Christmas Reflections

Christmas changes.
Life changes— we all know that. But Christmas changes? Who would’ve thought?!
When I was little, on Christmas Eve, I slept at least six hours less than normal (a three hour reduction on each end).
My Santa Claus creed never changed (I never believed to begin with), but most people’s do after their parents break the awful truth to them or some Scrooge of a classmate spoils it (Confession: That was totally me. I’m sorry!).
My parents once bought my siblings’ presents and put my name on the box, but now I’m old enough to get it myself.
This time next year, I’ll have to come home from college for Christmas. So during the happy holidays, I’ll be living out of a suitcase. There’s something so strange about that…
Next year, I’ll have a brother-in-law in the family on Christmas morning.
Or maybe my sister will spend that day with her in-laws, and she’ll be missing from my Christmas morning.
Each passing Christmas brings changes— where everyone is traveling from, who they’re traveling with, new faces, and old ones missing.

The most surprising changes are the ones that occur in you. A year isn’t very long, but every Christmas I’m a slightly different person— and so are you, probably. It’s bizarre.
Think about that when you have a spare moment: What has happened in the past year? What new experiences have you gained? How have they changed you?
Trust me— it can turn into an interesting train of thought 

Thoughtful Fluff

Tiger Woods is unfaithful. That’s detestable. He should pick one woman and stand by his choice. But honestly, people, why am I hearing about it everywhere I turn? The United States is fighting a war. Tiger Woods’ bedroom offenses are not the most important news stories circulating. Can anyone imagine his drama making it into a textbook, even in the “culture” recap of our decade? No.
Sad thing is: our society would rather hear about Tiger’s lust than about things that matter—probably because it is more carefree and frivolous. Listening to it requires no understanding, is not thought-provoking, and does not inspire fear or even deeply-felt concern (unless it causes you to despair about the state of society). The only response it may draw out is condemnation, an emotion that is so intimately connected to human nature that it’s always at the ready anyway.
Edward de Bono, a man I do not recall ever having heard of, once said, “Intelligence is something we are born with. Thinking is a skill that must be learned.” I agree with him. Instead, we are filling our minds with trivial gossip that will not have a lasting effect on our society or ourselves. Inundated with fluff, we never give ourselves the opportunity to think, or to deepen.
Thinking is a skill. Develop it.