It has been a hard year. From the depression and anxiety of our (global) economic struggle, the pandemic, one month after another of dealing with politicians... – and no real end in sight. We are in some real crap – and it will likely get worse before it gets better. Yet… today is Christmas Eve – and around this time, whether I will it or not, I always find my spirits lifting just a bit. So I would like to remind everyone: There is still great beauty, kindness, decency, generosity – and selflessness.
Every front line worker and essential worker struggling to keep going through this pandemic has given much. Every nurse, doctor, the folks that bag your groceries or prepare your prescriptions. Every delivery worker, every mail carrier. There is still a spirit of decency within so many of us – and some times it can be hard to see with all the politics and a media that focuses so heavily on ignorance and cruelty, on disaster and death, on every negative you can think of. Yet remember: there are now working vaccines for the virus. It is practically a miracle that they were created as quickly as they were – and are as effective as they have been shown to be.
Every day, I see more people walking than before – even up here in the northern Maine winter. Every day, I look for something good to turn my attention away from so much ugliness that we see. The freshly fallen snow upon the pine trees, the stars at night, my fiance’s smile. There is always something… something worth holding on for – even if it is hard to see, at times.
I won’t try to sugarcoat things, we’re in a lot of crap, a big damn mess. Yet for all of that, for all the misery, suffering, poverty, disease and death… I believe it is important to remember that there is another side to life, to humanity. Every day lives are saved in the ICU, every day people somehow struggle and find the will to keep moving, to keep living. Every day a newborn opens its eyes to behold the world, with innocence and wonder.
There is no perfect utopia. There is no perfect, really – but what there is, I have come to find, is a balance.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all, whether you celebrate them or not, or whichever one you celebrate. May you find comfort and happiness despite the darkness. Shut off the TV, turn away from the news pages. Look to those you love. Take a walk – let nature remind you of the beauty still there to be seen.
Universe, God, Goddess and Flying Spaghetti Monster (and every other deity and non-deity) bless you all.
Truly, we are all in this together. Even us nerds that still play text based games!
Dave - the player of Alerak
