So here we are, on the verge of the big day.
Somewhat like lost souls aboard the Flying Dutchman, unfulfilled shoppers (you know who you are, men) still roam Comox Valley streets looking for one final treasure to brighten somebody’s Christmas.
Others smugly eye perfectly wrapped gifts under the tree and await Wednesday morning without the stress of last-minute shopping.
Without even delving into the who-took-the-Christ-out-of-Christmas debate, maybe it’s time to pause and reflect on some non-consumerism aspects of the holiday season.
While spending time with some family members can cause stress, there is no better time of the year to reunite with our brethren and friends.
It doesn’t get any better than spending time with loved ones at Christmas. If all is not well in some of your relationships, there is no better time than to call a truce.
Who knows? Time well spent at Christmas could lead to increased goodwill in 2014.
Christmas is such a wonderful opportunity to re-establish contact with people we like with whom we have lost touch. Pick up the phone, send an e-mail message, maybe even write a letter.
OK, baby steps it is. Send a longtime, yet-estranged buddy an e-mail then.
Now is also a great time of year to remember what we have instead of what we don’t have. Carve out a few minutes and reflect on what’s important and what isn’t.
That was driven home this week when Lewis Bartholomew described meeting a man who fought in the Vietnamese navy in a “mostly forgotten war” as Bartholomew describes it.
The man, who stopped at Bartholomew's Alberni Project display at the Comox Centre Mall, told him about watching his country slowly being invaded and conquered. The veteran sobbed as he recounted striking his national flag.
People are out there in pain, mental and physical. Take a moment and donate to a charity. Help somebody.
Besides celebrating the birth of Christ and giving gifts, Christmas is about people.
editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com