I have always had mixed emotions when it comes to the end of the year holidays. I have a feeling that you can relate. I remember years ago I worked at a place called “Peaches Music and Video” in Mobile, Alabama. I was going to college at South Alabama University trying to figure my life out in the usual head strong, independent, yet laid back manor that my friends know all to well….
That particular year I had to work through the holidays. It was cool though. It was better than washing dishes or waiting tables which I had done my share of….and that place was so incredible. I know I’m sharing part of my timeline that certainly dates me but I don’t care about all that. It was, as Sinatra would say, “ A very good year”……We had Tom Petty, the Eagles, the Beatles, and Muddy Waters all on CD compilation gift packs. We were the only store to carry Vinyl Records and 45’s too. The store was pretty big and located on Airport Boulevard.
It was the day after Christmas and to my surprise we had a busy day until about 4 or 5 pm. It’s funny how some moments in your life you remember details. The store was empty and this one guy comes in and starts mulling around. Being the young, naïve kid that I was, I walked up, smiled, and said, Merry Christmas, happy New Year, “Can I help you?”
The man looked at me and said, “No, this is the worst time of the year, and there’s really nothing you can do to help me, but thank you”. He was so somber with just a touch of sarcasm, but sincere. He wasn’t being rude. He was being honest.
I replied, “I’m sorry you feel that way”. He said, “well, I’ve had a lot of loss in my life and the holidays are just depressing. I thought I would give music a try.” I said, “well you’re in the right place for that, please let know if you need help finding anything.” He wound up buying 325 dollars worth of music and he had great taste. He left me though with an experience I will never forget. Not everyone looks forward to the holidays.
It normally takes a few years, but we are slowly in danger of losing all our innocence, and that youthful child fades away. Oh, it’s true isn’t it? The older we get, or whenever heartache strikes, which can be at any age, we get chinks in our armor. Sometimes we don’t even get chipped away, we get blown away all at once. Whatever your battles may be, we all have them. We all feel the same pain at some point.
So, what is my wish for Thanksgiving & the Holidays? Well, after a few years of living, I have come to this crossroad with our traditions. I have a wish for me, and a wish for you no matter what your beliefs are shaping up to be.
I’ve said in previous blogs that I have a diverse group of friends and acquaintances, and the one thing that draws us together is love, and the commitment to try to live and work with that as a principal guide. I am a believer in Jesus. I personally love reading the stories of his interaction with people. No matter what you believe though, the stories are good……and, there’s truth in them.
At the end of every year many people suffer through the holidays with overwhelming mixed feelings of emotions and it can be suffocating. It can cause deep depression and anxiety. I turn to music, and creative things, because it’s what I do, and because it’s such a gift, and we try to turn those mixed emotions into something positive. The Christmas shows we do are a reflection of that, but I am all too aware that someone in the audience is struggling. It could be a loss of a loved one, a loss of a job at the worst time, a child struggling with no telling what, or an illness, and everything around them during the holidays has the potential of turning those feelings into overdrive.
My wish is simple. I love the story of Jesus and the children. I love what he says to his disciples in that story. “Let the children come to me”, “Be like a child”…….
Oh, I know there’s someone reading this that immediately says, “not everyone has a good childhood”…..that’s true but that’s not where I’m headed. All I’m saying is, before life hurt any of us, we were kids. Kids don’t live in the past to long. They don’t hold grudges, they forgive quickly, and they love freely. They embrace the good over the bad, and they look to the future with optimism. Before we had the chance for life to “beat us down” we were just little kids, and even if it was a short moment, we all started out this way.
My wish is for all of us to find that kid inside us, and share it with someone during this holiday season. There’s someone that needs a light, and it could come from us.