It Will Be Over In Just A Few Days...

Well, in a few days the wrapping paper will be strewn on the floor. The kids and grandkids will be playing with their new toys while we older folks secretly wish we were down there on the floor with them. In many cases, families will be gathered around tables loaded with enough food to feed three times as many people and kinfolks will renew acquaintance with relatives they haven’t seen in months.

I recall attending one of several Christmas parties a few years back and I overhearing someone say that by the time the “big day” rolls around she was going to be a cross between the Grinch and Scrooge. This time of year can be very exasperating. There are parties for the entire office, the department, professional association parties, networking group parties, and parties at the homes of friends. Then there’s looking for gifts for people who are impossible to buy for (my wife), trying to get your hands on that hot new toy that your children or grandchildren just have to have, addressing cards, making travel plans, coordinating everyone’s schedule, and wrapping presents. And of course, we still a job to do whether it’s managing a department, leading a team, making sales calls, getting reports out…it is no wonder that so many of us have trouble sustaining the Christmas spirit!

All this scurrying around to get things done, meet deadlines and do it while trying to make ends meet doesn’t mean that we have to turn into either a Grinch or a Scrooge. Like life itself, this season has built into it intangibles that can refresh our minds, renew our vibrancy and revive our spirits. But like all the other seasons of our lives, we have to look for these things because they are easily obscured by pressures and demands.

One of these intangibles is people. A few years ago, an association of which I have served as president the past year had scheduled its Christmas party at a very nice restaurant for the noon hour. That morning had been full of mentally exhausting tasks, and frankly I dreaded fighting the traffic to get to the party. When I arrived I was running late and the parking lot seemed full. After driving around a couple of times I finally found a place to park. I rushed across the parking lot and into the restaurant convinced that I wouldn’t have a good time and silently cursing myself for not making excuses that would have gotten me out of attending the party. Then the hostess ushered me in and I saw the warm and friendly faces of people I had come to know and appreciate. In that moment all my tension faded and for an hour and a half I found an oasis from the problems of the day and pressures of the season.

Another intangible that can restore our equilibrium during this busy season is the joy of giving. Every year the Philtower Building where I office puts up an Angel Tree and I select a name and try to fulfill their Christmas wishes. Now granted, some of these kids want things that I wouldn’t buy my own grandchildren! But I select the child based on what they want (not how much it costs, but how practical it is). This year I selected a one year old girl whose mother had only listed three things: a walking toy, a coat and a pair of shoes. Not knowing what a walking toy was, I dispatched my wife to find one, which she did. She purchased the coat and shoes, and then bought the little girl gloves and several outfits. As I placed these items in the bag provided and stapled the Angel Tree tag on it, I felt a sense of joy and warmth and I was reminded that this season is about giving to others, those we know and even those we don’t know.

Other intangibles include the bright lights and colorful decorations, the soothing music of the season, the smile on a child’s face, and the individual significance that years of memories have provided for us.

Perhaps the greatest intangible this season provides is a sense of hope and anticipation. Since the purpose of Monday Morning is not to be a religious forum, I will simply say that to people of faith this season celebrates hope and anticipation above all the other things associated with the season.

But for people with little or no religious faith this season also represents new hope and anticipation because Christmas day comes one week before we turn the page on a new year. A new year that offers us fresh opportunities to fulfill our dreams and that gives us hope of a better future. Someone once said that when our hope is renewed we find renewed vigor to change, to carry on and to achieve.

I read a story many years ago about a little boy with a bag walking on the seashore. He came upon a middle aged man who was also walking on the shore. The man, obviously weighed down with concerns asked the boy what he had in the bag. The boy began pulling out seashells of various sizes and colors. Suddenly fascinated by the beauty of the shells, the man asked, “Where did you find these beautiful shells.” The little boy innocently replied, “They are all over the place, you just have to look for them.” And with those words the boy bent down and picked three new shells out of the sand at the man’s feet and handed them to him.

Yes, this time of year can be full of activities and pressures that can consume our time and drain our energies, but it is also filled with “seashells” that can refresh our minds, renew our vibrancy and revive our spirits if we simply take the time to find them.

May your Christmas season be filled with peace, joy and renewed vibrancy.
Robert Hidde