Friday, December 25, 2020

My Christmas Wish: Peace

I didn’t know what you wanted for Christmas, so I decided to regift y’all what I gave you last year … a repostage of my annual holiday wish. It still holds true, for me:


Christmas means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

It's a religious holiday.
It's a shopping holiday.
It's a day for those who shop religiously.
I'm not a big fan of either.

For me, Christmas is a day to spend with those you hold most dear in your heart. And that’s Carlos and my family. Of course, the family is mostly on the Left Coast and I'm over here on the right, so Christmas is me and Carlos, and Ozzo, Tuxedo, Max Goldberg, and Consuelo Roca Jones—all our furry kids. It's a day of relaxation and togetherness; reflection and laughter; of a good dinner cooked and shared by the two of us. It's not a day for What did you get? or for thinking How could I have spent so much? It's a day for How lucky am I?

How lucky indeed.

Christmas is more than a celebration; it's a connection we all can share regardless of faith, if we look at it as a day of Peace. A day to relax; to forgive, if not forget. To be at Peace. Every year I get the same question from friends and strangers alike: What are you getting for Christmas? Or  What do you want for Christmas? And I always say, What I get is a lovely day. What I want—and I ask for it every year—is Peace on Earth.

So here's to Peace on Earth, and the little parts that each of us plays in creating our own peace. To make amends to those we may have slighted in the past year; to those who may have slighted us. To talk with the people we love just because we love them. To be nice.

Just to be nice. There's a concept.

Maybe if we all took a moment to think about how we'd like to be treated, we would find ourselves treating others the same way. It's a small step, but an important one. A Please here, and a Thank You there. You're Welcome is good, too, though My pleasure, is better. Hold a door open for someone; let someone with fewer packages get in line ahead of you. Lay off the horn. Don't speed. Smile. Be nice.

Be at Peace.
Merry Christmas world.
Happy Hanukkah.
Happy Kwanzaa.
Merry Festivus.
Happy Holidays.
Peace.

And so that's my wish for you and yours. Health. Happiness. Love. Peace. And, while I've said it over and over again, that I have my personal spiritual beliefs and they do not follow the teachings of any organized religion, every Christmas, no song makes me feel more peaceful, more happy, more at ease, more hopeful than this one.

And so, I'll end with O Holy Night, not because I am a religious man, but because I am a hopeful man, …

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new glorious morn

…a peaceful man, a contented man. And no one, for me, sings it better than my girl, JHud … Jennifer Hudson.

15 comments:

  1. Thank you, hon. Have a lovely day. Enjoy!

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  2. Anonymous8:20 AM

    Hope you all have a lovely day.
    Happy Christmas
    Patrick

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  3. Merry Christmas to you, Carlos and Tuxedo!

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  4. Joy and peace to all the world - yes, but how many people are out there even today plotting and planning to make people miserable? Far too many and that includes all of Don the Con's minions.

    Hope the sun shines on you and Carlos today as it shines on this side of the pond.

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  5. Wishing you much happiness and peace. Thank you for continuing the blog. It has brought great joy.

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  6. it's a cloudy rainy day up here. but we have a home, and food, and furkids, and heat. we want for nothing. have a peaceful day!

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  7. Merry Christmas, I am so glad your blog came into my life this year, and you through the blog.

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  8. You and Carlos have a nice, quiet day and enjoy the fact that the Twitter shrieks have already begun to be buried in the past.

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  9. Peace also to you and Carlos. Enjoy your day together. Leon and I are doing the same, we did no shopping this year (we usually poke around Marshal's or TJMax for little things like slippers or gloves) but, there will be LASAGNA!

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  10. Very merriest to both of
    you and all the fur kids.
    be well, xoxo :-)

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  11. What a beautiful post. Thank you. The true meaning of Christmas. I sang "O Holy Night" back when I was in the sixth grade at Christmas Eve service. You brought back that memory, and it was a good one. I can't sing like her, but I did a reasonable job. I hope you and Carlos had a peaceful and meaningful holiday.

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  12. this was lovely; thank you for posting this!
    OXOX

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  13. @uptonking
    Hope you had a peace-filled day!

    @Patrick
    We did have a nice day, just as ordered, Hope your Christmas was a merry one.

    @Debra
    I hope you and your Rare One had a fabulous Christmas.

    @Helen
    It was sunny and peaceful and lovely. Hope yours was as well!

    @krayolakris
    Thanks for the compliment, and for the comments.
    Hope you had a merry Christmas.

    @AM
    Sunny and cold here, but, like you and RTG, we want the things we have rather than having the things we want. It is a happy way to live.

    @Travel
    Thank you, and I feel the same about your spot om the blog-o-sphere.

    @Dave
    We were social media quiet yesterday and enjoyed it very much. Wishing you a Happy Happy.

    @Frank
    It was a nice quiet day with a good meal and company ... Carlos, Tuxedo, Ozzo, MaxGoldberg and Connsuelo. Just what we asked for.

    @TDM
    And the same for you and yours. Good health, staying safe, and a Happy Happy.

    @Michael
    Thank you. I do love that song and Jennifer Hudson's version always makes me tear up.
    I hope the New year brings you all the things you want and the happiness you deserve.

    @Ur-spo
    Thank you for reading...and writing. Happy Happy to you and yours.

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  14. Wishing you and yours the very same!

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  15. Merry Christmas Bob and Carlos!

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