So much has happened in the years since I first decided to start expressing myself in a somewhat more public fashion. Good times, bad times; times when living became sheer monotony as I wearily slogged through a fog of seemingly endless workdays and travel. Years when finding any iota of Christmas spirit has felt like a Herculean task. Through it all, though, even in the lowest times, the spark which flared to defiant life some 4-5 years ago never fully died, although its light has often been dimmed for awhile before once again flaring brightly.
It’s that spark which has kept me going; kept me believing amid a sea of doubts and setbacks; and kept me from giving up on some of my closest-held wishes and dreams…the ones that you’re afraid to whisper about even in your own head; the ones that even your closest friends may not know about. The ones that if you’re honest with yourself, you’re scared may never come into being.
Turns out, wishes like that can be funny things. Especially when your closest-held secret wish has nothing whatsoever to do with anything material. “Funny?” you say? Yep, although not necessarily in the “laugh until your gut hurts” kind of funny…more like the quirky, slap you upside the head out of nowhere, “I’m going to give you what you wished for, in a way you never expected, at the hands of someone (or several someones) you’d never in a million years dream of being the catalyst” kind of funny.
Christmas Wishes
This year has been a struggle when it comes to the spirit of Christmas. I’m not talking about spirit as the giving of material gifts (that’s another topic entirely), or even the giving of one’s time, attention, and fellowship to others. I’m talking about the spirit of joy, hope and renewal that wells from deep within each and every one of us – even if its initial catalyst is an outside source. The internal spark, if you will. “Ok,” I can hear you wondering, “what’s that got to do with Christmas wishes? Or even hidden wishes?” Well, in my case, quite a bit…the shortest complete answer to which is, in spite of my Christmas spirit being about the lowest it’s ever been, the dim spark deep within me has been getting slowly fanned back into life. And that resurgence, caused in part by several outside catalysts (one in particular), has led me to wonder if (and hope that) my closest-held secret wish might not end up becoming a Christmas wish come true.
My Wish for You
With all the craziness happening in the world, my wish for you and yours this Christmas and throughout the year is for happiness, health, love, and peace:
May you find and bring happiness to yourself and others.
May you and all your loved ones be healthy.
May you give and receive love, in all its many forms.
May you find and bring peace to your pocket of the world, one small conflict at a time.
