Is it just ME, or do you,
too, sometimes feel a bit melancholy around holiday time?
As a kid, I remember Nanny Johnston looking a little sad this
time of year. We were all excited in
anticipation of the big day; how could anyone be sad?
As I grew older Nanny shared her perspective. She said, for the young, the holiday
season (she never didn’t call it
Christmas!) is all about looking forward; wondering, hoping, wishing. She continued. For older folk, it’s about remembering;
looking back.
I suppose the rhythm of the holidays spawns a natural ebb
and flow all its own. What we don’t even
realize we are thinking can begin to overwhelm us. Subconscious, or not, those thoughts are
still there, they are very real, and they are the most powerful thoughts of
all.
The great Mentor, Napoleon Hill told us that the only thing
we can control is our thoughts. Easier
said than done, sir?
While each turn of the calendar is its own blessing, I have
come to believe that each blessing comes with a price tag of sorts. I am by no mean maudlin by nature but I
believe the balance sheet of life will always, somehow, balance out.
I have learned that the depth of pain and loss, the grief
and emptiness we feel at certain times of the year can only exist as the result
of love and joy shared with those we miss.
TheIWLA added a story to the Resource Center (Inspiration)
today (12/7/12), GRIEF AND GRATITUDE
That’s what got me thinking.
Please give it a quick read: Grief and Gratitude
May I offer this?
Regardless of what holiday you celebrate or how you celebrate it,
remember to honor your feelings, your thoughts, your memories. You owe that to
yourself and to those who fill those memories, good and bad, who have shared
this journey with you and who have brought you to today.
There is amazing scene in the Godfather Trilogy where an
older Michael reflects on a family gathering from years gone-by. The scene shifts from the color of the
current shot to a black and white scene around the dining table of the Corleone
family. In an almost shadowed picture,
we hear the voice of the late Sonny, we hear laughter. It is obviously a moment Michael feels worthy
of remembering; yet he is sad.
I have scenes like that in my mind – they are good
ones. I picture my Grandmothers and the
excitement – I now understand – they may have feigned for our benefit. I
picture my Dad – the biggest kid in the family - on his stomach under the tree fixing the
trains. I remember Mom trying to finish
putting together our Christmas outfits – then worrying about what she would
wear. Yes, these memories can be tough
but I wouldn’t trade all the tears in the world for them to go away.
So, IS it just me , Nanny
Johnston, and Sandra Abell, author of the story referenced, above, who have
been lucky enough to have reason to feel a bit blue at the holidays. ? I hope not.
Dear Nanny,
Wishing you
all the joy, love, peace, and happiness you gave us and for teaching us the
true meaning of Christmas.
For ever and ever, .
Love, Bethy
Please, share a Christmas memory…
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