On the one hand, the holidays are a great time. Everything is so festive. There are lights everywhere. There’s the anticipation of gifts. People tend to be in great moods. There is excitement in the air. And you can almost feel the good will.
On the other hand, this time of year makes me realize just how defective we are as a species. This is the one time of year when everyone knows right from wrong. We know how we should act. We know that being kind and charitable and forgiving makes the world better. We like the idea of bringing joy to others. It is a time of year when family feuds are forgotten, old friends are remembered and we all spend a few moments to think about things greater than what happened at work today or what that dipstick did in Washington. BUT. . .
. . . BUT what this really highlights is how poor we are as people the rest of the year. We KNOW how to do it right because we do it right for a couple weeks each December. We even promise ourselves that we will keep doing it right throughout the year. . . from now. Yet, within days of Christmas, we are back to the way we were. We are complaining about the boss or the coworkers, the spouse, the kids, the neighbors, the jerks in Washington. We have no desire to help our fellow man and we stop thinking about being selfless and we become self-centered.
So why are we like this? We KNOW that being this way year round will make us happier, even if we’re the only ones doing this. We KNOW that if everyone acted this way year round, the world would be an infinitely better place. Yet, we don’t act this way year round. Maybe, when people talk about the meaning of life, what we are missing is right there in front of us. Maybe the meaning of life is to find a way to become the people we know we want to be? That would be fitting wouldn’t it, for the answer to the question everyone wants to know to be hidden right there, in plain site, already known to each of us?
Think about it.
Maybe this year, you should give the real gift of happiness and become the person you always aspired to be?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. Thanks for reading and participating and just being such a great e-family. I wish you all happiness and peace in the coming year.
73 comments:
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you Andrew and all the Commentaramarians! This site has brought me a little bit of happiness throughout this past year.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.
.....and I swear I'll keep Christmas in my heart ALL year long. Just like the spirits foretold!
Yes, the world will definitely be a much better place, if everybody pretended like it was the holiday season, everyday of the year. In the end of the day, utopia is not for this world. Humans are flawed beings by nature. We can only go to the path in life, if we choose to. Many do, but also, sadly, many don't.
Merry Christmas to you, too, Andrew! I can't wait to see what the Commentarama family has in store for 2013! It looks like our family here is getting huge, but hopefully it doesn't get to big! LOL! God bless you all!
I have to tell you what my 12 year old nephew said...he told his mom that he thinks the world already ended and we just missed it. We're already in Heaven, he said.
How nice that his life is so good that it could just morph into heaven without his noticing. Then my sister said, what if the mayans are right and here we are making fun of them? In all seriousness my nephew replied, "I'm not making fun of them. I'm a believer. I'm a doomsday prepper."
She asked what he's done to prep. His answer, "Enjoyed my life."
Beautiful. Maybe that is all we really need to do to prep for "the end of the world" or whatever comes...just enjoy our lives. Be happy. Spread joy and happiness.
Bless you all, and merry Christmas.
Beautiful indeed, Tam! The pure innocence of a child can make any cynical adult happy!
In my own defense, I maintain being a jerk all through the holidays. The only thing that I improve this time of year is my alcohol tolerance.
Give Scrooge credit, he was no holiday hypocrite.
I think you are right Andrew
we should all aspire to be better people but in order to get to a point where we can stop complaining about the jerks in Washington I think there needs to be no jerks in Washington. But there will be jerks in Washington as long as we complain about them.
it's Catch 22
Merry Christmaqs Everyone!
If we weren't cranky the rest of the year, how would we know we are better for two weeks?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends here at Commentarama! I hope 2013 brings all the joy and happiness you need.
although it's been said many times, many ways . . . Merry Christmas . . . to you! Commentarama has been for many years, for the most part, THE blog I've enjoyed. And really it's the only one where I have participated. That actually says quite a bit, I think.
It has been a tough year in many,many ways, not all that can be shared. Can't even come close to saying how much I miss Hawk, but Andrew, you continue to be a well reasoned voice, even when I don't necessarily agree. Your energy is unbelievable, and I do hope that your novels eventually get the recognition they deserve. And as far as all the folks who also stop by here, you are almost always polite and interesting, and I've enjoyed what you have to say.
Merry Christmas guys! Give all your family and friends a big hug when you see them, just because.
Thanks Patriot! I'm glad we brought you some happiness! :) I've really enjoyed blogging because it's been great meeting all of you.
Snape, True, utopia is not for this world. But it's just fascinating that it is within our power to make it happen... we just don't. Even making our own lives better would do it, but so many just can't see that. Sad.
Still, I hope everyone thinks about this and realizes that they have the power to make their own lives better... it's actually very simple.
Merry Christmas to you too and you are right, our family is growing all the time. Between the two sites, I estimate that we have 600 regular visitors and that's up from 400 last year.
Tam, That's fantastic!
"Enjoyed my life." ... Maybe that is all we really need to do to prep for "the end of the world" or whatever comes...just enjoy our lives. Be happy. Spread joy and happiness.
That is really insightful. :)
Merry Christmas!
tryanscrooge, LOL! I do give you points for consistency! :D
Merry Humbug to you!
Indi, It is a catch 22. And it's impossible to not fight back against people who are intent on running your life in a way you don't want.
But just remember to keep your good humor. Remember to distinguish what is important and what isn't and keep a perspective on how things will really affect you personally. Don't let them ruin your life.
Merry Christmas!
Bev, If we weren't cranky the rest of the year, how would we know we are better for two weeks?
I almost spit out my drink when I read that! LOL!
Happy Hanukkah to you Bev! And I too wish you a happy (and better) 2013. :)
Jed, Thanks! I'm glad you like the blog that much and I'm glad you participate! Your thoughts are always intelligent and interesting and it's been a real pleasure debating with you throughout the years. :)
Thank you for your well-wishes on the novels. I would love to see them catch on. And you never know, close to 40,000 people have the one so maybe one of them thinks it would make a cool film?
Anyway, Merry Christmas and I wish you the best in the holiday season and the coming year.
Merry Christmas, T-Rav! Well said. :)
Merry Christmas, Commentaramans!!!
relax, enjoy, give and get hugs, take pictures, and love!!!!
(Hey - there's a branding opportunity there: Commentaraman Noodles!
Get the BREs on that right away - we might actually get enough for that Commentarama Island!!!)
rlaWTX, How cool would a Commentarama Island be?! I'll talk to the BREs!
Merry Christmas to you too!
FYI, Anyone looking to caption the photo on the film site, there's an invisible t-shirt in it for the winner! :)
LINK
Commentarama Island? May I ask who will be playing the part of the smoke monster?
I thought all islands come with their own smoke monsters?
Can we get Daniel Craig to be the smoke monster? If not, I nominate Tryanscrooge.
When I was living in Salt Lake City, a man woke up one morning and panicked. He believed that he and his family had all gone to hell. He loaded the family into the car and broke into one of the temples hoping to pray their way to heaven. He did have a small problem with taking too much meth at times. But, it got me wondering that maybe Mormon hell is much nicer than Catholic hell.
We will all have to suffer terribly before the rapture. We won't be lucky enough to just snuff out. This is probably why Obama was re-elected. We are currently being punished and tortured. Somehow I thought it would be worse but perhaps God isn't sadistic like people can be.
I am working around Christmas but have the day itself off. My parents are in town and fortunately they are very low key and easy to please. I wish everyone safe travels and a Merry Christmas.
Andrew, no, they have to have a magical core with special water and....something something good and evil something.
caption the picture: chestnuts roatsing on an open fire
I'd rather have misfit toys than a smoke monster.
misfit toys sounds good... as long as "Talking Tina"** isn't included...
Tam, getting Daniel Craig onto the island is a GREAT idea!
(**Twilight Zone)
Why can't we have both misfit toys AND a smoke monster?
rlaWTX, Yes, let's avoid Talking Tina.
rlaWTX & Tam, I'm down with Daniel Craig being the smoke monster. He can do the role justice. :)
Jed, Bravo!!
Koshcat, Yeah, being on meth may have helped him with his vision.
Merry Christmas and best wishes on the job.
P.S. I see no evidence that God is a sadist, humans are masochists.
I don't care what anyone says, Talking Tina's got nothing on that episode with all the mannequins. **shudder**
Those mannequins are downright nasty.
Maybe we can get all the Bonds to live in Commentarama Isle and maybe McGiver (just in case we need a bomb made of coconut shells, banana leaves and seawater!)! No mannequin either of the department store or magazine variety shall be welcomed.
Bev, LOL! We'd have the world's greatest secret service that's for sure! :)
Wishing each one of you a blessed Christmas.
I'm already having one, as I just discovered a magical product called "Cookie Butter" made from actual cookies.
Today I'm making sugar cookies and then will spread cookie butter between two of them. BAM! Heaven.
Cookie butter? Arg... must have.... arg.
Ooh cookie butter from Trader Joes Mmmmmmmmmm. If you like that sort of thing...
Bev, My life felt much more complete before I read Patti's comment... now there's a glaring hole I must fill.
Speaking as a fat kid, I must admit, that's a little too "fat kid" for me. I'll stick with Nutella and Marias.
Oh, I found a much better picture.
I do enjoy Nutella... but cookie butter? Must... have...
gotta google cookie butter....
Check this out... Heart Death In A Jar... Yummy, yummy heart death.
I wonder if it's too late to call Santa?
bev: YES! from trader joe's. ours opened in the fall and someone told me about this magical cookie butter...i swear, if we sat all the politicians down right before a session and told them that they were required to EAT IT, we would then have some lovely outcomes.
yes, it's *that* good.
tmax: have you ever had it?! come on, man...join bev and me (and andrew as soon as he can get his mitts on some).
rlaWTX: DO IT! your life will never be the same.
a caveat about cookie butter: after i ate my many many cookie butter-filled sugar cookies, i put the rest in the freezer to take to our christmas eve dinner. those little bastards haven't stopped calling my name since. they are my new christmas crack.
forewarned is...oh what the hell, one more won't hurt.
~to the freezer~
Patti, I hear rumors of a Trader Joes in Denver, so I will look into this asap. :)
You know what's great? Snickerdoodles right as they come out of the oven, when they're hot and soft. Sugar cookies and chocolate chip, too, but only if they're done right--the former can't be too doughy and the latter can't be too hard. Peanut butter can't be too hard-baked, either, and...and now I've got a craving for cookies again. I'm gonna weigh 200 pounds by New Year's, I swear to God.
T-Rav, Cookies are a worthy cause for gaining weight. :)
Hmm. There is a Trader Joe's near my house. Hmm.
Hmm.
Cookie butter? So it's like peanut butter, but tastes like cookie dough? Looks tasty and I'm within walking distance from a Trader's Joe. Hate going in there, though. Lines are always long!
Don't get me started, T. I'm within reach of reaching 200 pounds, myself. I currently weigh 189! I gained like 5-6 pounds, already! My godfather just gave my fiancee and I, a Holiday ham! Let's just say, I had more than my share of ham today...
No matter the time of year, my weight gain methods of choice are jellybeans and hamburgers.
Severus,
Within reach of 200 is a problem for you? I wish I was within reach of 200.
My ideal weight was 240 a decade ago when I was an avid weightlifter, but now I weight 40 pounds more and I work out a lot less.
think of cookie butter as a spread. it has the color of peanut butter and is spreadable like pb, but it's roll-your-eyes-back-into-your-head abilities far outweigh (oops) pb.
Anthony, can you believe these whiners? I'm with you. I'd love to be within reach of 200. For my part, I'm proud to say I've lost 50 lbs. from July - November and I'm equally proud to say I've at least not gained a pound in December. But I've still got another 50 to go before I'm to my goal.
Yep. My ideal weight is 220, but I haven't seen that in years. I'm trying to get back toward it though with pretty decent success.
y'all need to come run with me. then you can eat all the glorious whateveres you want.
Anthony, hopefully not at the same time. Hamburgers and jellybeans sound like a wacky combination, though I enjoy both separately. :-)
Ho ho ho... Merry Christmas Commentaramans!
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Three Olives Loopy Vodka, which is, I kid you not, Fruit Loops flavored vodka.
This is gonna be the best Christmas, provided I can remember it! LOL
Merry Christmas, Andrew!
fruit loop flavored vodka?! ~faint~
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Anthony and tryanmax, according to my BMI, being 5'11'' and weighing 189 pounds, I'm slightly overweight, now! I, too, used to be in the chubbier side. I used to weigh 245 pounds! Keep going, you'll eventually reach your goal, tryanmax!
Fruit Loops? For realsies? Being a teetotaler, I'm not too crazy for the vodka part...
With my true love being a fashionista, she gave me very stylish grey coat! Without her I'll still be wearing the same clothes from my high school years! lol
Merry Christmas, X! :)
Fruit Loop flavored vodka? LOL! What will they think of next?
Snape, Congratulations! :) I had an infection in my legs a few years back which actually hospitalized me at one point and kept me immobile for a long time, so I'm not even going to tell you what I got up to. But I'm slowly but surely getting back to where I want to be.
Congrats on the fiance too! :D
Hmmm. No vodka for Christmas, but my church did serve actual wine for Communion at the Christmas Eve service, which is extremely rare for a Methodist congregation.
Hope everyone had a good haul in presents. Among other things, I got the DVDs of Firefly and Dark Knight Rises, so I foresee a lot of viewing in the near future. Especially if I wake up tomorrow morning to 12 inches of snow. :-)
Just getting in under the wire, but MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone!
12 inches snow! Damn! I feel like a wuss, after complaining of the recent mid-40 temperatures, we have here in the Bay Area... Anything below 60 is freezing cold for us Californians! LOL
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