12/25/2024: Post Festive Thoughts
A full day of festivities has come and gone. This year didn’t feel like Christmas in so many ways, and it always goes too fast now.
It’s the second year I didn’t get to decorate, and also everyone is spread out and living their lives. I always struggle to give all the people I care about enough quality time before I leave just as quickly as I came, but things usually find a way of working themselves out.
Last night and today were filled with family and lots of talking and laughter and good food, and even though we’re all full and worn out, we’re all filled with contentment and new memories to cherish.
I really do cherish the time we get now more because it’s more rare now that I’m not closeby. And I know I always point that fact out, but maybe I’m still trying to find the right words to sum up thoughts and feelings about growing up, longing and nostalgia that are impossible to describe.
I’m happy but sometimes I miss the way things were. I’m fulfilled but I’m constantly striving for more. Life is always full of contradictions but so many possibilities. And it all changes so fast that I struggle to keep up, yet I’m always eager to see where the next twist and turn will lead.
It’s all beautiful chaos, and we’re such a small part of it all, to the point where at times it’s not easy to justify our place in it. But we all aim to find meaning, and that keeps the majority of us going. For the rest of us, most days are an impossible uphill battle, and my heart goes out to them. The world needs so much more understanding and kindness, not only for those people, but also for the universe at large.
When you’ve seen or felt pure and unbridled good human nature emanate from a loved one or even a stranger that crosses your path, it’s hard not to catch that feeling of warmth and community, and that feeling of being in the same mortal and mundane boat as the next person. And there’s something really beautiful in those moments that bind us.
On the other hand, it hurts to see outright mean and insecure people ruin the good stuff for the rest of us. If only they knew the damage that such a negative outlook can cause. That pessimist’s point of view is just as contagious as the optimistic one. And maybe if people took more time to listen with their hearts and try to make real connections and positive change instead of going to war with their words, the world would be better for it.