Wednesday, December 21, 2016

And To All A Good Night...

Christmas has always been a very important day to me. I know we are supposed to re-start our internal clocks on January 1, but I always looked at Christmas Day as the end of the year. Once Christmas Day was over, everything went back to square one and we started all over again. It is a cleansing, and it always feels good.

This year, the world needs a good cleansing and that is why I think this Christmas is especially important. We need to show ourselves and each other that we can be good people and that there is still a reason to wake up in the morning. Let's face it; 2016 was one of the worst years in history for a lot of things. We lost a lot of beloved celebrities, we have taken on a new political landscape that frankly has many people apprehensive, and many of us experienced 2016 as one of the worst years of our lives.

A lot of good happened in 2016 as well, and that is one thing Christmas is good at highlighting. I understand that Christmas has the exact opposite effect on many people, but I am not familiar with that mindset. I have had some terrible things happen to me and my family at Christmas. I have dealt with death on Christmas Day, and I have experienced what felt like a death sentence two days after Christmas. Horrible things can happen at Christmastime that have absolutely nothing to do with the holiday.

When given a chance, Christmas can accentuate the positive and help people to put things into a different perspective. Is Christmas as magical to others as it is to me? Of course not. But if I can keep an open mind to the dark side of Christmas, then I am certain others can hear me out on the good things that come with the holiday.

Instead of retreating from Christmas in bad times, I run straight for it. It is a day that means everything to me, and it is a day that can single handedly make the world a better place. It is a time when the guns of war have silenced for a night, and it is a time when some amazing things can happen.

If Christmas is a hard time of the year for you, then I do honestly offer my sympathy. In my eyes, there is nothing worse than having the most wonderful day of the year ruined by some unwanted or unfeeling event. It is awful. I am immune to it; but I know others who are not and I feel helpless.

But maybe, instead of giving up before it gets started, maybe you could give it a chance. Whenever I say that the response I most hear is "you have no idea how it feels." You're right. I have no idea how the dark side of Christmas feels. But I do know the cleansing abilities of Christmas and how it can bring you peace at a time when peace seems out of reach.

So, with the most honest of intentions, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope you find your miracle this year. If you don't, then I at least hope that you realize that it is out there. This one day out of the year, your miracle is out there waiting to happen. I sincerely hope you find it, and I sincerely hope everyone has a great Christmas Day.

George N Root III is an unflappable believer in Christmas. You can contact him at georgenroot3@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @georgenroot3.