Happy Holidays

Below is what I posted to Facebook on Christmas Eve.  I saved this post to my blog as I wanted to expand on it.

 ...this is my favorite time of the holiday season - Christmas Eve Night. Everything finally winds down, kids asleep in anticipation, the one Silent Night to behold. A time to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday, underneath all of the materialism and commercialism; this is a season of giving, of sharing, of caring. Take a silent moment to be thankful for all that you have been given, for all who play significant roles in your lives, and for those who have passed on from this world. Make a vow to give more and more often throughout the year to come.

Tomorrow - Christmas Day: CELEBRATE!!! :)

Rock Climbing (Metaphorically Speaking)

(Note - I wrote this about 15 years ago.  Pics are from Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, in the Sierra Nevadas in CA, 2005)

Imagine that you’re rock climbing.  Picture yourself starting at the bottom:  as you look up, you can’t see the top, because this rock is very very high.  But since there is nothing at the bottom, you decide to climb up.  You’ve never actually climbed rocks before, so at first, you teach yourself how to, and as you get enough strength and courage, you grab the first piece and pull yourself up.  You do that again and again, going straight up, gaining confidence until the first time your hand slips, or a piece of rock crumbles, and then you fall.  That first fall causes you to second-guess every piece of rock you think of grabbing next.  It also starts a cycle of gaining confidence and falling, and is only broken when you stop gaining confidence.  You begin to find yourself being more careful of what handholds you pull harder on, and what footholds you place your weight on.  This now causes you to sometimes move laterally, instead of always straight up.  Sometimes, you find, frustratingly enough, that you have to climb back down a little, move over, and then move up, because you get stuck at a certain point.  Every so often you find a ledge to relax and catch your breath on.  Every now and then you fall back to a previous ledge.

You soon begin to realize that you’re not the only one climbing this rock.  There are over five billion people climbing, doing the exact thing as you, falling and climbing and testing holds, and yet no one person has taken the exact same route as you. You find that some people will follow your lead, assuming you know which way to go.  Then you might see someone above you finding all the right spots, and you follow them.  Sometimes that works, other times not.  Some people will try to give you advice on which way to take, or how you can tell how strong a rock is by its look. Other people may even toss you a rope to pull yourself up to the next ledge.  A few people will tie a safety line from their waist to yours, and the two of you may climb together, working as a team.  Some teams reach the top, others don’t; your line may get torn, or the other person may think you’re too slow or even too fast. Some partners may get impatient, or you may find that they just climb better alone.  A few people may be just using you to get up to the next ledge faster.  Some people may even push you out of the way, in their self-made hurry to get to the top.  You hear people from below crying for help and from above shouting for joy.  Sometimes you’re tempted to scream or yell too.  And then sometimes, you may get tired.  Some people get tired, decide to stop where they’re at, and fall asleep.  They may decide that getting to the top isn’t worth the trouble.  No one knows what is at the top, and everyone has a different idea of what the ultimate search is for.  For 5 billion plus people, that uncertainty is directly or indirectly the driving force behind the climb.

I don’t know what is at the top; I’d be lying if I said I did.  But I tend to think that once I reach it, I’ll find that the view from up above is absolutely and literally breathtaking.  That view will show everything, the universe, and even things beyond imagination.  And the accompanying sunset may be the best part of all.  And finally, I’ll be able to pull up to a soft cloud, next to a star as my night light, and fall asleep with the infinite number of those who have made it before me to enjoy the view.

Trampled Time - Giving Pearls To Pigs

"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” - Matthew 7:6

For me, this is by far the hardest lesson to learn. This has long been my favorite Bible verse; from when I first read it in college.

What is sacred to me? Time. I give my time in many ways to many people in many situations and in many cases, my time is trampled. Not respected. Not appreciated. Not returned. So, what to do?

Prevent. Or confront. Or both. 

How?

My Gift List

December 9^th. I have yet to begin my shopping. I cringe at joining the crowds out there, all looking for the “right” gift, in the form of a purchase, wrapped in shiny paper to be opened as close to December 25^th as possible.  Everyone has lists of what they want, or need; of people to buy for, and their lists of what they want, or need. This is supposed to be the time of giving, of cheer.

I’ll give my first gift here – I’ll try not to make this too preachy.  :)

But really, I have a wish. I have a few items on my list that I’d like everyone to get for the holidays. And give. And these items are free. They can’t be bought. My list is:

• Appreciation
• Thanks
• Compliments
• Smiles
• Reminders that you’re thinking of them

Any one of these gifts, given once, can go a long way. Any one of these gifts, given once, can change a bad day to a good day. Given repeatedly, they can change someone’s life. There’s no limit as to how often these gifts should be given…in fact, the more these gifts are given, the better.  These gifts tend to multiply.

And guess what?  Not only does the recipient get something nice, the gift-giver gets some happiness in return. Thanks given usually generates thanks in return. Same with smiles and compliments; appreciation and “I’m thinking of you.”  We all want to be appreciated, to be thought of, in general. And when we do give of ourselves, and we're not thanked or appreciated, we all feel cheated or taken for granted. 

It doesn’t matter how many of these gifts you give today, or how few. There is no required waiting period, or unacceptable time frame. These gifts can be given now, and often.

And I know this is cliché-ish at this time of year, but this season of giving, in giving gifts of peace and appreciation, should last the whole year through.  So I urge everyone to take a minute from the material gift shopping, find the people in your lives who mean something to you, whether they’ve helped out in some way; look out for you, been there for you, whatever; and tell them how much they’re appreciated, as often as possible. It will mean the world to them. 

...it's been some "time" since I've posted...

(suggested music pairing:  Minute By Minute - Larry Carlton)

Time. It ticks away, every second. Tick. Tick. Tick.  

We talk a lot about time. We don’t have enough time; there aren’t enough hours in the day; where does the time go, time sure seems to fly by. Can you believe it’s already December? Can you believe it’s already 2012?  

Or sometimes, we have too much time on our hands; we have time to kill; or the day is dragging. Is it three o’clock yet?  Can this day be over already?  

But time is just that – time. We all have a specific number of minutes we’ll be alive, and none of us know what our number is.  I’ve been alive for over 20 million minutes. 20,685,616 to be exact. Oops, I mean 20,685,617. And each minute is exactly 60 seconds. Yes, I’ll do the math:  1.2 billion seconds. 

Tick. Tick. Tick.

At the age of 39, with an average lifespan of 78 years (to make the math easier), I am at the exact halfway point of my life. Which means I still have another 1.2 billion seconds to live.  

One less. Another less. And another. Tick. Tick. Tick.

And guess what? I can’t slow it down and I can’t speed it up. They say that life is long, but that life is short. I’m 39 years young. Or 1.2 billion seconds old. Which is it? Both? Neither?

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Time, as exact and specific and consistent as it is, is really a fluid concept. Time…is what you make of it.  There is no single answer…it’s all in the perspective.  Our perspective. The perspective we choose. So, as consistent as time is, we control it. We control how fast it seems, or how slow it feels. We control how much of time we look at, or how little of time we let go past.  And yet, we can’t control the past and we can’t control the future. What’s done is done, what may be is not yet.  

And others control our time, or take up our time. Time demands things, yet time waits for no one. We can give our time, or take some time, or spend some time. We sometimes have spare time, and other times we don’t have a minute to spare. At work, if a call ends early, we get some time back! If a call ends late, we ask if everyone has more time. Some people are living on borrowed time. Some people don’t have any time to give, and others have all the time in the world!   

Tick. Tick. Tick.

And finally, some times (time can be plural, too, it seems), we can share our time.  I’ve spent my time writing this in hopes of sharing it with you…thank you for spending your time reading this…hopefully it was time well spent.