hung around them. Clearly the season is
here, yet as clearly, the sentiment has not fully seeped into my soul.
A young girl, a daughter of a friend, put it so well the
other day when we were talking. She’s
not a big fan of Christmas. Her comment to my question on why was simply
stated; It’s so cliché. You could put other words on it as easily. Commercial. Fabricated. Forced. That’s not
the full story of course, but it’s the chapter most easily seen. Ads run to encourage your spending on just
the right present, probably expensive, to convey the depth of your feelings,
your love, for the recipient. Stores
have been peddling Christmas for over a month already, perhaps longer. This season is what gets many stores into the
black for the year. Black Friday, Cyber
Monday are but two more notable days of the shopping spree. Everyday from before Thanksgiving through
Christmas eve is a good shopping day. In
our short discussion, it was noted that the same six or so Christmas songs play
repeatedly. This doesn’t seem to be too
much of an exaggeration. The Hallmark
Channel has been playing a constant chorus of feel good holiday movies along with the classics. It does feel a bit cliché doesn’t it? At least on the surface.
Maybe that’s okay.
Okay, provided we dig a little deeper and ask a few questions. Why are we drawn to the barrage of Christmas
movies that are nearly always predictable?
The good guys come out on top, the underdog is cheered along the road to
making the upset win against all reasonable expectations. The unlikely heroes become the norm in this
season. Love overcomes all the odds, the
distance and time to complete the storybook romance and live happily ever
after. All so cliché. But why are we drawn to this? Why do we listen to these songs, watch the
predictable film, and make purchases that overwhelm our finances? Why? You know the answer. It’s right there, isn’t it?
We want to dream. We
want this season that life really does have the underdog come out on top, that
love wins no matter the odds. We want real
life to mirror what seems so natural in this holiday season. We can’t help but desire a happy, healthy family
and to make fond memories, follow traditions, and sit by the fire making
smores. Who wouldn’t want love to concur all despite all that is thrown in its
way? We long for it, we yearn for it, and
for this short season we want to believe it.
No matter your tradition, religion or background, it seems
that this season causes us all to slow down enough to think about what we hold
dear, what is important. The themes of
love, family, friendships and peace all abound.
It’s easy to get lost in the cliché, the trite, the ads and shopping,
but let’s search a little deeper. I
wonder how we could take this season and our attitudes and get them to last a
little longer. I’m not talking about the
shopping and the ‘same six songs’, but the search for the good and to applaud
it. Can we continue to be generous throughout the year? Can we search inward to understand what we
truly want, things like time with friends and family, shared meals and polite
conversation, adventure? What stops us?
I’m stuck here, thinking about that last question. What stop us?
What stops me? What stops me from
spending time with family and friends in a slow, deliberate and intentional
way? The answers that come to mind are
not going to be shared here in black and white.
In some respects they’re too personal, and they are too telling. Too telling of what truly prevents me,
prevents us, from interacting the way we at least try to do during the
holidays. I imagine that my answers are
not that different from yours, so as you think about it, I suspect you also
will conclude the answers are hard to swallow.
I hope and pray that we all overcome our answers to that
question. I hope we all come to the conclusion that those current answers are
insufficient, they cannot stand, they must fall. Those excuses need to be quenched, that
darkness needs to be overcome with a light, with love.
The world needs it.
The world need us to change the patterns and ruts we are stuck in. Put another way, we truly need each other.
I hope to let this season of generosity, of lights, and of
love seep into this hardened soul, soften it and make it pliable and sensitive
to the plight of those around me. My
prayer is that it seeps deep and resides within in a long lasting and durable
way, and that compassion and generosity become the norm for us all.
I wish you all love, health and prosperity, through this
season and the years to come.
Brian
