Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Call me sentimental, many have before you, but I actually get happy listening to the nostalgic bouncy songs of my claymation Holiday yesteryear.

It takes me back to a simple time, free from worry and still rife with possibility.

This is a nice thing to experience unexpectedly in the middle of Christmas Day 2009. Things are tough all over the world, and I haven’t been able to put my Holiday blinders on fully and ignore it. Actually, my response has been just the opposite – I have been ignoring the Holidays.

I haven’t bought a single Christmas present and probably won’t. Hopefully, my friends and family will forgive me. I haven’t attended a single Holiday party. Just going to the store to acquire the accoutrements for Christmas dinner was difficult. (Although, the people watching at the Boulder Whole Foods on Christmas Eve was the best ever. Ladies, there were beautiful men galore! Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!)

Anyway, the point is that I found solace in this cheesy Christmas song much more poignant than the childish nostalgia it brought on. The lyrics to the first verse of the song are:

Have a holly, Jolly Christmas;
It’s the best time of the year
I don’t know if there’ll be snow
but have a cup of cheer

Have a holly, jolly Christmas;
And when you walk down the street
Say Hello to friends you know
and everyone you meet

Here’s my heavily-read-into translation:

The Holidays really can be the best time of the year if we get out of our own stressed-out, self-important way and connect with what’s real and meaningful.

We never know if the conditions of our life and external circumstances will line up to create the perfect Christmas but we can be choose to be cheerful anyway.

Don’t just extend your friendliness and cheer to the people you know–please share it with everyone–just a smile or a kind word to a stranger could make all the difference to them.

This last line is what made me think to share my thoughts on the Holidays with you all. And we can do this very simple thing all year round: Say hello to friends you know and everyone you meet. Extend your genuine caring to everyone you meet for even a few seconds. Connect with them and acknowledge them.

The Holidays can be the worst time of year for some people. Many people are lonely or extremely overwrought and depressed. Some die alone in their homes. I know a woman who drank herself to death just days before Christmas this year and was found later in her home. Please extend a prayer or kind thought to all those who can’t see going through another day of stress, depression and loneliness – to all those who die, and all those who think of death as a relief from their lives. Reach out to any you see in need. We all need each others’ kindness in these times.

In my spare time, which hasn’t been much, I have been volunteering. This is the one thing that has brought me true and consistent joy this Holiday season. It has been a great way for me to reach out to others. It has offered a great respite from thinking about myself. . . I highly recommend it.

Thanks for listening. And may peace, harmony, and prosperity fill your life.

Yes, I did spend most of Christmas by myself. Give me enough time alone and next time I’ll wax philosophical about “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”!