Just a Song Before I Go...

Well, here we are. I don't know anyone who would say that 2011 has been anything less than challenging. It seems that life continued to rain one hardship after another upon us, quite mercilessly, until many of us thought that we could take no more. I know for myself, I've been challenged in ways I never though I'd have to deal with... some from loss of loved ones, some from past mistakes that I've finally had to be honest about and deal with, some from a markedly different state of health over the last few months that I've been trying to learn manage.

And yet, throughout all of this, there is hope. Perhaps not for a return to the innocence and carefree bliss that was yesterday, but for a wiser, more inspired future... One in which I can take what I've learned, improve what I can about myself, and put something positive back into the world.

Look, I can easily say 2011 can go fuck itself. Really. But I'd be selling it short if I hadn't learned a lot and grown from all the strife I've been through. Perspective. And that's why I know the next year CAN be so much better. God, or whatever we want to call it, does test us and push us beyond what we think our limits should be... so far beyond sometimes that we lose sight of hope. And we can say that there's a reason for this. But what, really is that reason? I have to surmise that in the end, this is truly up to us. Make it count for something. Some of my best friends, old and new, have experienced such strife this year, and it's inspiring to me to see them rebuilding and redefining themselves in terms of a cultivating more positive future.

This is usually the part of the blog where I let up and crack a few jokes for comic relief. But I'm feeling a bit more cautious this Christmas; a bit more solemn, and in some ways, I'm tuned in a little more to what this thing really is supposed to mean. Whether you're religious or not, the sentiment can certainly be embraced: That a period in one's life, good or bad, has ended, and that if we choose to accept it, there is hope for a brighter tomorrow. We just have to put a lot more work into that than I used to think... "Sweat Equity" for peace, if you will.

I personally think that celebrating that idea of hope each year is important for us to keep sight of. Symbolically or literally, whichever you choose to believe, it serves us well to remember that light and salvation are possible when darkness is all around. That, my friends, is what Christmas is. You don't need to mace your fellow man to get your fat little fingers on an XBox at Wal-Mart to get this concept. You don't need to rush around to fill up a shopping list with things you can't afford. You really don't need anything in the material world to keep Christmas in your heart.

I'm trying to take a little time this weekend to actually pick up the phone, text, get on email, or even Facebook as many of my loved ones as I can just to let know I care about them. I don't know when I'll do it again, so why not? And if you're reading this, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year to you!

In the meantime: Let your heart be light. In a year our troubles will be out of sight!