Christmas Eve 2015
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Location: Massachusetts
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Christmas Eve 2015
I woke from a disturbing dream early this morning. For a considerable time I have been very upset about the preliminaries to the coming elections in my country. I am old now (88) and probably do not have long to live. But I am afraid to die in or as a result of a nuclear holocaust. Am I exaggerating? Are we entering another "Cold War" era akin to the 1960's which began with the Cuban Missile Crisis, an event which I vividly remember, particularly one Friday afternoon when I went into the city to a doctor's appointment and wondered whether I would ever return to see my family. And the basement which I fortified with cinder blocks on the windows and food and water. The mattresses, space and food for the dog.
Anyway, I had an uneasy sleep and, when I woke up this old hymn kept running through my head.
Turn back, O man
Forswear thy foolish ways
Old now is earth
And none may count her days
Yet thou, her child
Whose head is crowned with flames
Still will not hear
Thine inner God proclaims
Forswear thy foolish ways
Earth might be fair
And all men glad and wise
Age after age their tragic empires rise
Built while they dream
And in that dreaming weep
Would man but wake
From out his haunted sleep
Turn back, O man.
Forswear thy foolish ways
Earth shall be fair
And all her people one
Not till that hour
Shall God's whole will be done
Now, even now
Once more from earth to sky
Peels forth in joy
Man's old undaunted cry
Earth shall be fair
And all her people one!
I apologize for being so "morbid" on Christmas Eve. But I have been disturbed about all the commercial emphasis to Christmas, money making and money spending, with many of the poor left out because they could not afford the emphasis on "me", on "us", on "we".
I fear for mankind and, whatever one's belief, be they religious, non religious, agnostic or even atheist, I believe that the road to happiness and meaning is by understanding one's fellow man and by forgiveness, both of others and of oneself.
I hope that everyone will have a fine Christmas and New Year. But I also hope that we shall all be very, very careful in the coming months and vigilant thereafter.
W.
Anyway, I had an uneasy sleep and, when I woke up this old hymn kept running through my head.
Turn back, O man
Forswear thy foolish ways
Old now is earth
And none may count her days
Yet thou, her child
Whose head is crowned with flames
Still will not hear
Thine inner God proclaims
Forswear thy foolish ways
Earth might be fair
And all men glad and wise
Age after age their tragic empires rise
Built while they dream
And in that dreaming weep
Would man but wake
From out his haunted sleep
Turn back, O man.
Forswear thy foolish ways
Earth shall be fair
And all her people one
Not till that hour
Shall God's whole will be done
Now, even now
Once more from earth to sky
Peels forth in joy
Man's old undaunted cry
Earth shall be fair
And all her people one!
I apologize for being so "morbid" on Christmas Eve. But I have been disturbed about all the commercial emphasis to Christmas, money making and money spending, with many of the poor left out because they could not afford the emphasis on "me", on "us", on "we".
I fear for mankind and, whatever one's belief, be they religious, non religious, agnostic or even atheist, I believe that the road to happiness and meaning is by understanding one's fellow man and by forgiveness, both of others and of oneself.
I hope that everyone will have a fine Christmas and New Year. But I also hope that we shall all be very, very careful in the coming months and vigilant thereafter.
W.
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Location: Australia
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Merry Christmas Bill 
I understand the fear and trepidation, but I hope and trust the human spirit will endure as it has through many many other testing times.
For all it's troubles I'm still glad to be in life.
I follow Marx (Groucho, not Karl) on this:
I wish you a happy festive season, and a happy 2016
D
I understand the fear and trepidation, but I hope and trust the human spirit will endure as it has through many many other testing times.
For all it's troubles I'm still glad to be in life.
I follow Marx (Groucho, not Karl) on this:
I wish you a happy festive season, and a happy 2016
D
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 5,937
To watch the news it would seem that many are attempting to roll the clock back to the 50's...maybe even the 1850's. But I have some faith in the inherent decency of humanity, or at the potential to be decent. Hopefully that decency will trump the fearmongering and hate being preached by some.
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Location: US East Coast
Posts: 1,972
I let go of politics a while back and no longer fret about it. I keep my life and actions simple and like the following quote from the Fellowship of the Ring as a guiding principle:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
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"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet ... Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." And the animals of the forest. They do not kill one another for sport, from hatred or for material gain. If you would see love, look deeply into a dog's eyes. Let us reason together, love and forgive one another and have a Merry Christmas and Happy and Safe New Year.
W.
W.
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Location: Ireland
Posts: 25,826
I don't think there's anything wrong in having a sense of humanity when looking at the news and current events, I watch the news each night and late at night catch the US news channels too, I'm really into politics, so much so that I always book the next days off work after both the UK election and US presidential election, just to sit up and watch the results.
I'm with Dee I guess, this reality, it's all we've got, no alternatives, and there's a certain acceptance that on our own we can't change much, it needs to be a collective effort to change many things in this world.
I think though having empathy with our fellow man is a healthy thing whether it be people caught up in wars, people less fortunate etc, it keeps me grateful in my own life and breeds compassion, which in this world isn't a bad thing.
Merry Xmas Bill!!
I'm with Dee I guess, this reality, it's all we've got, no alternatives, and there's a certain acceptance that on our own we can't change much, it needs to be a collective effort to change many things in this world.
I think though having empathy with our fellow man is a healthy thing whether it be people caught up in wars, people less fortunate etc, it keeps me grateful in my own life and breeds compassion, which in this world isn't a bad thing.
Merry Xmas Bill!!
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Join Date: Jun 2015
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Thank you for your thoughts, W. I don't find it morbid ... I appreciate being reminded, amidst all the holiday hullaballoo, about what (to me) is the true spirit of Christmas: Love, compassion, forgiveness, and tenderness toward ourselves and all other beings.
Thank you for your generosity of spirit.
Thank you for your generosity of spirit.
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It was Shakespeare's Hamlet who expressed a similar sentiment after a visit from his father's ghost:
"The time is out of joint. O cursèd spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!"
The perils of those earlier times shrink in comparison with those of today. Christmas offers us an opportunity to renew a search for true meaning, wisdom, happiness and, for all those afflicted with this terrible illness, sobriety. It is a time of love and forgiveness. Redemption from a death of the soul. The ultimate Christmas gift which dwarfs anything else.
W.
"The time is out of joint. O cursèd spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!"
The perils of those earlier times shrink in comparison with those of today. Christmas offers us an opportunity to renew a search for true meaning, wisdom, happiness and, for all those afflicted with this terrible illness, sobriety. It is a time of love and forgiveness. Redemption from a death of the soul. The ultimate Christmas gift which dwarfs anything else.
W.
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 3,550
P.S. I have been brooding about "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" (what one Presidential candidate would call a "loser" since he was not permitted to "join in any reindeer games"), Alvin and the Chipmunks (I realize that many of you may be fond of them), and the rather vulgar "I saw mommie kissin' Santa Claus...!". I know this is blasphemous but Santa himself is drastically overweight, what the doctors call "obese", a word I strenuously dislike, and an obvious candidate for open heart surgery as well as Type 2 diabetes. Movies sometimes portray a thoroughly disgusting "Santa" as in "Trading Places" where the snob cast out of the investment business on a $1 wager ends up drunk, in the rain where a dog raises its leg on him, he then taking a bus and pulling a disgusting piece of meat out from under his dirty beard and causing the bus passengers to find another seat. Wasn't St. Nicholas a Saint way back?
I heard on the BBC that the Puritans disliked Christmas entirely, a bit of an overreaction in my view. They made it unlawful to celebrate Christmas and fined anyone who didn't work all that day for "disturbing the peace". Sunday of course was compulsory and you could get in big trouble not going to Church twice a day and for reading other than the Bible and maybe Pilgrim's Progress. New England has a way of keeping those old laws on the books so I guess I'll spend the remainder of Christmas Eve googling whether I might expect the sheriff to come knocking at the door. I had a visit from a cop at our house two evenings back because someone had phoned in that I was flipping up my bright lights to see the poorly lit country road even though there were no vehicles approaching. The cop wanted to know whether I was having a "medical emergency". Urged on by my family I asked for a breathalyzer test but this was turned down, the cop saying that he "believed" me. I then held out my hands for the cuffs, even turned around with my hands in back of me but the cop refused to take me to the slammer. My son assured me that he would bail me out, but would wait until the following morning.
Hey all you out there! Are you allowed to flip up your lights on a poorly lit country road when there are no vehicles approaching or must you take the risk of hitting the curb or crossing the yellow line, hitting a dog, or maybe even a wild turkey or deer? If you hit a wild turkey can you have it for Christmas dinner? I like turkey cooked. Had enough "cold turkey" 27 years back!
Y'all have a good one and be careful of those flashing red lights in your rear view mirror!
W.
I heard on the BBC that the Puritans disliked Christmas entirely, a bit of an overreaction in my view. They made it unlawful to celebrate Christmas and fined anyone who didn't work all that day for "disturbing the peace". Sunday of course was compulsory and you could get in big trouble not going to Church twice a day and for reading other than the Bible and maybe Pilgrim's Progress. New England has a way of keeping those old laws on the books so I guess I'll spend the remainder of Christmas Eve googling whether I might expect the sheriff to come knocking at the door. I had a visit from a cop at our house two evenings back because someone had phoned in that I was flipping up my bright lights to see the poorly lit country road even though there were no vehicles approaching. The cop wanted to know whether I was having a "medical emergency". Urged on by my family I asked for a breathalyzer test but this was turned down, the cop saying that he "believed" me. I then held out my hands for the cuffs, even turned around with my hands in back of me but the cop refused to take me to the slammer. My son assured me that he would bail me out, but would wait until the following morning.
Hey all you out there! Are you allowed to flip up your lights on a poorly lit country road when there are no vehicles approaching or must you take the risk of hitting the curb or crossing the yellow line, hitting a dog, or maybe even a wild turkey or deer? If you hit a wild turkey can you have it for Christmas dinner? I like turkey cooked. Had enough "cold turkey" 27 years back!
Y'all have a good one and be careful of those flashing red lights in your rear view mirror!
W.
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