off topic...

ok... i will admit it... i love the holidays. i love october straight through january. now, please don't get me wrong! i do not go crazy with the jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, skeletons, cornucopias, santas, reindeer, or poinsettias. i just kind of do a little palette change with all the colors i use. and i have lots of pomegranates everywhere, and a tree and stockings and lights at christmas. i just love the season. i love the gatherings. i love the search for the perfect gift. i love the music (but please limit it to between thanksgiving and new year's days). i love the holiday snows. i love the warmth. i love the excuse to brighten a harried salesclerk's day with a little chocolate or gift certificate. or paying for someone else's toll. or coffee. or dry cleaning. it's not just a time to give the "obligatory" charitable gift. give random little gifts. nothing expensive. maybe a coffee for a coworker who seems down. or stop and offer help to the family with a flat on the side of the road. these little things not only cheer me up (seeing smiles will do that), they always cause a chain reaction. someone else will see and do as you have. it is worth the time or money, always. i love doing this year round, but it seems to be noticed and passed on more during the holidays, when most of us seem to focus on our own dramas and dilemmas. it makes people stop, think, and see the bigger picture.
i know that with our present economy the holiday shopping/marketing season has hit us much earlier than usual. this means that we will all be tired of the potential holiday stress that the holidays induce long before they actually arrive. i would like to challenge everyone to look around, not in hopelessness at the present state of our economy, but with hope at the resiliency and potential of people. with hope at the kindness we are capable of. take a moment and actually listen to some of the songs you hear. (not santa baby, or i saw mommy, or santa clause is coming.) listen to the other songs about the kindness, and faith, and giving hearts. this is what i love about the holidays. i love the hope. and the warmth that exceeds the often dark and dismal days.