The Christmas season is
here! Although they won't admit it, I
love to watch my 17 year old and almost 13 (as he puts it) 12 year old really
get INTO the animated Christmas specials.
These specials are always marvels of drawings and animation put together
on a computer somewhere and as my kids are quick to point out, not REALLY
real. There is always that magical
moment in these specials though where the boys really buy into the loveable
characters…you can see it in their eyes and their wonderment smiles. Their imagination is touched and all is right
in the world at that moment.
The moment for me growing
up was always the colorful Christmas tree.
I remember as a kid just loving to stretch out on the floor next to the
tree while enjoying the classical music my parents would put on. I would get lost in the warmth of the season
as my mind would travel to far away places inside the safety of the family while
staring into the beautiful lights. The
music would take your imagination in many different places. I could bask in that aura for hours. Those moments stay in your memory and they
have immeasurable value.
Ironically as I post this
on social media…it seems that now more and more I long for world BEFORE social
media and media in general. It seems we
have so many agenda driven media outlets now...it has become commonplace. . As I scroll through Facebook posts on my page
I see so many sites extolling virtues….only to see it somehow de-valued quickly
by others. There is little place for
imagination as facts are thrown at you to prove anything you can think of.
I am the first to admit,
I have an urge to post the cute thing one of my boys did on-line sometimes
instead of just savoring the moment myself.
The urge to get responses and approval from others can de-value life's
experiences and dull imagination. This
type of need to share everything to everybody is driving us a little mad I
think.
Politics and social media
cannot be escaped…as hard as we try. There is always a debate, issue, or event that
comes along and we let these issues rob us of our joy. In a
world of social media and 24 hour media, imagination and creativity are
manipulated. Newscasts, movies, and
posts have are forced into our consciousness manipulating our imaginations. Seems
they thrive on division among us. They become like a drug and it seems we have
less love of life and less wonder about it.
Our senses have become dulled to what is truly beautiful in life.
There are beautiful
things inside each of us that we need to rediscover. That care-free and child like place that can
be completely soul healing is what I want to rediscover. Finding the beauty in moments that can renew
even the hardest of hearts and….and I believe that is what God wants us to
experience. In keeping with the season,
Handel's Messiah comes to mind. The beauty
of that piece can uplift through the struggles and fears of life. There is no political agenda in that.
My goal as I go into 2016
is to discover more and more of these type places. Find more of those moments, as with my boys
when I can get lost INTO life's beautiful experiences and recapture that child
like imagination. More peace…less
strife, more joy…less turbulence, More
beauty…less bureaucracy, More love…less anger.
Merry Christmas to all!
