Destiny

It occurs to me that very few people know where their true destiny lies. As I watch the people around me it has become very obvious that people settle for contentment and security as a paltry substitute for pursuing their true destiny. Have we become so dead that we no longer hunger to reach our destiny? Are we too lazy to try?

I often hear people say that they just gave up. Gave up?! Really? Why?

I've heard many answers to that question. Sometimes obligations are cited as the reason someone quit striving to reach their destiny. Other times people have told me they just never could figure out what their destiny was.

Apathy anyone? How can you live your whole life never knowing your destiny? How could you quit trying to figure it out? Why won't you take a chance?!

Some have told me that they are afraid they might be wrong. They are afraid they might risk everything only to find it wasn't their destiny after all. OK...that I can understand. Often to reach a point in our life where day to day life and destiny peacefully co-exist we have to risk a lot. But isn't getting up in the morning a risk? Life is uncertain. Wouldn't it be better to live our uncertain life striving for happiness instead of living contentedly a shadow of what could be?

I think people often mistake contentment for happiness. Until you know the difference you can never truly live your life with awareness.

The Simple Things

This morning I'm sitting on my deck watching the pup romp in the back yard and simply enjoying the morning. City life, well suburb life, to be precise, is very different from country life. My neighbor is out mowing his lawn. I know this would drive my dad crazy. He hates the sounds of the city. I don't mind it. Granted I can't breathe, but that's hardly my neighbor's fault. He didn't make me have allergies!

Before Jim started to mow I could hear all my song birds singing and they were flitting around the backyard. The lizards were out too. We have a very interesting type of lizard that lives here. It's very large and has black, brown and tan patches of color on it. I believe it's called a spiny lizard.



This is the type of morning I truly enjoy. It's very lazy and relaxing. Eventually I'll have to leave to run a few errands and go to the doctor, but for now it's a great start to the day.

It's the simple things in life, that break from the daily rat race, that make life worthwhile. Sitting on the deck in the morning. Watching the puppy play. Listening to the birds sing. It's very easy to forget these things. Yet these are the things that truly recharge you and give you something to look forward to.

I'm Dreaming....

If you're in the same frame of mind as I am then you'll be able to finish my thought. But I'd be willing to bet a fair sum of money, the vast majority of you are not even close to thinking what I'm thinking. The worst part is that I've been thinking it since April!

Yes, it's true. I am dreaming of a white Christmas!! And I have been for awhile now. Christmas is my favorite holiday. The whole Christmas season is my favorite time of year. I'm always in a hurry for autumn to come because that means we're ever so close to Thanksgiving! And, in my house, Thanksgiving kicks everything off. Halloween, even though we don't participate in Halloween to any appreciable degree, starts the build up. Of course New Years closes the season out.

I remember my mom's mother loved Christmas too. She decorated and enjoyed the seasonal music and simply loved the Christmas specials on TV. She cooked a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner. It was the same every year because it was my dad's favorite meal. We always, always, always had hog maw, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, deviled eggs and apple dumplings. All of it was made from scratch -- nothing store bought.

Of all my grandparents, my mom's mother was the one that really got into Christmas. My dad's father enjoyed decorating the outside and putting up a large manger scene he had painted inside. And, of course, my dad's mother made Christmas dinner. But the best part of Christmas with that part of the family was Christmas breakfast at their house. We always had a large breakfast to kick off Christmas day and we would open presents. That night we would go back and have Christmas dinner and then play The Game. It was a silly game, but it got quite spirited sometimes.

Today, I have my own traditions. Our family isn't "normal" and never has been. It's not uncommon for us to celebrate Christmas days, even weeks, late. All of my grandparents are dead. My mom and dad don't work traditional jobs so they are, of course, working Christmas day and pretty much all days in December and most of January. That means it's up to me to provide Christmas traditions for my son.

Because it's only us, we have some traditions that others might not find "normal". Thanksgiving is rarely spent with my parents. Usually they are working. On the years that we have Thanksgiving at home, I usually get up and watch the Macy's parade, cook a good breakfast and then spend the day cooking dinner. After we eat dinner we decorate the tree. While we decorate the tree I start playing Christmas music. It's the first time all year I've let myself play Christmas music! That is what I look forward to the most!

Christmas Eve, after my son goes to bed, I attach strings to his stocking presents and then hide them. On Christmas morning he has to follow the strings from his stocking to his presents. Believe it or not, this is his favorite tradition.

Sometimes I wish we could have a "normal" traditional Christmas. But what's left of my family doesn't really care about "normal" or "traditional". I just do what I can to make it what I feel is normal and traditional and hope my son will appreciate the simplicity of a nice family oriented holiday.