Reflections to Wind Down Our Year
Thanksgiving is behind us and many of us are anticipating Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and perhaps some other celebratory times of which I am unaware. There is a dramatic difference this year--my mom, Mary Bova died December 8th. Mom was 101 and lived a good life. My brother and I were both with her the day she died. She wasn’t “sick,” she had dementia and would say to us why do I have to take these pills I’m 101? She had no interest in eating, and the only real delight she had was her two-year old great granddaughter, Francesca Robin who is the daughter of granddaughter, Jessica and her husband Ryan. She knew her grandson, Jonathan had moved in with long time girlfriend Eve and if all went well they would marry. I’d been in wonderment. Would mom make it through Christmas? How would we all handle this.
There is an intensity like a heavy fog overcoming most people these days. We are close to a tipping point. Civility is out the window. Overwhelm creeps into daily experiences reshaping reality. Hundreds of spam calls on my business as well as my personal phone. Unscrupulous marketing tactics that have caused my American Express Platinum Card number to be changed three times in two months (Bless their vigilance). Ads for Black Friday and Cyber Monday seem to be flowing over into this second week of December. My inbox is being bombarded with emails from online vendors I once loved to shop with, but now feel exacerbated by.their onslaught of sales.
Plus, of course there have been numerous terror attacks around the world, and countless senseless shootings by young people everywhere.
Where has the joyfulness of (in my case, Christmas) gone? My mom, born in 1918 had seen dramatic changes in the world over her 101 years. Perhaps one of, if not the biggest has to do with how we are with one another, how humans treat other humans. BEing versus doing. I’ve always worked hard to balance this dichotomy, perhaps not always elegantly actually sometimes downright messy. But nonetheless, I held nothing back from my mom. I spoke and/or wrote my truth to her.
I re-read Mom At 97, a blog from four years ago... Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, the Christ. Christ always spoke his truth to disciples as well as followers. Perhaps speaking our truth, but with compassion and understanding is the direction we all need to move in. Truth and compassion… Might more of this bring civility back to our everyday lives? To our workplaces? To the world around us, both near and far? Please, let’s all give it a good try this holiday season--speak your truth with compassion. Start now, don’t put it off. End 2019 by treating others with dignity and respect, no matter our differences, perspectives or shortcomings.
Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do, say or think of today. BE your best you.