Happy Holidays members and readers.

The holidays bring out the good and the uncomfortable in us during a time when we are feeling the Christmases of yore, the warmth then that does not seem so warm now without Grandma or good ole Sport, our dog that died last year.  Many memories are invading our heads as we seemingly push through this year with our holiday preparations in spite of how we feel.  Christmas is about the birth of our lord and about making new memories while we think back of those other times. Feel privileged to have those memories and begin striving to build more.

We begin to realize that there are a lot of lonely people in the world and in our society and that loneliness can become a bit more acute for some reason during these holidays.  We all feel that way at one time or another so do not feel so special.

Inflation is causing our gift list to become smaller and the trials of purchasing services and goods are most assuredly causing our blood pressures to rise a bit as we wait, are put off, are treated rudely by overwhelmed sales people, receive our purchases late and track packages that were to have shown up a week ago.  All this because of a very lame work force and/or the hindrances in a supply chain that does not work very well anymore.  The government blames it on COVID  and We persevere.

It is a good time to make a few resolutions to begin an effort to enlarge our social scope, no, not with a computer or a phone or by text or facebook.  Make a person to person effort to grow a few more friends that you see and speak to daily or weekly.  Let the anonymous keyboard go by the wayside a bit and get real. Share a smile and a burger with a real person, hug a real person, shake the hand of a stranger and share real interaction with another.

There are many columns written in the various forms of media where we can read about the cold web of social media which is really not “social” at all.  It is just written words coming from somewhere that do not really share the warmth of human interaction.  Certainly, the social media platforms can assist in this new idea of real human interaction but in and of itself, it is as cold as no interaction at all.  Facebook has become a speed method to pretend that you have 30 or 300 friends that you have never met.

This is not meant to be a time of loneliness or for worrying the lamentations of things gone wrong or well in the past, it is a time of celebration of a new birth, new horizons, new possibilities and self worth as we are freshly validated by our Savior. Our Christian celebration is large, 2.5 billion people worldwide, so we are not alone. It is a time to recognize the possibilities offered us by the Christ.  And yes, one reaps a greater gift by giving that which we can offer no matter how large or small the gift.

Let us share ourselves with others with real smiles, real love, real interaction and real warmth, personally, without the aide of a keyboard. Try a Christmas church service, go to a celebration of choir music or a public nativity scene, invite some folks over for some holiday snacks and maybe a bit of NOG (with or without.)

As you drive around town and during your regular visits to a gas station, the pharmacy, or the grocery store, be on the look out for someone that might need a bit of help at the check out counter. God will show you which person to help and he will show you how to respectfully and quietly, assist that person without shame or embarrassment.  The sincerity and quiet of your demeanor will overpower their pride.  Quietly, ask permission to help. Or take a pizza to the fire station, take a few dozen cup cakes to the Sheriff’s department.

Let us forsake the lame effort of socializing thru social media and get ourselves in line for a real hug from a real person this Christmas as we offer them as well. Next year we will be able to look back and feel the full warmth of one more Christmas past and it just gets better from there.

Love and warmth this Christmas,

TPP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hristian celebration is large, 2.5 billion people and it is a time of renewal, of salvation and positive change that brings love, hope and joy for all of us.

So, invite real interaction with a person — share a smile.   Attend a church service, listen to a holiday choir in person and surprise someone at the grocery store or the pharmacy with a gift at the check out counter. The warmth will show itself and the joy will return.

We must shrug off the lessons taught us by those that profit and tend to perpetuate social media for many reasons.  We have become duped into believing that reaching out with a keyboard is sufficient.  It is not.  Reach out with your hand, heart and a smile.  There will be many happy returns and a renewal of that warmth that is so evidently missing in our lives, that which is so very necessary for such social beings that we are as humans.

Rejoice and have a Merry Christmas, a spiritual renewal and a resolved new year where we step back away from some technologies and get ourselves in line for a real hug.

TPP