Shining Thru

The most beautiful sights are sometimes the most common things in life

A smile or a rainbow, a warm gentle rain, or a glimpse of love

The person you love and a smile that gleams through their eyes

A waterfall in the middle of the woods, secluded and romantic

A cozy dinner and movie in the arms of passion

Smiles and laughter when you need it the most

A child’s innocence staring back through the nonsense

A passion dressed in the white of purity

Some beautiful things can never be replaced

It’s that time of year again when the weather turns cold, you’re trying to make sure that you have a gift for everyone that will be at the family get together this year.  Trying to align schedules and make everyone happy, while the people on the street have nasty attitudes and even worse driving habits.  You try to stay calm and not use your horn or your finger as you’re trying to cruise down the street in peace listening to your Christmas music on the radio.  But one person after another cuts you off, or flings something out their window, or is just plain rude in one way or another and by the time you get home you’re frustrated.  No matter how hard you try to forget about it, you’re still frustrated.  And everything, every little thing, that happens after that makes you more and more frustrated until you feel like you’ll simply fall apart.  You feel like at any minute your very being will fly into a million pieces and you will bust apart as the tears start to fall….no real reason, just too many high powered emotions rushing you at the same time.

Sometimes you wish your life was more like one of the Christmas movies you like to watch at this time of year, where the whole family learns a valuable lesson and everyone is smiling and singing Christmas Carols by the fire at the end of the movie…..unfortunately, life is not like that, not by a long shot.  You’re probably going to have to fight every person in that room if you want them to play the piano, stand around the piano and sing instead of watch whatever game is coming on tv.

Sometimes you wish Christmas was about what you thought it was about all of those years ago.  What the Whoos make it about in one of my favorite Christmas movies, when little Cindy Loo Who wants to make sure that everyone knows Christmas for what it is, instead of what we have turned it into.  I think sometimes we do lose track of what is important.  Even if your family is driving you crazy this Christmas season, it is important that they are still here and that you can still see them.  That you still love them, because they are family and it’s Christmas.  Hopefully we can all keep it together, long enough to remember that message.

Life is full of new experiences, some of them are planned out for days, weeks, months, sometimes even years.  Sometimes it seems like you wait forever to try something that you have always had your eye on, and then other times, something new can catch you by complete surprise.  Sometimes it’s a good thing, but it can be bad, or at least uncomfortable…other times it is fun, new and exciting.  The thing about surprises, is that you never know until it happens if you’ll get a positive or negative outcome….or sometimes neutral.

It’s funny how new experiences can spring themselves on you, while others you have to fight and work hard for.  It could be something as natural as falling in love, something that you have no control over at all….or it could be stumbling upon an academic program and going back to school.  Or maybe you worked hard to gain access to the academic program of your choice, just to find out at the last minute you missed one of the qualifications listed, so you had to settle for second best.

Sometimes surprises can come at the most inconvenient time, while other times, they hit you at just the right moment and throw you for a huge pick-me-up that you’ve been waiting for.  Sometimes a new experience can open your eyes to a whole new perspective on the world, a whole new set of things that you never knew existed.  Sometimes experiencing something one time can be all you need to find the freedom to enter the whole world and continue to take it up a step each time you go through the door.  Sometimes a crack in the door is the only invitation that you need in order to join the playing field.