Topic Tuesday #73 2013/12/10 - "Remain Calm"

It is the holiday season and many people are freaked out. There's a preponderance of reasons why people go nuts, and particularly at this time of year. Money is often spent frivolously, and often borrowed to do so. Relationships are strained as people remember old times. The holidays are like a cultural birthday, and everyone just got a year older. For many, it's the saddest time, because it used to be the happiest time. We grieve and feel the loss of the ages. We miss those that have left our lives. We feel out of control, like something is just pulling our strings as we go through the motions of the humdrum day to day. There are many reasons why bah-humbuggery is ever present.
What do you do to make it through? To just survive the cacophony and malaise that hearing holiday music (now starting at Halloween) is challenging enough for some.
Our minds play horrible games with us. We hear things that aren't there. We see remembered faces in everything from cocoa to decorations. Our own boogymen haunt our thoughts and demean our self esteems.
By all accounts, it's a lousy time of year!
But it is beautiful.
The houses decorated in lights.
(if you happen to live outside Florida and the southern hemisphere [happy summer folks!])
The leaves turning colors and the remaining ones blanketed in snow.
Children smiling and giggling.
The smell of cinnamon, pine, and deserts like pie and cookies.
Wondering what you might get for a present, or what faces you will get to see.
There is a lot to be thankful for and  to be joyous about.
It's tricky. As we age, the wonder is driven out of us by the piper of progress and responsibility. But if you just sit, quietly, and focus beyond yourself, you may see that the rest of the world is a pretty great place. There is wonder still, if you calm down enough to look for it. New experiences are always there to be had. The seasons show us that life can begin again, year after year. Remain calm. A new beginning is right around the corner, waiting to be found.