In a world rife with discord, finding joy can be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Yet, even in the direst of circumstances, when Christmas draws near, joy becomes almost infectious.
It's a joy to hear someone humming "Deck the Halls," a traditional carol, or listen to the sound of bells jingling at the charity stand outside of stores. And who doesn't love the Christmas films of yesteryear?
Giving gifts becomes a joy for the giver and a joy for the receiver.
Some remember a single incident at Christmas as one of the most memorable gifts of joy.
The gift of joy for one mother is a gift that will never be forgotten, long after the child has grown.
At that time, the mother was struggling to keep her family together under the most dire financial circumstances.
She hid her tears and despair under the cloak of motherly dedication to her children. She told herself not to focus on her situation and instead, baked Christmas cookies, made holiday decorations from scraps around the house and planned the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals as she always had. Still, sadness is hard to crush and mustering enough Christmas spirit to move from a place of darkness to a place of light takes every ounce of willpower to accomplish. Or, a gift from a loving child.
One afternoon, while the mother was busy in the kitchen baking another batch of cookies, her youngest child arrived home from school. Just in time for some milk and freshly baked cookies, she thought.
"Mom, Mom...look what I made in school for you!" the child shouted, with zeal and exuberance.
"What is it dear?" she asked.
The child handed her a rolled manila drawing tied in a red foil bow.
There, in a single word, was the gift of joy. The child had framed a sheet of manila paper in blue, red, green and gold foil strips. In the middle of the drawing was a single word, "Joy."
When tears rolled down the Mom's cheeks, the child thought it was because she didn't like the gift. She bent down to kiss the child on the head and said,
"Dear little one, you have given me a gift I will treasure for ever. These are not tears of disappointment. These are tears of happiness."
The mother took the child's drawing and posted it where she would be reminded every day of the priceless gift of "Joy."
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
A Herd of Cows, A Flock of Sheep, A Gaggle of Goats
These days, it's important not to take anything of value for granted, even if it's a herd of cows, a flock of sheep and a gaggle of goats grazing and lazing under the sun of the planet earth.
Compare our situation to theirs. We hustle around the house to hurry into traffic congestion to get to jobs we may or may not feel offer any sense of tranquility.
Not so the herd of cows. There they are grazing away, no bills to pay, no annoying tyrants bellowing out orders, scam artists, no incessant sales chatter, ad blitzes and no real worries about a roof over their heads or food on the table, either.
The flock of sheep? Theirs is to simply move about tightly compacted in a flock that resembles a huge ground-level white cloud when viewed from afar. There's not so much as a hint of concern that their acres of food will someday disappear.
The gaggle of goats? They and only they decide, in their stubbornness, whether they'll follow each other about, or they'll choose to go it alone. Some look for a nice hill to claim or a shaded patch to shield them from too much sun. When it's time to go home, no worries about the rent being raised or the property taxes going up, up, up. No picking up after the kids or putting out the trash. Not even a single roof repair or kitchen drain to unplug. Ever. Ever is a long, long time.
Maybe, the whole point of animals inhabiting the planet is to take a page from their books. They don't need cell phones to communicate. A simple look in their eyes tell a menacing foe loud and clear to "back off." They live in harmony and unity with each other and their environment.
Animals also have a unique sense of impending danger and a rock solid link to the environment humans should have, but choose to ignore as often as possible. Most of all, animals belong to the freest kindgdom in the world. They are guided only by their inherent instinct for self-preservation.
Meanwhile, we the human animals fight for places on shopping lines, push and shove each other to get to the last pair of too expensive shoes, fight to each others' deaths to win and think of life success only in terms of dollar value. All of which, of course, reduces each human to dollar value of a single cow, sheep or goat, depending on the day's current currency rate. Animals live simply. Their lessons in simplicity could fill an entire volume and become a best seller.
Of all the things animals can teach humans, it's the capacity for love. You see this in the dedication to the calf following its mother around the grazing fields. You can see it in the tiny newborn huddle between the flock of sheep or the baby goat gently being helped to its feet by its mother. Often, an orphan is taken into the herd and adopted by a childless cow. And these, humans call "dumb" animals.
As compared to the so intelligent humans who think of war as a profit? As compared to the so knowledgeable humans who create one chemical disaster after another thinking there will never be consequences? As compared to the wily predators ready to pounce on their fellow humans' last nickel? Predator animals hunt for food to survice. What do humans prey on other humans for?
The joke is the labels we give other humans like weasel, sly fox, sly dog, dumb bunny, shark, vulture, hawk, snake-in-the-grass, horse and pig.
Strange, when you consider the animals haven't a care in the world. Humans? More cares than their minds can possibly process in a single lifetime.
It's often said that in cynicism of the human race lies a dimension of disgust for self-destructive civilization. It's just easier to find tranquility in the examples set by a herd of cows, a flock of sheep or a gaggle of goats.
Compare our situation to theirs. We hustle around the house to hurry into traffic congestion to get to jobs we may or may not feel offer any sense of tranquility.
Not so the herd of cows. There they are grazing away, no bills to pay, no annoying tyrants bellowing out orders, scam artists, no incessant sales chatter, ad blitzes and no real worries about a roof over their heads or food on the table, either.
The flock of sheep? Theirs is to simply move about tightly compacted in a flock that resembles a huge ground-level white cloud when viewed from afar. There's not so much as a hint of concern that their acres of food will someday disappear.
The gaggle of goats? They and only they decide, in their stubbornness, whether they'll follow each other about, or they'll choose to go it alone. Some look for a nice hill to claim or a shaded patch to shield them from too much sun. When it's time to go home, no worries about the rent being raised or the property taxes going up, up, up. No picking up after the kids or putting out the trash. Not even a single roof repair or kitchen drain to unplug. Ever. Ever is a long, long time.
Maybe, the whole point of animals inhabiting the planet is to take a page from their books. They don't need cell phones to communicate. A simple look in their eyes tell a menacing foe loud and clear to "back off." They live in harmony and unity with each other and their environment.
Animals also have a unique sense of impending danger and a rock solid link to the environment humans should have, but choose to ignore as often as possible. Most of all, animals belong to the freest kindgdom in the world. They are guided only by their inherent instinct for self-preservation.
Meanwhile, we the human animals fight for places on shopping lines, push and shove each other to get to the last pair of too expensive shoes, fight to each others' deaths to win and think of life success only in terms of dollar value. All of which, of course, reduces each human to dollar value of a single cow, sheep or goat, depending on the day's current currency rate. Animals live simply. Their lessons in simplicity could fill an entire volume and become a best seller.
Of all the things animals can teach humans, it's the capacity for love. You see this in the dedication to the calf following its mother around the grazing fields. You can see it in the tiny newborn huddle between the flock of sheep or the baby goat gently being helped to its feet by its mother. Often, an orphan is taken into the herd and adopted by a childless cow. And these, humans call "dumb" animals.
As compared to the so intelligent humans who think of war as a profit? As compared to the so knowledgeable humans who create one chemical disaster after another thinking there will never be consequences? As compared to the wily predators ready to pounce on their fellow humans' last nickel? Predator animals hunt for food to survice. What do humans prey on other humans for?
The joke is the labels we give other humans like weasel, sly fox, sly dog, dumb bunny, shark, vulture, hawk, snake-in-the-grass, horse and pig.
Strange, when you consider the animals haven't a care in the world. Humans? More cares than their minds can possibly process in a single lifetime.
It's often said that in cynicism of the human race lies a dimension of disgust for self-destructive civilization. It's just easier to find tranquility in the examples set by a herd of cows, a flock of sheep or a gaggle of goats.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Announcement: "The House at the End of Langdon Road" is available in bookstores
My second book, "The House at the End of Langdon Road" is available in bookstores or through the publisher: http://www.publishamerica.com/. This is the second in a series of "House" books, suspense thriller genre.
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