The Dreams of Winter

Different Directions

December 24, 2021 Comments (0) journal

Seasonally

Again with the sleigh bells and the music. Stores are all closing early today, so you either have what you need or you’d better get it quick. (The corner market will still be open, of course, so as long as what you are looking for is a bottle of Almaden and a few scratch tickets, you do have more time.) But Christmas is here again, the gifts are piling up under the tree and Santa Claus is literally, right now, actually coming to town. May your days be merry and bright.

To hear some people say, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. That may be so, for many, but it is not necessarily the case for everyone. The troubles and pains that are found at any other time of the year are happening now as well and all the happy holiday music doesn’t solve any real problems. In fact, the contrast between the mental picture of how Christmas ought to be and the way things really are can be jarring, unsettling and ultimately, depressing for any of us.

Not sure why I’m thinking along these lines this morning. Perhaps it’s the call for snow tomorrow and temperatures dipping into the low teens this coming week that has me wondering about all the people who don’t have the things that I have, that I take for granted. I wonder how their mental images of Christmas match up with their realities and it’s sobering. I can’t feel the pain the way that they do, I know, but I am conscious of it and that consciousness has an effect on me.

It will still be a Merry Christmas, I am sure. But it also has me thinking about New Year’s resolutions.