Think About It

When we discuss the coming of a new year it is tempting to get excited about a chance to begin again.  It might even sound like we get to hit a reset button or begin a reboot process so that everything starts anew.  Unfortunately, that isn’t necessarily accurate.  The unwrapping of a new calendar doesn’t mean that history has changed or events have been altered.  It isn’t like the movie “Groundhog Day” where we get to keep starting over until we get it right.  There is something nice about a new year, but it isn’t the answer to all of our past problems. The value in the new year is an artificial point in time when we can affect some changes in our lives.  No, we don’t get to start afresh, but we can start thinking and acting differently.  There are two areas where a chance to reframe ourselves can be advantageous: Attitudes :  For the most part, we get to pick our attitudes.  People can influence our circumstances, but we have the last s...

When we think back on 2017 what will we remember?  There have been some significant social events in the past year – some represent the highs of human advancement while others mark the lows of human nature.  We lauded some good moments as people rose to the top while we cried during times in which we witnessed the worst of mankind.  In guess, in a sense, it was a typical year. While 2017 was like most years from a global perspective, what was 2017 like for you, personally?  Did you accomplish what you set out to do for the year or was it one that was fraught with failure or disappointment.  Did you experience a resurgence in your life or did you have to confront continual barriers and stumbling blocks?  At the end of the year do you feel closer in your relationships with others or even more distant? One of the things to remember about any year is that what happened will not stand on its own, it will be a part of what makes us who we will become.  ...

A review of 2017 will conjure up some interesting topics – one of which is the age of accountability for sexual misconduct.  Not all the issues that surfaced this year occurred within the past twelve months, but it seems like when the dam burst, years (even decades) of improprieties came rolling out.  The fallout from sexual harassment and bad behavior has found its way into the social limelight, the political arena as well as the judicial system, but one place that it must be addressed is in religious circles.  No, not all allegations had a connection to churches or religious institutions but each one of them presents an issue with a person’s spiritual make-up.  When one person blatantly makes another person feel uncomfortable, something is amiss.  First of all, it is a violation of the Golden Rule, but often it is also accompanied by some type of action that is either unwanted or immoral.  Interestingly, this might not even involve physical contact – m...

          Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who made an outlandish comment?  Maybe you were discussing their relationship with their parents and they said, “I hope I never have to see them again!” or the conversation was about their depressed state and they blurted out, “Maybe it would be best if I were just dead.”.  When this happens our first reaction is a strong desire to be somewhere else at that moment, but our most probable response is to say something like, “How can you say that?  That is dumb!  You don’t really mean it!”  While our comments are meant to logically assess the statements that were made, that may not be what that person needs to hear at that moment.  When this happens there are a few things in play – first, the person is most likely not operating from a logical perspective and secondly, they feel safe enough with us to make these statements.  They are reacting to their intense emotional sta...

If you gather up all the calendars you have around your house, there is a good chance that at least one of them will make reference to today being Boxing Day.  Now, for those of us who are fans of the television show M*A*S*H* we might recall an episode where the 4077th was introduced to the day and told that, traditionally, on this day the supervisors (in this case, the officers) would trade places with their staff (the enlisted folks).   Some of my British friends might be in a position to correct me on this, but I never really found any substance to this tradition.  So, what is the origin of Boxing Day?  While there doesn’t appear to be a definitive answer on the subject, one thing that seems to be pretty consistent is that it was a day when the “haves” did something nice for the “have-nots”.  It may have involved the rich giving their staff a day off to spend with their families after having served them during the busy holiday season.  It might hav...

“Do you still believe in Santa Claus?”  Oh, the pain this question wrought for many of us in Elementary School.  We wanted to hang on to our youthful confidence while facing some ever-increasing realities.  We liked the idea of the Jolly Old Elf, but we feared being looked down upon by our peers or those older kids we idolized.  We did everything we could to hang in there, but eventually about the only thing we could rationalize was a belief in the “spirit” of Santa Claus. Do we still believe in Jesus?  I struggle with how the lines this time of year get blurred.  In all honesty, I really don’t care if you promote the idea of Santa Claus, but it is vital to me that we all believe in Jesus.  It’s kind of fun to think about the personification of Kris Kringle, but we must remember that even if there isn’t a real Santa there is very definitely a REAL Jesus.  He was a real person and He is the real Savior.  Yes, at one point Jesus was the Babe...

When I look back on the Christmases of my youth I have some very fond memories.  We always had presents under a tree and we were often able to spend the holidays with family.  We had a few White Christmases, but more often than not the “white” was beach sand rather than snow.  As I look back I do recall a few disappointments – such as waking upon on Christmas morning and NOT finding a 1978 Trans Am parked in the driveway.  (One time I was given a new car for Christmas … it was a plastic car wrapped up and placed under the tree – I was not amused.)  In retrospect, when I was disappointed during the holiday season it was because I wished for something that I should not have expected.  The thing that set me up for disappointment was me, not the circumstances that presented themselves. I believe that when we, as adults, feel the stress and disappointment this time of year it is often because we “over-expect”.  After years of family conflict at the Chris...