No. 12 - Christmas Year

We wake up with the anticipation of seeing friends and family, anxious to know how they are and what they’ve been up to. We make time out of our hectic schedules to stop and think about our loved ones and to demonstrate our caring by selecting that special gift for them. We clean the house top-to-bottom and delight in the flavorful aromas that waif upon the air, enticing our salivating palate. What a day indeed!

Here comes our cousins, our siblings, and our parents. Here comes our extended family - all those who share in our history, past and present. In open love and kindness we embrace our family one-by-one as they walk in the door, all too happy to see them.

So what, that this year has been a challenge. So what, that we had a struggle on our hands and, while we are so happy to have made it through the year, we are so glad its almost over. So what, that we had an argument with our sibling or cousin three years ago… today we have decided to put all of that aside. Today, we will not allow any of it to cloud the celebrations because we have absolutely earned this break. We deserve it.

Gifts are shared… some folk having more to give than other, but shared nonetheless. That watch, that tie, that favorite perfume… all the things that make us smile. We feel relieved knowing that someone does, indeed, care about us… “Look”, we say to ourselves… “here’s the tangible proof”. It is then we know we are bonded by our love and our sense of familiar community. Then we are truly able to set aside our boundaries, our protective barriers and our hardness. Perhaps just for a little while. Perhaps for the day… but we did it…

And it felt so good... such a tremendous relief.

Just one day… just a few hours of one day of the year... only a fraction of time in our lives. That is all we have chosen to give in appreciation of our family and loved ones. Not even enough time to hold a memory that can help us all become whole again. For sure, a little bit of goodness is always better for the heart and mind then none at all. For sure, a glimpse of unity is better than no semblance at all or continued disconnection.

But what would we become if we decided to keep that spirit of forgiveness/forgetfulness/unity for the entire year. Oh my! What a thing that would be! What great things could we accomplish if we really understood how important it is to us all to always embrace one another in unity and love? How much more could we all develop towards realizing our individual (and community, I daresay) fullness if we but chose to stay in the mindset we have chosen to embrace on this day?

I think we would experience an amazing revelation. I think we would come to fully appreciate and value our capacity to love, grow and share in unison. I think we would see the tangible proof of our ability to overcome adversity if we would but allow ourselves to be family in the true sense of the word.

Throughout this year I’ve had hundreds (literally) of conversations with men and women of all walks of life. What has become so strikingly clear to me is the Black community is in dire need of a reminder that we need one another to share in a more vibrant and rewarding life. Our children need us. Our communities need us. Our survival and welfare depends on it. We have to find a way to step away from the divisiveness and segmentation that is our current mode of operation.

The very fact we are able to put aside our differences and acknowledge our appreciation for one another during this time of the year gives us hope. It represents a tangible and obvious example of how good we can feel in the presence of one another and it can secure in our minds the belief that all the drama we’ve faced means nothing more then we allow it.

In the scheme of things I like to think we are intelligent and thoughtful enough to understand it is far more valuable to hold on to a cherished memory than to allow an event or action to defeat us. I believe Black people have the capacity to survive adversity like no other ethnicity has because our years of slavery have proven it.

Whether you believe in Christmas or not it is my hope that by giving yourself time to feel the love and goodness of your family, you will see the obvious reason to believe in US.

I walked around my Lake today and of all the people there I saw only a handful of Black people…

This Christmas has been beautiful. The day was clear and fresh. The sunlight cascaded off the lake as it warmed the water foul and walkers alike. The gentle breeze carried the smells of dinner cooking. I stopped and sat to consider this day and the profound experiences I had. In doing so I came to the heartfelt conclusion that I miss seeing US together.

To be alive, on this day, and in this time, is a wonderful blessing and I’m quite thankful for every step of my journey. I’m thankful for all the great people I’ve come to love and appreciate and for the many more I’ll some day come to know and love. I do not live my life with some kind of detached sense of reality… I’m fully aware of the challenges and hardships we all face. I do choose to see the good in everyone and to experience life looking always at the positive.

It would be a noble undertaking and an incredible step forward if we all choose to hold our Christmas mindset not for just this day. Not even for just this holiday season... but for the start of, and the entirety of, the coming Christmas Year.