As Christmas Approaches
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' "
- Matthew 25: 31-40
Every so often I will go back and revisit previous posts. I spent a good chunk of time this morning re-reading posts for December 2006 and December 2007, taking stock of where I am right now and where I was back then. I also put on the holiday compilations that I made in 2006, 2007, as well as the one I just made for 2008. There are a lot of things that I don't write down for various reasons, and I wanted to unlock some of the emotions from previous years through music. To say the least, it was an interesting process.
2006 and 2007 were tumultuous, especially during the holidays. In 2006 I was presented with a professional "fork in the road" and took it, but didn't have a very good understanding of where that fork would take me. In 2007, my parents' marriage had all but dissolved, and I was looking for some sort of logic in the Universe. Instead of saying, "The Universe is indifferent" I chose to look at the birth of Christ as a marker that indicated that things are not always what they seem: there is a silver lining somewhere in here if you look at the situation in the appropriate way.
My holiday compilations for 2006 and 2007 could be referred to as The Worst Christmas Ever: Volumes I and II. There were a lot of country inspired Christmas songs about "Daddy gettin' drunk on Christmas," "Mamma cryin'" and a whole lot of "bein' alone." In the face of uncertainty or hardship I tend to obsess on the very things that are outside of my control, and these periods were no exception. I wallowed in self-pity, eventually turned to gallows humor to bring me out of the funk, and did some heavy duty soul searching while in Long Beach over the holidays last year. It wasn't a bright and cheery time in my young life, but much good has come out of those moments--more good then I ever could have imagined.
For Aunt Shelly's sake, she is not going to have to read a two part series about my take on the birth of Christ. And she will not be receiving a token holiday music compilation in the mail that "made me want to slow dance with a bottle of vodka." My thoughts this year are on a different wavelength.
I chose today's opening quote for two reasons: (1) In my mind it's about keeping those who one loves close to them, and (2) It's about accountability for one's actions.
As I have gotten older and matured--aging and maturation often times have very little to do with each other--I have begun to recognize who are the members of my "flock" or Tribe. Historically, humans have performed a lot rituals at the end of the year as sort a way to keep things going, exerting some sort of faux control over the Universe to make sure that the rains are gentle and the crops are plentiful in the coming year. I'm looking at the upcoming Christmas celebration as some sort of ritual to keep the members of my Tribe close to me, and make sure that I see them again in the subsequent year. My present buying this year will be only for the people who I consider to be members of my Tribe--genetics has only a small part to play in this.
As the holidays approach I tend to think back on the year and ask a simple question: "What could I have done better?" I think that is the second prong of the parable taken from Matthew is all about. One person cannot save the world, but one person can have a positive impact on the world--even if it is just a small one. A large group of people making many small contributions can change the world as a whole in a very meaningful way. This year in particular my thoughts are moving towards the world of micro-finance and churning on how organizations like Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/) are changing the world in such a fashion.
So, as I amble toward my upcoming road trip with my mother and sister to Long Beach next week, I'll be thinking about how I can "light many small candles" in the upcoming year--and acknowledging that time or financial resources have a small part to play in such a process. Worst case scenario is this: I'll have to write a blog about it.
Namaste
- Matthew 25: 31-40
Every so often I will go back and revisit previous posts. I spent a good chunk of time this morning re-reading posts for December 2006 and December 2007, taking stock of where I am right now and where I was back then. I also put on the holiday compilations that I made in 2006, 2007, as well as the one I just made for 2008. There are a lot of things that I don't write down for various reasons, and I wanted to unlock some of the emotions from previous years through music. To say the least, it was an interesting process.
2006 and 2007 were tumultuous, especially during the holidays. In 2006 I was presented with a professional "fork in the road" and took it, but didn't have a very good understanding of where that fork would take me. In 2007, my parents' marriage had all but dissolved, and I was looking for some sort of logic in the Universe. Instead of saying, "The Universe is indifferent" I chose to look at the birth of Christ as a marker that indicated that things are not always what they seem: there is a silver lining somewhere in here if you look at the situation in the appropriate way.
My holiday compilations for 2006 and 2007 could be referred to as The Worst Christmas Ever: Volumes I and II. There were a lot of country inspired Christmas songs about "Daddy gettin' drunk on Christmas," "Mamma cryin'" and a whole lot of "bein' alone." In the face of uncertainty or hardship I tend to obsess on the very things that are outside of my control, and these periods were no exception. I wallowed in self-pity, eventually turned to gallows humor to bring me out of the funk, and did some heavy duty soul searching while in Long Beach over the holidays last year. It wasn't a bright and cheery time in my young life, but much good has come out of those moments--more good then I ever could have imagined.
For Aunt Shelly's sake, she is not going to have to read a two part series about my take on the birth of Christ. And she will not be receiving a token holiday music compilation in the mail that "made me want to slow dance with a bottle of vodka." My thoughts this year are on a different wavelength.
I chose today's opening quote for two reasons: (1) In my mind it's about keeping those who one loves close to them, and (2) It's about accountability for one's actions.
As I have gotten older and matured--aging and maturation often times have very little to do with each other--I have begun to recognize who are the members of my "flock" or Tribe. Historically, humans have performed a lot rituals at the end of the year as sort a way to keep things going, exerting some sort of faux control over the Universe to make sure that the rains are gentle and the crops are plentiful in the coming year. I'm looking at the upcoming Christmas celebration as some sort of ritual to keep the members of my Tribe close to me, and make sure that I see them again in the subsequent year. My present buying this year will be only for the people who I consider to be members of my Tribe--genetics has only a small part to play in this.
As the holidays approach I tend to think back on the year and ask a simple question: "What could I have done better?" I think that is the second prong of the parable taken from Matthew is all about. One person cannot save the world, but one person can have a positive impact on the world--even if it is just a small one. A large group of people making many small contributions can change the world as a whole in a very meaningful way. This year in particular my thoughts are moving towards the world of micro-finance and churning on how organizations like Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/) are changing the world in such a fashion.
So, as I amble toward my upcoming road trip with my mother and sister to Long Beach next week, I'll be thinking about how I can "light many small candles" in the upcoming year--and acknowledging that time or financial resources have a small part to play in such a process. Worst case scenario is this: I'll have to write a blog about it.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 11:08 AM
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