Christmas is the time that we traditionally celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but it seems that this holiday is now serving a more secular, but equally important, need in our hectic, chaotic lives. At least for my family, the one aspect of this time of year that we treasure above all else is the closeness of family and being together for just a few precious moments during the year where we focus on nothing else but each other. Yes, I well know the traditional comment about Christmas being "all about the family", but for the majority I believe that this has taken a back seat to the more ritualistic and materialistic aspects of the holiday, at least in recent years. Perhaps it took my failed marriage and new life that physically seperates me from most of my family and, most importantly, my children, to make me realize just how much I took for granted having my family close about me. I could very easily write this whole "phenomenon" off to nostalgia and a resultant melancholic attitude if I did not see and hear of increasing numbers of people expressing the same sentiments. Could it be that we have finally so dis-comboobalated our everyday lives and allowed the more mundane facets of it to so occupy all of our available time that we are now stuck in a self-contrived existance that only allows us the time to pay attention to family and close friends once a year? I will concede that this is taking an extremely pessimistic view on our current reality, but perhaps it is closer than any of us realize, or perhaps it is our being aware of just how close we are to that reality that drives the recent appreciation for the really important things in our lives.
All that I really know is that I happily find myself this holiday with my children close about me and those whom I love, but cannot be with, held even closer in my heart. To those dear and distant, my thoughts and love are with you always, no matter the distance that seperates us or the length of time that we must endure being apart, for it is the love that we share that will endure beyond all else...and you know, it REALLY is a wonderful life, after all!
Merry Christmas and may God bless us, every one!
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