Other than those wild souls compelled to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, climb Mount Everest and wrestle alligators, who doesn't like to feel safe, rested and relaxed, hm?
I know I do and now I finally understand my parents and grandparents who were able to simply sit for hours in peaceful repose. When I was a youth, that used to drive me 'round the twist! I couldn't understand why anyone would want to just sit still in the quiet. Now, I don't think I I could function without time spent in solitary, restful silence.
Who does that anymore? When was the last time you sat still and rested (without spending hundreds on yoga gear and rushing off to a class)?
Today, I was out about town, it being a Saturday, and I was astounded by the numbers of eager Christmas shoppers filling the stores.
I will venture that the festive season lengthens with each passing year and with each technological upswing. Folks are tired. Everyone I speak with has too many tasks to complete and insufficient time in which to complete them. People are dissatisfied with the epic, mind-numbing pace of life. Everyone I speak with is overwhelmed. It's terribly sad and people are looking to something beyond today that will bring them some tidings of comfort and joy.
Enter the festive season, stage right, with its promise of rest and comfort with family. We are surrounded with images of homefires burning and playtime with children riding sleds and building snowmen.
It gives us something for which to aim, something to believe in: a giant fix of comfort and joy. So we start dabbling in the trappings of the winter break as soon as Halloween ends and the calendar turns to November. The stores fill with the makings of the perfect Christmas and, instead of just embedding the love and peace touted as the heart and soul of Christmas, we run around like wildlings preparing and planning for what we hope will be the perfect break.
So here's the thing, dear friends and family:
Just stop. Do it. I double dog dare you.
I know, I know, you have to work and the kids will expire if they don't go to swim class, but seriously, we need to find ways to lessen the load and enjoy our lives again. Time without technology in hand may be the key. Take a walk in the woods. Make a puzzle. Go for a bike ride. Sit and look out the window at the "goings on" in your neighbourhood.
Take some time to live, laugh and just be. The work is never actually going to be "finished" so find ways to sort it and leave it for another day.
Be. Breathe deeply and smile. Now is your life. Now is your time to be with friends and family. Enjoy.
-Gillian Cornwall, c. November 20, 2016
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