Tis the Season.....

For What??

Crazy lines, insane rude black Friday garbage, traffic, more traffic, too little sleep, stress and deadlines, family issues, financial frustration, credit card fear, sugar jacked up kids, trees and lights that have to get up now, colds and coughing people everywhere, hundreds of well meaning messages on every social you ever tried out, 1000 texts to your phone and beyond from retailers fighting for your retail dollars, mail boxes stuffed full of junk, 1000 more commercials with that funny Target lady......  I CAN GO ON BUT YOU GET THE IDEA...

Greed, Lust and Stress seem to encapsulate the American Dream in hindsight, yet we seldom plan such pain for ourselves by choice! The Holidays bring us in close proximity to family and old friends that we really want to impress. We are constantly comparing our position to those above and below us, looking for some emotional support and we find instead, pride were we look better than, and jealousy were we feel less blessed.....

I don't think this is the goal. I don't think this ever was the goal. I would suggest every individual starts off with a  very different race start --- BUT too often we end up with the same race results.

Let me first ask WHY????

Lots of reasons but I know it is our nature as human beings, with great aspirations and lofty personal assessments, yet falling very short to our own standards and often finding additional support in our short comings from the people we love.... OUCH! The Christian worldview includes the awareness of a fallen world and offers some insight to how and why.... BOTTOM LINE - Greed, Pride, Insecurities, Projecting, Self Focus, Selfishness, Ego, Self, ME ME ME, MINE MINE MINE, I, Me, I'm, We, Ours, Mine, ------  How We See ourselves and what we want others to see ends up calling the shots!

We Buy things we don't need, want and we can't afford; to impress people we don't even like!

We are attacked every few seconds with images in marketing junk online. The TV is non-stop stupid, blaring messages of "YOU HAVE GOT TO GET THIS!! EVERYONE ELSE IS GOING TO HAVE THIS! YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT THIS!!"

Thanksgiving - grateful for what we have - aware of the many blessings - impossible to maintain when focus shifts to what we don't have. A friend of mine made an interesting observation in dispelling the notion of good seasons and bad seasons - one or the other thinking.

I believed life was either great, bad or heading back to great - a 3 season system. If it was great, it was heading into bad so don't be too dang excited - the whole thing made sense to me. THEN I heard the word picture of 2 train tracks, side by side, one with good stuff, the other with bad stuff.....

I have since watched my circumstances and have to agree -- It is not seasons of good and bad - Life is both good and bad stuff, all at the same time! One can choose to focus on either. One can attempt to increase one or the other. You might not be able to pick and choose what rolls into the station of your life, but you can choose which side of the tracks you stand, which train you are there to welcome, who you choose to embrace, who you make plans to hang with, who you post about on your social of choice, what you advertise from either train in the station.

This focus does nothing to change to facts - Just lost my car - Love my kids! One bad - One GOOD! Happened all at the same time!

FOCUS is deciding which defines who you are! A little life complications caused by geography and transportation might be a situation -- but my KIDS are my reality! BY CHOICE! My Focus!

This is a simple example of very complex daily decisions made by everyone of us - everyday!

TODAY - I Choose to stand on the far side of the good track, welcoming and embracing every thing that comes into station. I also choose to take the creditor calls again, on Monday - they can kiss my butt on Thanksgiving weekend!!!

Many will cry - IRRESPONSIBLE!! I am not suggesting ignoring facts, even bad stuff, is ever a good idea. You have to take care of business as best you can, all the time. Irresponsible actions always have costs and those costs grow with time!

I am suggesting - FOCUS! Thanksgiving is FOCUS on the blessings, the good, the people we love and have loved, the things that really matter, the things that last beyond this life!

IF we can maintain a little of that reality - Christmas becomes a joy and the scary January credit cards will have NO BITE!

I commit to take care of the bad stuff rolling into to station as best I can. I also commit to embracing and hanging on the sweet side of the tracks, most all of everyday!

It is not all bad and it is never all good.

Life is both hard and easy, good and bad - it is a choice as to which you want to hang out with all day!

When given the choice - I think you know where to find me - far side of the good side of the tracks. Hope to see you there.....