Happy New Year

In just a little over a day, depending on when and where you're reading this, we can kiss ol' 2008 goodbye. The year will get tucked safely into the anals of history, and like most things historical, forgotten. Hey, don't let the screen door hit you!

But, I'm perplexed. Why does one year end and a new one start dead in the middle of the coldest, yuckiest time of the year? If you've ever been to New England during December and January, you'd know what I was talking about.

I don't much understand the fascination with traveling to New York City to celebrate New Year's Eve either. You get a much better view of the ball dropping from the comfort and warmth of your own living room if you just watch it on TV! Why would you want to stand outside in the freezing cold for hours in a crowd of thousands all waiting for that split second in time that marks the change of years? It's sure not likely you'd find a public restroom if you needed it.

Wouldn't it be so much more enjoyable if the new year started on, say, April 1? You'd have April Fool's Day and New Year wrapped into one with the perfect excuse to be the idiot you'll become when you drink too much anyway. At least it would be a bit warmer, and that means you'd drink more.

Better yet would be if the New Year fell on July 4. Yeah. We could celebrate our freedom from one heck of a nasty year. And, we'd drink even more due to the heat-induced thirst.

I'd even settle for a time of year when both the northern and southern hemispheres had nice weather. That would be OK with me. Just not in the dead of winter during the coldest, rottenest time of year.

Whoever decided the new year starts on January 1 really blew it. It doesn't make any sense to me. What was the excuse for it? I'd like it to be in the spring when the gray starts turning green and everything looks new again.

Then again, it just might not be such a bad idea after all. Lately, it appears as though everyone needs a pick-me-up and a major change to feel hopeful again. January 1 is a good time of year for that, and not a minute too soon. Just leave the blues in 2008. That'll work.

Happy New Year!

The World is Ending

What would you say if I told you that the world is going to end? It seems logical to me: If it begins, it must end. You know, it's like a "what goes up, must come down" sort of thing.

Let me put a different spin on it. What would you say if I told you that the world as we know it is going to end?

Firstly, I insist that you forget about saying things like, "oh well," "it's God's will," or "life's a bitch and then you die." That's a cop out, and you know it. That's passive-resistance, and that just doesn't cut it. It's not an option.

Secondly, I insist that you forget about looking elsewhere, looking for someone else to give you the answer, or at the very least, to give you a hint. This is something that only you can answer for you.

The world as we know it is coming to an end. It's happening right now.

While you're thinking about that, consider this: Darwin may have hit the nail on the head with his "survival of the fittest" theory when it comes to the various life forms sharing this Earth with us, but that theory does not apply to humanity. Why? I'll answer with another question: What good would it do to eliminate everyone else so that you could live? People are social. We need and want others around us so that we can survive. We also need and want all the Earth's life forms too. Nothing survives without everything else. It's a finite, closed system.

If your house was burning down around you while you slept, or a raging bear was coming at you, you'd want and need someone to step up and help you out. Both of you would survive the situation, but one alone wouldn't.

'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' This isn't something that applies only to the things you shouldn't do, but the things that you should. Proactively. When you see a house burning down or a bear hell-bent to kill, you step up to the plate and do what needs doing. You see, if the person in the house or at the receiving end of that bear's wrath dies, you end up alone, all by your lonesome, and far less likely to survive much longer as a result. Unless everyone survives, you don't either.

The sticking point is that if you help others only so you survive, it won't work. This can't be a selfish thing.

The cool point about it all is that it is instinctual to help others. If you weren't a thinking animal, you'd be helping without a second thought, immediately, without reserve, without qualm. You would be inherently selfless and altruistic.

Yes, the world as we know it is ending. Will you remain the same, or will you become true to your nature and survive?

Holiday Wishes

There are times when I love so much that it hurts to breathe. More often are the times I want to give that love, to sing it out, to shout it out. Christmas seems like the perfect time to give it all, to release the pent up love without constraint, to bring a smile to a worry-creased brow and a light to a dulled and tired eye.

But, retreat is what I do. It's a melancholic, pensive sadness that I feel as I experience the various emotions that others unknowingly radiate and project. Too often, what touches me is far more instances of loneliness, sorrow and fear than joy and happiness. It's a heavy weight, and I retreat further so that what I feel doesn't add to what others may feel.

There are many alone in their loneliness. The elderly, the single, the orphaned, the bereaved. The lines are long at food banks and for free meals. Cupboards are bare and homes colder, teeth chatter and stomachs growl. Hope is thinning. Hope for tomorrow may be all that's left.

My retreat is temporary. It's not right to deny giving, sharing, being there for others. No bright colored wrapping, no bows or glitter; just me. All of me.

There is a peaceful calm that comes from returning naked to the true nature of giving. May you share your love in the same way.

Welcome home.

*Image: "Maitreya 2" by Nicholas Roerich.

I'm Going as Fast as I Can!

I've got my little advertising card running on four blogs right now. How did I do that? Well, I know how; I just click that little green button with the check mark on it as I visit blogs and like what I see. I just don't pay attention to the calendar and actually plan when ads run, fool that I am. Now I have an overflowing Inbox and way too many good things to read!

Thanks to Jean's Musings, who is lamenting the loss of time to blog what with all the Christmas stuff going on;  Uncommon Photographers, who is also lamenting, but this time it's because he's now looking at snow instead of bikini beaches; Functional Shmunctional, who put me on the floor right away with "'Tis the season to lose reason! Fa-la-la La-la la-la La La Pass the drinks and screw the season! Fa-la-la La-la la-la La La;" and the All Arkie Army, who is trumpetting on about a new football coach. Yes, thanks for my very flat ass today!

Did I tell you I like these blogs? Yes, I do. They are great. I do my best to visit them every day to see what they are up to.

Well, these days, I do very little fast. About the only time I can remotely be accused of going fast is when Mother Nature is screaming while I'm driving home. (There's a roll of toilet paper with my name on it! Get there now!) Needless to say, I don't even try to visit 300 blogs a day. Um, not in this lifetime. I get caught up in reading, leaving comments, enjoying the photos and forget that I'm supposed to be doing this quickly. Nah, it wouldn't be fun that way.

I about fell off my chair once again when I ran into a Crotchety Old Man ranting about blogs with so many ads and widgets that no one cares about only to find very little else there (I'm being kinder than he was, heh). Let me add to that those huge snow flakes that fall and crash my browser at most or prevent the Entrecard widget from responding at best. And, that's when I lose my focus altogether and completely forget about getting to all the blogs that visited me today.

So, yep, I started dropping last night at 11 p.m. when the day rolled over to the new one, and yep, I'm still sitting here at 6:30 p.m. today. I'll be here until the day rolls over to a new one too. Hey, you can't accuse me of blowing your pagerank!

Thanks for stopping by today and for visiting some my favorite blogs that brought you here. Take a second or two to notice that the widgets I have here are ones that promote people who read and leave comments and widgets that link to my favorite blogs. Visit some of those blogs and the one on my E widget if you're also not worried about dropping cards and running off. You'll enjoy them all!

Time to take a break and let my cheeks return to their natural form a bit. I'll be back in a little while.

7:45 p.m. - I just had to laugh once again! I was just on a blog reading away when I looked over at the sidebar to see "Click my fish tank." No way! It didn't look like fish - it looked like swimming sperm! No thank you!

First Lady of Star Trek

Majel Barrett Roddenberry passed away on December 18. Her son is quoted at Roddenberry.com: "My mother truly acknowledged and appreciated the fact that Star Trek fans played a vital role in keeping the Roddenberry dream alive for the past 42 years. It was her love for the fans, and their love in return, that kept her going for so long after my father passed away." - Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, Jr.

Star Trek was one of those shows that had me glued to the TV every week as a child. I'd lay on my belly on the floor right in front of the TV, chin in my hands, trying my best to peer through the snow because the station didn't quite come in all the way. I idolized Spock, made my fingers do the Vulcan "V" and worked to make my left eyebrow go up when I found something "fascinating." I idolized the logic in the character, and imitating it gave my very emotional, sensitive, creative brain an anchor. I still watch reruns of any of the Star Trek shows, and of the original series, I've seen each episode, oh, about 25 times, if not more.

Majel Barrett played the sickbay nurse, and she suited the part well. She did her job. I never knew until many years later that she was the wife of Gene Roddenberry. When she played Deanna Troi's mother on ST:TNG, she expanded her acting and let loose a bit of eccentricity. The small parts that she played always stood out.

The Roddenberrys took us 'where no man has gone before' and it will be awhile before we catch up to them. They kept our eyes ahead and on the future.

It's That Time of Year

Oh, the joys of Christmas shopping. It's bumper-car shopping carts, bruised ankles, endless lines and everyone's bad breath. It's hoping upon hope that there will be one left on the shelf by the time you get there and spending way more because there wasn't and you had to come up with a Plan B so no one would be disappointed. Once the fight for the last one on the shelf is over, you head to wait in line, a very long line that is even slower because someone decides to argue about the price the register rang up.

OK, so you knew how bad the stores would be. You've been there before. It's just that lately, you've been feeling a little 'off.' You wear a smile, but it's not what you're feeling inside. You don't want to bake and cook and wrap or go visiting, come up with a dish for the office party, fill out a pile of Christmas cards... There's a cup of hot cocoa and a comforter with your name on it, and you plan to shut off the phone too.

SAD: What it is and What to Do 

On top of all this, you are worried about a close friend who seems to be struggling through the holiday bustle worse than you.  What do you do?  What can you do?

How to Help Someone Who is Depressed 

Just how much help would you be to someone who is depressed when you feel stressed out and close to depressions yourself? What if you can't help because you're stressing yourself out?

How to Keep Stress Positive
Too Much Stress

Well, that's all fine and dandy. You feel a little better now, but you wonder just how long it will last. Tomorrow is another day with a long list of things to do, and you know the stress will mount again.

Life is Loudly Knocking: How to Open the Door

There, that should do it.  That cup of cocoa and that warm comforter will be just the thing at the end of the day. Everything's wrapped and under the tree, the baking is done, and the guests will arrive in the morning. It will be fun. It will be relaxing.