The Cold Darkness

Is there in reality a better way to describe this day? Another cold and dark one. I miss you Mr. Sun. Sitting alone, just finishing my wonderful breakfast, I can think of many things that will need to be done today. Yet, my mind wanders off to another day, past....

On Sunday, we saw the likes of Scrooge and everyone knows his story, one of bitterness...He made all the wrong choices in life, with his obsessiveness to money, nothing else mattered to him, succumbed by avarice, he was already the "living dead." The message was, you are never to old to change your ways with a change of heart, and you'd better do it before it is too late. That state of emptiness, requires divine intervention, and the good spirits led Scrooge down an enlightened path. But what of us? Are we to be so lucky?

This morning, I read someones comment on face book. She just couldn't get into the Christmas Spirit. Is what we go through an act? Do we dread it each year repeating the same doldrums? Is there depression, sadness and emptiness? If it weren't for the concerted effort of the shopkeepers and commercialism to sell their goods, in order to meet their anticipated sales quotas, would we be in the mood? Or, are we putting on a act, while hiding what we truly feel within? If so, isn't it time for a change?

What are you enthusiastic for, or, has the lamp grown cold? You can get children all excited about elves, Santa, and magical, holiday movies. But what about the real Christmas? Where is Christmas? We make so much to do about the unessential, and forget the real meaning.

A commenter on the post, answered with an invitation for the woman to involve herself in meaningful activities, those that give to others, with the hope that it will "ignite that spark". That sort of is how Scrooge, in the play, changed to make his life, "a gift" to those around him. Did it change the lonely man, entirely? We're not told that. The real change would be though, when he finally went to his grave, someone could "miss him" and remember his "kindness." His chance for love and his own family were lost because of greed. (Me, myself, and I). We cannot look back. It is too bad the "ghosts" didn't serve him "notice" when he was young enough to enjoy life fully.

The other characters in the story, Bob his employee, would not give in to the impending gloom, celebrating Christmas with his children and wife, even with the loss of his livelihood. Tiny Tim, and the other siblings found joy in small things and along with mom, would be appreciative for what they had, basically a roof over their head and each other, not all in the best health. A whisper of the"impending death" of young Tim, was heard by the prediction one of the ghosts.

How do you fit in this season? Maybe you feel like the saddened and jilted fiancee? Or, Jacob Marley, with a warning to change your ways or earn a fate worse than his. It was a great play and had a great message. My dad and I saw it on television many years together. The ghost knocker and the chains rattling always scared the living out of me. At the end of the movie the narrator always stated that Scrooge learned to keep the Christmas season well. He had become a benevolent, and changed man.

It isn't that he became "happy", but in his merryment, he wasn't the same old "humbug" that he was. Christmas was never about "things." Scrooge gave, possibly in taxes to prisons and workhouses, as we all do our share. It takes so much more. Generosity should be an individual decision, which comes from a heart that has not grown cold. There are many charities to choose from.

We are living in a time where there is much need. At the same time their is a focus on self, becoming oblivious to the other. The problem is that we've come from an era not of want. How do you go from there to here? Are you depressed again this year? Do you worry about how your going to give your spoiled kids "all that they see commercially, what their friends are going to bragging about getting"? It wasn't always this way. Why did we, and do we allow this to continue to happen? What are we teaching our children? What are we, ourselves?

Yesterday, I put a DVD on for my grandson, it was the Nativity Story. He showed absolutely no interest. I left it on and explained to him about the star in the sky, which the three kings followed, as he enjoys hearing about weather and the sky. Later, he told me, while having his snack, that he saw the kings coming to see "Jesus." The movie showed the light, and the wonder." I could envision it all as I tended to his little baby brother. I told him he was such a smart boy, and how did he know that it was "Jesus" that they had come to see? He replied, "you did, grandma". That is as simple as it gets. That is where Christmas is, past, present and future. You can't make Christmas, because Christmas is a "real" place. Christmas is in your heart.

The difference is not where, but what are you expecting? Do you have Christmas in your heart, or is it something else?