Christmas 2019

THE JOY OF TRADING GOLDEN BEERS FOR GOLDEN YEARS

I have seen many a Christmas come and go over my lifetime. This will be the 66th Christmas of my lifetime and the 20th Christmas since I made the decision to stop pretending that my life was mine to live as I saw fit to live it.

My only regret is that it took me so long to come to my senses. But as we like to say 'in the rooms', "It takes what it takes" and "Time takes Time." If it were not for my life experiences, I could not and would not be able to appreciate today that the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. All I needed to do was stop bemoaning that fact and simply climb over the fence to get to the other side.

Do you know why the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? Because it is properly cared for and maintained. It is watered and fertilized and weeded so that it can grow thick and lush and be enjoyed by all. The grass on my side of the fence never received the proper care because I didn't feel that I should have to do any of those things. Grass should grow on its own, right? It came from God so he should be the one taking care of it not me. I'm just supposed to enjoy it, right?

True enough, but I'm supposed to enjoy it, not destroy it. Not trample all over it like a herd of buffalo!

Life is a gift! When we're given a gift, aren't we supposed to appreciate it and treasure it (and The Giver)?!? No matter what we think of the gift, isn't it "the thought that counts"? Was not the gift given to us out of love? Just because it wasn't the gift we were hoping for doesn't mean we can toss the gift aside as being worthless and meaningless, does it? Of course not! Yet that is what I did with my gift initially. I played with it for a time, got bored with it, and cast it aside along with all the other gifts I'd been given. Just like a petulant child a few weeks after Christmas time. Rather than appreciate all that had been given to me, I sought to have all the things that other people had and/or those things that some people told me I needed to have in order to be happy and content -- things that purportedly would give my life meaning and value.

What a fool I was for listening to all the wrong people and what a fool I've been for trying to convince others it was all true. 

I cannot get those days back and I cannot undo the damage to myself and others. But there is one thing I CAN DO, and that is to tell everyone who will listen to me... 

There is only ONE source that gives true meaning to life and that source is the ONE who gives us life and the freedom to live it as we please. 

 

 If you live your life to please yourself,
 you will die full of regret and misery.  
If you live your life to please the ONE who gave you life,
 you will come to know true love, joy and inner peace (serenity).