Tag Archives: Chanukah

The Road to Diamond, Day 19: “And Here We Are”

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Entertainment, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

December 17, 2024- On the now-shuttered television police procedural, “Blue Bloods”, the lead character, Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck, Magnum, P.I.), would frequently acknowledge the situation he faced-with friend and foe alike, using the simple phrase “and here we are.” He then went on to find some sort of solution to even the stickiest of issues, mostly by the end of an episode.

December brings that phrase to mind, quite often. Here we are-in the cold, the dark, the period of least light, and in many years, the worst month for those with investments-as it is the month for “house cleaning”, divesting of funds that have run their course, before figuring out the final tax bill for the calendar year. Here we are also, in days of conviviality and gift giving; in days of group celebrations: Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa. (Chanukah’s first day falls on Christmas Day, this year.)

So, we are, as is often the case, faced with a choice. The challenges won’t go away, so we can face them in the days to come. Celebrations, if passed over, will go away. To me, it’s better to enjoy the merriment, and restore positive energy, then face the cold, the dark and any financial woes, in a renewed state of emotional strength.

It is always advisable to recognize a problem, while forming a game plan with a solution which will have a good chance of making the situation better.

The Road to 65, Mile 16: Whose Yule?

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Posted by on in Social

December 14, 2014, Prescott- I skirted the fringes of a Facebook scuffle over A) which December holiday was better and B) who has any right to say Islam should not be practiced in American schools?  Hmmm.  The first one seems to be a tussle over pride of place.  To my way of thinking, there is plenty of room for all celebrations.  Yule, or Winter Solstice, is the oldest, going back to the pre-Christian Celts, at least.  Chanukah came next, in terms of chronology.  Christmas has the widest appeal, and greatest social cache, worldwide.  Modern and values-based, Kwanzaa delivers a viable message that Africans were never, historically, a primitive group of peoples.  Festivus?  Hey, what the heck, let the good times roll.

This is the time of year when people like myself can sit back and honour a wide variety of religious practices.  I still send cards and small gifts to Christian family and friends,  and light the Menorah that Penny, Aram and I kept lit, in honour of her family.  I can’t chant the blessing, as she did, but the respect is there.  I also feel the spark of energy that comes with Solstice, as the days get infinitesimally longer.

Fighting over holidays is as silly as parents fighting at Little League games.  I can only wish one and all a peaceful season.