Christmas All Year Long

Does anyone else think that the 12 days of Christmas might be in danger of turning into the 12 months of Christmas? As a society it seems we have settled into a pattern of inching backward every year on the calendar to earlier and earlier acceptable times for “getting our Christmas on.” I’m reminded of something my dad used to say, “There are only two seasons anymore, Fourth of July and Christmas.” He had a legitimate point, as I’ve seen Christmas supplies for sale as early as August in the last couple of years.

I suppose, at one level, there might not be anything wrong with extending the holiday season. While I’m on the topic, I certainly don’t see why we can’t call it the holiday season. I refuse to stop recognizing Thanksgiving, and it is part of the holidays. New Year’s Day is also part of the season of celebration. If you ever hear me say, “happy holidays,” it’s not because I’m being politically correct, it’s because the word holiday is derived from two words, “holy day” and it means a time of commemoration. It’s not anti-religious. It’s a pro-religious term.

Celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier is a means for retailers, who are often struggling to stay in business, to sell more merchandise. In spite of my current views on consumerism, I’ve owned a retail store and I know how tough it is. Also, many people take great pleasure and comfort in their Christmas decorations. Anything which brings joy can’t be all bad. Maybe I’m just giving up and giving in to the inevitable, but I know that I certainly don’t get up in arms over Christmas mayhem like I have in previous times. 

I remember my very first letter to the editor of The West Plains Daily Quill, going on 40 years ago. At the time, I was livid about the “commercialization” of Christmas. I can’t remember what I thought was so crass about what was going on, but I’m guessing  by today’s standards, whatever was so awful then would be considered quaint now. I do know back then that businesses didn’t feel pressured to be open on Thanksgiving and there weren’t Christmas decorations up before Halloween.

Maybe one day there will be Christmas all year long, with the 25th of every month set aside as a special day for feasting and exchanging gifts. It would be a job creator, for sure, by providing more steady employment for Santa Claus and his elves. In the year 2035, Easter will fall on March 25. That particular day could be a “super holiday,” with perhaps the Easter bunny and Santa Claus giving each other a hand in filling stockings and hiding eggs to relieve stress on the both of them. (The tooth fairy won’t be able to help. She will be too busy from all the teeth falling out due to the extra candy distribution.) We could have the world’s biggest fireworks display to celebrate, once again lighting up the sky over Bethlehem.

I’m not trying to be flippant or cranky. I suppose I’m merely wishing we could all relax a little during the last two months of the year without feeling the pressure to achieve some unattainable level of Christmas perfection. In the midst of settling down, we would likely find more of the peace and goodwill which ideally comes with the commemoration of the birth of Jesus.

Improving on Nature

I know there are proponents of daylight saving time, but I'm wondering if the tide has turned mostly against the idea. Judging from Facebook posts, it would seem the answer is, "End daylight saving time!"

I am not a fan for a variety of reasons. Mostly because daylight saving time is a perfect example of how the level of our human arrogance has increased as civilization has advanced. We have made 'improvements' to things like water by bottling it, farming by using deadly chemicals and our food supply by genetically modifying it. With daylight saving time humankind even has the audacity to think we can improve on something as simple and basic as the rising and the setting of the sun.

There is ample evidence to suggest that these items I mention, and many others I could name, actually are a better way of doing things. Just ask Monsanto. Monkeying around with nature earns this corporate giant $1.5 billion in quarterly profits. Its version of improving on nature certainly seems 'better' to shareholders even if it comes at great cost to our health and to the environment.

There is a rhythm in nature that is simple. A rhythm which is not at odds with life but rather in sync. One way to express this harmony is recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes as:

There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens

I believe it suggests, in the case of daylight saving time, that if we would relax and stop demanding that the rising and the setting of the sun conform to our schedule we might be less stressed and happier. Wouldn't it be better to leave the clocks alone, enjoy the changing of the seasons and adjust our activities accordingly?
 

Life's Direction

I understand why so many people want to hide away from the world and not seek to be aware of the ills of society. There are big problems 'out there,' overwhelming conditions, situations seemingly beyond our control. For most of us -- those who will likely read this post -- home is safe. Home is good. Home is where we don't have to think about how what we do affects those unknown masses around us. We can live in a cocoon of protection. 

I believe it is not apathy or indifference which most often keeps us from trying to do more than we do. Most of us care a great deal about others, about the world. We want to make a difference. My theory is it is more usually a vague fear of not being able to do enough. We think we will do something small and it will be insignificant. Or maybe we'll try to do something big and we'll fall flat. People might even make fun of us for making an attempt.

On days like today, when the leaves are various shades of perfection and the view outside my window is about as heavenly as I can imagine, it's easy to not think about problems, far and near, about the future of our country or our planet. Here and now is enough. Perhaps my family is all I need. I consider sinking into isolation and just being still. But then I think about my daughter and her children and the world they'll be living in when I'm gone. Will it be worse than now? Can it be better?

Not everyone is wired the same way. A quiet life of reflection and living at peace with others is a good life. For some, that is how they change the world. It is not for any of us to judge what is the right course, what is the best way for anyone else. What I know for myself is at this point in my life I can't unknow the things I've discovered. I can't stop thinking about how maybe I can help change things for the better.

So, I suppose what I'm saying is this. I'm not shy about giving advice, but when I sound preachy, when I write about what Jesus would do or what our obligation is to the world, I hope anyone who reads my rambling will frame it in the way which is best for individual circumstances. None of us know what is the best course for others, certainly I don't. Sometimes I don't even know if what I'm doing is the best course for me!

But any hesitation I'm feeling this morning will pass, I'm sure. Be looking for a couple of  announcements which will be coming in the weeks ahead. One thing is something fun a friend and I are thinking about doing and another is something pretty crazy I'm planning to do. It's a big venture, it will require lots of help and I'm hoping maybe some of you will want to go along for the ride.

What Is Right With People?

What is wrong with people? They are loud and obnoxious. Their phone manners are terrible, especially now that cell phones intrude everywhere. Their driving habits are infuriating. They seem determined to be disagreeable and their goal must be to make us unhappy. Sound a little familiar?

Of course in laying out those complaints, the question should be turned around to ask, “What is wrong with ME?” Because when it comes to talking about people, “they” are “us.” (Or "we" to be grammatically correct.) For every behavior by those around us which annoys and irritates, we are inflicting some irksome behavior (maybe several!) on others. Even for the most saintly among us, everyone is likely making someone else’s life less enjoyable than it could be. There is always room for improvement and the improvement lies within the rule called golden, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

We’re all in it together, this imperfect and sometimes downright crazy world. Our lives are intertwined and connected. Sometimes we have a bad day. Sometimes we have a long, rough week. Sometimes life hits a sour stretch with happenings beyond our control. It’s easy enough to make excuses for ourselves, but are we willing to give others the benefit of the doubt?

Only occasionally is someone trying to make us miserable. Most everyone is focused on his or her own concerns. Often there's no time to concentrate on what's going on with everyone else. (Which is sad in itself.) Many are struggling just to get by, wrestling with issues of health or having trouble in relationships. But in spite of that, most everyone is also striving to do better, to be better. 

Maybe the question should be, “What is right with people?” There certainly is always good to be found. For everyone you meet who seems to be unpleasant, remember there is always something you don’t know about him or her. Maybe they’re carrying a heavy burden and their heart is weary. Pain often comes out in ways which seem as though someone is  merely trying to be disagreeable.

And for every truly unpleasant person out there, who really is just not very nice, there are many, many more who are kind, compassionate and helpful. There is a lot wrong with the world, but thankfully, there is an awfully lot which is right. Look for the good and find it.

Proof

I don't ordinarily offer book reviews/recommendations as a blog topic, but I've just finished reading "Proof of Heaven, A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife," by Eben Alexander, M.D. and I found it to be a fascinating read.

In it Alexander recounts his amazing experiences during a week-long coma brought on by a rare for adults (less than one in 10 million annually contract it) E.coli bacterial meningitis. The mortality rate is more than 90 percent and those who do survive are usually in a persistent vegetative state. Yet he not only miraculously survives, but regains all of his faculties.

He begins the prologue with an Albert Einstein quote, "A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be." It's an apt way for him to start to describe how, as a scientist and physician, he had his mind changed in a profound way about the possibility of an afterlife. Spoiler alert: he now strongly believes that physical death is not the end of our human consciousness. Well, given the title, that's probably not much of a surprise.

He also speaks of the existence of the connection of the two realms. From the book:

"To experience thinking outside the brain is to enter a world of instantaneous connections that make ordinary thinking (i.e., those aspects limited by the physical brain and the speed of light) seem like some hopelessly sleepy and plodding event. Our truest, deepest self is completely free. It is not crippled or compromised by past actions or concerned with identity or status. It comprehends that it has no need to fear the earthly world, and therefore, it has no need to build itself up through fame or wealth or conquest."

I believe in the heart, the soul, of every human is a desire to understand what lies beyond, to know bits and pieces about that which has been deemed unknowable. People of faith, men and women of science, believers, skeptics and those who are firmly undecided about the meaning of life or the existence of a realm which comes after, we all are curious about exactly what happens when we die.

I certainly have my own thoughts on the matter. Alexander does too. Like any other book on this topic, there are detractors. But I would suggest his "proof" is not as easily dismissed as some would claim. 

Coffee Mug Moratorium

I'm short on substance today. Long on platitudes: have a great day, pay it forward, smile, be the change you want to see, etc.

But I do have a random observation. Aren't there already enough coffee mugs in the world? I bet there are at least three in existence for every person in the United States. That would be around a billion, which seems about right. I think we should halt all manufacturing of coffee mugs and merely recycle the ones that are out there. Go to your local thrift store and pay a quarter each for mugs and give them as Christmas gifts to all of your friends and family. Include an assortment of teabags, homemade hot chocolate mix or favorite coffee.

That's it. No further observation or deep thought. Well, except that the billion coffee-mugs-out-there figure is totally made up, like probably half (also a figure I just made up) the stuff I've seen on Facebook this week. So, there is that.

 Please be honest. Make an effort to not spread lies and rumors. That's my other platitude for the day. (But I'm serious about recycling mugs.)

This is how it works

One of the things I love about living in the Ozarks is the sense of community and the abundance of generosity. There were so many festivals going on yesterday it was impossible to make the rounds of all of them. Citizens in places like Gainesville, Koshkonong and Goodhope did the hard work of organizing fun gatherings which brought people from miles around to visit with dear friends and make new acquaintances.

Also on Saturday were at least two fundraising events in West Plains. One was for Ozarks Medical Center and one was for Tanner Lager. Tanner is a 12-year-old West Plains boy who was has been battling Ewing's Sarcoma cancer for five years. You can visit the Facebook page set up for his event to find out more: Tanner's Fight Benefit. If you'd like to help, call the organizers or send a message. The money raised is to help with expenses for the family and for Tanner's wish/bucket list. It's difficult to think of a 12-year-old who has come up with a bucket list. It includes things like eating lobster, going to a Ram's game and seeing the Statue of Liberty. 

His mom told me he's a fighter and they're not giving up. They're always waiting for one more experimental study to come his way. The one he just finished failed to shrink his tumors which are now starting to invade his lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe. In the meantime he's undergoing yet another round of chemotherapy. Scores of people showed up to buy baked goods and t-shirts, bid on silent and live auction items and purchase raffle tickets.

I think of how we see the example being set by our leaders in Washington of division and strife, of accentuating our differences, which make us weak, rather than our common bonds which show our strength. I guarantee you that those gathered yesterday at the events I've mentioned and many others are of all different religious and political persuasions. And none of that mattered. We all come together to do what we can to make a difference.

The second chapter of the Book of Acts is one of my favorite sections of scripture for a variety of reasons. Verses 42-47 (with the sub-heading "The Ingathering" in my Bible) speak of the hope that comes when we live united, when we live with purpose, when we use our strengths to help make the miraculous happen.

I wish every member of Congress could have been at Tanner's benefit yesterday. I would have told them THIS is how it works. THIS is how we get things done. THIS is what makes a nation great. We work together and we don't care who gets the credit. I would have said to them as Peter preached in Acts 2, repent and ask for forgiveness.

Since the current Congress isn't interested in repenting (changing course), we have to rely on each other to do what we can, like we always have. Pray for the members of Congress. They have, almost without exception, lost their way. They are blind, they are poor in spirit and they don't know what they're missing by not working together. I hope they see the light soon.