A couple years ago I had just retired. I had a pretty good job managing a beautiful marina for 10 years but it had been purchased a few years earlier by a growing corporation and I was past the age of wanting to be part of a corporation or even having a boss, to be honest, so I looked at my age and my options and decided to quit. It wasn't traumatic and in fact felt like a weight had been lifted off me, nevertheless I had to look at changes in finances and activities and life in general. This was the week before Christmas and I had planned to take the holidays off anyway so it gave me some time to ponder.
Our winters are pretty temperate around the Galveston Bay area where I live, I don't care for traffic or crowds and I just couldn't get in the mood for Christmas. I wasn't quite to the "Bah, Humbug!" level or depressed or anything, just not quite up for Festivus, at least not the feats of strength (an inside joke based on the Seinfield show). I was allowing myself to fall into a funk. Fortunately, I realized it and also realized that it was up to me to get out of it. Short of grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniels, which I probably eventually did also, I needed an attitude adjustment.
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. ~William James
As I've preached before, one of the fastest ways to improve your attitude is through gratitude and being grateful for what you do have. Well, enormous wealth wasn't going to be on my list but I've been blessed with good health. I come from a family of long livers. Short pancreas but long livers. I have an expanded family that also enjoys good health and none of them are crazy, crackheads or even jerks for that matter. Our gatherings are always fun. I have a long list of friends going back as early as elementary school. Many I don't see very often but they are there. Anyway, I had a pretty good gratitude platform and was already feeling better when I was possessed, possessed I tell you to head toward our largest, most crowded area mall.
I started singing Christmas carols, most of which I can't remember all the words so I made them up or changed songs, and dived right into the worst traffic you can imagine. I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere so it just didn't matter. I waved and smiled at people and let them cut in line and was just having the time of my life. Little kind acts are another means of improving your attitude, especially when you cause other people to smile through your actions. I had to park so far out that I could barely see the stores but I needed the exercise anyway so off I went. The temperature had dropped a little and the wind was blowing. I put my collar up and imagined I smelled a fireplace burning. Then I went into the mall for about an hour just ambling from store to store. I dropped a buck in Santa's bucket and enjoyed a hearty "Merry Christmas" and I can tell you that in just a very short period of time, through my very own efforts, creat ed for myself a season to be jolly.
So if you find yourself experiencing some holiday doldrums, grab hold of your little elf bootstraps and pull yourself out of it. You only get one of these seasons a year and you only get so many years, so if you're not feeling the Christmas spirit, count your blessings, go wander through a Christmas tree lot, think back to Christmases you did enjoy, do something nice for someone and holler Merry Christmas to everyone you see. I promise your days will be merry and bright.
So a Special Merry Christmas to you,
Gene Rutt
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