Of reflection
I photographed this ornament at the Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor, 2011
“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” — Winston Churchill
Merry Christmas! Chances are, this will be a busy day for you, coming on the heels of a busy season. For most of my adult life, it was that way for me, anyway. I love the Christmas season, with all the festive activities and joyful sharing. But it can be exhausting, too.
As simple and quiet as this year’s Christmas has been for Matt and me, it has kept us busy enough that the unscheduled times of relaxing at home have been a welcome balm for the strange, ineffable pressure that seems so pervasive in today’s world. Having more than the usual amount of quiet time this season, I’ve come to realize that staying hyper busy on holidays can be a sort of mind-numbing drug or clever distraction that keeps us from paying attention to uncomfortable realities such as worry, sadness or conflict.
I’ve never believed that positive thinking consists of ignoring the difficulties and traumas of life. This blog is called “defeat despair,” not “deny despair” or “delay despair.” And it’s almost impossible to defeat despair by ignoring what is in need of resolution. But the urgent call of daily tasks and obligations often drowns out higher priorities.
For this reason, times of reflection are crucial to staying sane and healthy. Balancing the focus of our reflection to acknowledge both blessings and struggles can keep us from delusional optimism on the one hand, or self-perpetuating despondency on the other.
So, whatever is on your schedule for today, I hope you will set aside some time to reflect. No matter who or where you are, I’m pretty sure that the things on your mind will represent a very human mixture of happiness, sorrow, frustration, excitement and hope. May the final days of this year bring you gifts of both rejoicing and reflecting. Merry Christmas!
This post was first published seven years ago. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: balance, busyness, changes, contemplation, depression, joy, mindfulness, quiet, serenity, sorrow, worry
Defeat Despair 
Julia, wishing you and Matt a merry Christmas!
I really like this post, and Churchill’s quote! Going back and reading the comments from seven years ago was insightful, and so meaningful. The act of reflection really does help maintain the balance in life, of which you spoke.
Wishing you a special day of rejoicing and reflecting! ❤️
Hi Chris, thanks for this message and your kind wishes. After I read your comment, I went back and read the comments from seven years ago. I don’t always do this when I re-post something, because it’s a minefield. So many of the people present in our lives seven years ago are no longer with us…some have died, which is sad, and other have chosen to drop out of our lives, which is even more sad. There really is such a thing as “compassion fatigue” and the multiple crises of the past seven years have become difficult for anyone to fathom, much less want to be present for. And yet, that makes the comparatively few who remain such GOLDEN people in our book! Thanks for being among them!
It’s been a busy day, such a nice Christmas and thinking of you, reading your words means so much to me! Bill and I both thank you for the beautiful card we received from you. It meant a lot to us! We continue to think of you and treasure our Verandah friendship across the miles! Love, Sheila
Sheila, the card seemed so little, but I hope you know the HUGE affection that is behind it. I’ve got the kettle on now. Meet you on the Verandah, but we’ll have to bundle up! Today is our last day to sit by that gorgeous December fireplace, but I’m sure January will be beautiful (I never “peek” in advance at where we’ll be “meeting”). Sending many cyber hugs!