The Holiday Spirit!

This time of year is always a really interesting time for me, the fact that the holidays bring out the best and worst in people always amazes me and I sit back and observe the goings on!  From my perch atop Mount reality i can see the people running towards that secret gift and that secret something that holds all of the answers, never mind the faith and spirituality aspect of the holidays just focus on the quick fix " i will knock you over for that Coach purse" approach.  Yes, the holidays are a really interesting time  for sure, the families are generally the closest and make amends for all of the snubs throughout the year, but that's another piece altogether. December is upon us and another year is getting closer to being over, the year always bring about some sort of change for us, be it diet plans, vacations, gym workouts , something that we change up a bit to make the new year a different and exciting experience. So as we get closer to the XMAS day , and yes I said XMAS instead of Christmas because this is my site and my world so Fuck off if you are offended!

Let's see! where can I start with the ongoing ridiculous traits of people during the holidays, the shopping is always an Olympic effort to get the right things in the right sizes, seems like somebody always gets the offensive"what were they thinking when they bought that gift " snub, you know, giving the over weight man or woman a diet cookbook is always a great way to piss somebody off!!!!! But we dig deeper into this maddening holiday and really seek out the goodness that it is intended to invoke in us all. The giving is a big part of it all, the love and admiration for the goodness we have is the most important thing to me, my life has been such a great ride to date and if I were to die tomorrow i could say I've lived a full life of loving and giving, receiving and spending time with the people that really matter in my life. Being blessed with amazing brother and sisters , my wife and kids and the few friends that I do have show me everyday how blessed we truly have been. I look no further than in my own workspace and see the dysfunction ans sadness of things and possession driven people and the lack of true love that evades their lives. for them i feel bad but realize that happiness is not a given and must be worked for and worked with to maintain. Being in the great place emotionally, spiritually and physically getting to where i need to be we are in a process that never stops unless we allow it to.  I look forward to a drama free and joyous holiday season with my family and friends and truly know that there are too many people who do not have what we have and for that i am shaken a bit and can only help to do my part to make somebody Else's life a  better place to be, if only a meal, or a conversation, something to let people know that they matter and that bad things don't always happen to bad people, they indeed can and do happen to good people too.

This year is a bit different for us all at the holiday. We are without Braz and Ty who are in Afghanistan and Missouri respectively, Braz at war and Ty in his own private struggles with his own youth and mortality, youth try to grow faster than they are  capable and pay the ultimate price, a road laden with speed bumps and cracks in their road which makes for a bumpy ride. Hence they are in their own private wars and must deal with them as they got in to them, on their own terms and time. Heaven forbid they listen to those of us who have been there done that? yeah that would be really stupid of them to take nearly a hundred years of life skills and learn form our previous stupidity, but that would take away from the allure of being young and dumb!!!!! So we stand back and wait for the trains to collide on each front, Brandon is home , school and work and looking for his way and in a positive place in his world. Missing my dad again this Season, been 28 years since we last spend the XMAS together with him, do miss my dad and everytime I go to my sisters house look at the family picture of all of us together for the last time until he passed away some 3 weeks later. Looking forward and not back I have my memories that I hold close, the thoughts and pleasures of the times we spent together and will always hold the good and bad times close to my heart. Living is learning for me , I've learned so much about myself by observing and through therapy, having Terria by my side is the greatest gift I've ever been able to realize, there are things that happen in our lives that remind us of where we are and how we got there. It helps me to appreciate the things that I almost threw away and makes me realize that life is that aforementioned process of forever growing in a positive way , surrounding myself with Positive people and making everyday count. We are so blessed in who we are , what we are and how we continue to  grow on a daily basis. Today is another great day as I'm sure tomorrow will be even better! Good times for sure!