I'm not entirely sure I like this time of year. It feels divided, somehow. First it’s Labour Day - a holiday that remembers the workers; then Halloween - that most American of celebrations that has snuck up on us in recent years; then the fading glory of Guy Fawkes. And yes, folks, I am old enough to remember cold nights around a blazing fire, the silent agony of waiting for full dark, and the wonder of inscribing my name in a sparkly glow, up there with the real stars. Hard on the heels of Guy Fawkes are exams, the end of the school year, and the thundering train that is Christmas, rocketing down the tracks toward us.
Oh, ho ho, the joys of Christmas.
Ready for it yet? Got your giant list of things to do ready? Blocked your ears to the cries of I want? Put on your sturdy shoes for stamping grumpily around retail outlets with your ever-shrinking wallet and ever-widening credit card debt?
Me either. But brace yourself, it’s coming. And with it, another division. The night before, and the actual day. All that stress, hard work and anticipation followed by ... what? Warm fuzzies for you? I hope so. I hope your day is a day of real gifts: of family, food and friendship, of peace, and of laughter. If I was going to pray, that’s what I’d pray for you.
And then, before we’re recovered from the overeating, the over-drinking, the overspending, the ultimate division arrives. Hogmanay. We eye the approach of the New Year with eagerness. It’s time for a real party. It’s time to renew promises and resolutions, to look forward to doing something different - to being different. Slimmer, richer, happier, more successful, more at peace.
It’s always good to look forward. But take a few minutes to cast a glance over your shoulder too. Look back. There is the sum of your days, of who you are, and of what you have done. Look back with affection; with regret, even, if you must. But look back. Think about the divisions in your life - and think about the connections. Let go of what harms you. But hold on to what is good. It is the family, friends and shared memories which are the glue that hold us together in a fractured, divided world.
A Memory by William Allingham
Four ducks on a pond,
A grass-bank beyond,
A blue sky of spring,
White clouds on the wing;
What a little thing
To remember for years-
To remember with tears |
A blue sky of spring,
White clouds on the wing;
What a little thing
To remember for years-
To remember with tears. |
