It's The Least Wooooondeful Time Of The Year

What was once a warm, loving, spiritual, selfless and giving season has degenerated into what is possibly the saddest and most discouraging time of the year, and I think that we need to stop denying it. What my religion calls Christmas once was a time of peace on earth, goodwill to humankind, and a time of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magii," a short story where a truly loving wife and husband each sacrifice their most prized possession (she, her luxurious tresses, he, his pocket watch) to raise the money to give her/his beloved the perfect gift (combs for her hair, a watchdfob for his watch). I wish that this magic were still in the world, and I think that it can be, again; but not while we are in denial. The aspirations of Christmas exceed human grasp. We stress ourselves out to make everything perfect for our loved ones and ourselves, but humans are imperfect, and that is okay all year around, including Christmas. We need to give ourselves permission to be imperfect. We need to remind ourselves that those whom we love KNOW that we love them, because we let them know every day, not just the day that we give them the iPhone X or the World Cruise. We need to start feeling with our hearts and stop being driven by what the commercial world puts into our heads. We need to step out of the mindless, consuming stampede that retail creates at this time of year, and march to what Henry David Thoreau called "the beat of a different drummer." We need to take care of ourselves at this time of year, and truly love ourselves, and only then can we make those whom we love feel loved, and cared for, and, for those of us who have a God, only then can we make that God feel loved, and cared for.

Please stop the insanity of the season. Love yourself and everything, I promise you, will fall into place. Happy REAL Holidays!