Yes it is Christmas Eve. If you did not get it, you will have to do without it. If they are not coming then we will not see them. It is either a matter of feeling some sort of peace or some sort of internal turmoil.
The world has continued to be full of turmoil since Sandy Hook. Three days ago some suicide bomber went to a political rally in Pakistan and killed eight people with himself. Today some ex-convict started a fire outside of Rochester, New York and then shot four volunteer firemen--killing two of them. Here in Louisville, Kentucky a 20-year-old male was shot dead. Psychopaths and sociopaths do not have empathy and do not value human life.
The World Does Not Offer Us Inner Peace
In this life, I have been hard-pressed to find that the world as we know has ever given a sense of peace. The phrase that comes to mind is "dog eat dog." The world that we live is in rough.
The roughness seems amplified during Christmas time when the Christmas music comes out suggesting peace love and good will. There is something disingenuous and ironic about Christmas music when the other 10 1/2 months are anything but good and fair.
Many of our workplaces are not fair. In many of our workplaces we endure cronyism and dishonesty despite whatever policy exists to enforce order and fairness. In these same workplaces, the grievance processes prove to be a joke because if the unfairness serves the purpose of management.
Many of our families are not fair. We have family members who are frauds who hold the power cards. Dealing with them is like eating a packet of the pink packet sweetener. We would like to feel closer to them but the price is to do it on their terms where they think they are being nice but their comments are nothing but sugar-coated abuse.
These global and personal factors are not going to give us inner-peace. Thinking about these things creates the feelings of pain, anger and loneliness. If we are alone tonight, then we run the risk of dwelling on our pain.
Being alone on a night like tonight also amplifies the pain because there is the likely message of inferiority or deficit because if we are alone then there must be something wrong with us. No one wonder there is more suicides in the month of December and at Christmas.
Finding Peace
Many people think that finding peace is this grand state that is supposed to be once and for-and-for-all. The reality is that peace is generally a moment by moment matter.
Finding Peace begins with recognizing you are feeling pain and chaos. The next step is stopping thinking about the pain. Stopping may have to be done one moment at a time. I think that peace is best found when you are doing things according to your religious or moral code.
You may have to do a number of activities or "things" to stop thinking about the chaos and pain. There are options to finding to peace even just for the moment. We all have moments of pain and we have moments of peace.
I had my annual viewing of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and in the prospective "ghost of Christmas future" portion, I saw a great example. Bob Cratchitt and his family were grieving the death of Tiny Tim. Bob was able to look at his surviving children, think for a minute and say "I am a happy man." I counted my blessings along with Bob and I felt a moment of peace.
Peace Doesn't Have to Be Perfect
Since peace tends to last from one moment to another, it does not have to be perfect. It just has to get us through. Many people in AA have to pray the serenity prayer many times a day.
Many of us not in AA could benefit from such a practice too. This is a great way of stopping negative thoughts and getting your mind away from the negative.
Final Comments
Tonight, we celebrate the "Prince of Peace." It has proven to be hard if not impossible for many to think about peace given personal and global situations. It is a challenge for each one of us to feel or not feel it; it is a choice.
If you happen to be reading this and are feeling hopeless, I suggest you wake someone up or call your nearest helpline. In most communities, it is 211. Sometimes a person can be depressed beyond trying to practice thought-stopping and praying the serenity prayer.
I wish you peace tonight and peace tomorrow.
The world has continued to be full of turmoil since Sandy Hook. Three days ago some suicide bomber went to a political rally in Pakistan and killed eight people with himself. Today some ex-convict started a fire outside of Rochester, New York and then shot four volunteer firemen--killing two of them. Here in Louisville, Kentucky a 20-year-old male was shot dead. Psychopaths and sociopaths do not have empathy and do not value human life.
The World Does Not Offer Us Inner Peace
In this life, I have been hard-pressed to find that the world as we know has ever given a sense of peace. The phrase that comes to mind is "dog eat dog." The world that we live is in rough.
The roughness seems amplified during Christmas time when the Christmas music comes out suggesting peace love and good will. There is something disingenuous and ironic about Christmas music when the other 10 1/2 months are anything but good and fair.
Many of our workplaces are not fair. In many of our workplaces we endure cronyism and dishonesty despite whatever policy exists to enforce order and fairness. In these same workplaces, the grievance processes prove to be a joke because if the unfairness serves the purpose of management.
Many of our families are not fair. We have family members who are frauds who hold the power cards. Dealing with them is like eating a packet of the pink packet sweetener. We would like to feel closer to them but the price is to do it on their terms where they think they are being nice but their comments are nothing but sugar-coated abuse.
These global and personal factors are not going to give us inner-peace. Thinking about these things creates the feelings of pain, anger and loneliness. If we are alone tonight, then we run the risk of dwelling on our pain.
Being alone on a night like tonight also amplifies the pain because there is the likely message of inferiority or deficit because if we are alone then there must be something wrong with us. No one wonder there is more suicides in the month of December and at Christmas.
Finding Peace
Many people think that finding peace is this grand state that is supposed to be once and for-and-for-all. The reality is that peace is generally a moment by moment matter.
Finding Peace begins with recognizing you are feeling pain and chaos. The next step is stopping thinking about the pain. Stopping may have to be done one moment at a time. I think that peace is best found when you are doing things according to your religious or moral code.
You may have to do a number of activities or "things" to stop thinking about the chaos and pain. There are options to finding to peace even just for the moment. We all have moments of pain and we have moments of peace.
I had my annual viewing of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and in the prospective "ghost of Christmas future" portion, I saw a great example. Bob Cratchitt and his family were grieving the death of Tiny Tim. Bob was able to look at his surviving children, think for a minute and say "I am a happy man." I counted my blessings along with Bob and I felt a moment of peace.
Peace Doesn't Have to Be Perfect
Since peace tends to last from one moment to another, it does not have to be perfect. It just has to get us through. Many people in AA have to pray the serenity prayer many times a day.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Many of us not in AA could benefit from such a practice too. This is a great way of stopping negative thoughts and getting your mind away from the negative.
Final Comments
Tonight, we celebrate the "Prince of Peace." It has proven to be hard if not impossible for many to think about peace given personal and global situations. It is a challenge for each one of us to feel or not feel it; it is a choice.
If you happen to be reading this and are feeling hopeless, I suggest you wake someone up or call your nearest helpline. In most communities, it is 211. Sometimes a person can be depressed beyond trying to practice thought-stopping and praying the serenity prayer.
I wish you peace tonight and peace tomorrow.
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