its beginning to look a lot like nothing

I am sitting on a plane typing this and I am so excited I could pee (I’ve needed to pee for about 2 hours now :s). Christmas is coming!! Sure I might have many more reasons to be cheerful this season than a lot of people (I am seeing my family for the first time in 16 months, and I am escaping the frigid cold of Toronto for a week of blissful Caribbean sunshine), but I mean la navidad is a time for all to feel jollified, isn’t it?

Hmmm……maybe not…..i understand why many may be decking the halls with boughs of sulky this year. Economic recession woes seem to be plaguing everyone and dampening the Christmas spirit. That in itself speaks volumes about our society. We have become so fixated on buying shit and on material “things”….you know what I mean by “things":…..lights, presents, paint, new TVs, trees, clothes, turkeys,….we are a society so eternally fixated on material objects that all it takes is to be short a few dollars and our Christmas joys are down the craphole….

I remember as a kid, as much as I loved presents and toys and food and all those "things", those weren't what I loved most about the season. What I loved was the festive music, the smell of my mother’s cooking (no matter what it was she was actually cooking), the whole feel of the season…seeing loved ones after long periods apart, the dancing and laughing and happiness that was shared between family and friends celebrating the end of yet another hard year at work. So why cant we just be happy for the season itself, and be thankful for its meaning. The meaning I’m talking about is not the giant commercialized mess that now purports itself to be “the season to be jolly”…it is even more than just religious connotations, all respect to those who appreciate the holy roots of Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah….the season is about taking time to enjoy the little things in life, to appreciate all the blessings we may have instead of dwelling on what we have not….so cheer you poor broke souls, we’ll get the lavish stuff whenever the Obama administration is able to fix this economic mess…in the meantime, lets sit back and enjoy the essence of Christmas, because that’s what Christmas, in essence, is all about….