It’s the Saturday before Christmas. I’m sitting in my burrough-away-from-burrough (that would be Starbucks), which is located in the middle of a rather large shopping development. I have a window seat, and I’m watching all these people move about from store to store. Reminds me of watching ants run around, only the ants have a purpose.
As I sit here, I’m really trying to come up with something interesting to write about. I’m sipping on a Peppermint Mocha frappe (aardvarks like frappes), and I’ve got some Nickelback rockin’ in my headphones (aardvarks LOVE Nickelback). To be honest, I’ve had a pretty crappy week, and I’m kinda beat up inside.
Now, I know. Everyone’s supposed to be happy, and joyful, and cheerful, and all that other Christmas-y stuff. I have been in worse states of mind in the past, not that I’d want to revisit those. This vark’s life is pretty good these days, and ordinarily I don’t dwell on the past that much. But this past week and a half has been a bit of a drain.
I won’t go into detail. There’s a lot of people in worse shape than me, and maybe that’s the point.
During the holiday, people tend to put on masks, because they don’t want people to see them down, to feel like a burden, to show weakness, you name it. They see their family, their friends, their co-workers so happy, bouncing around like rubber balls, and they don’t want to be a buzzkill.
And maybe you’re one of the fortunate ones. Maybe your life IS in great shape. Maybe you ARE a very happy, content person. I hope so, and that’s great, if you are. First, be very grateful that you’ve been so blessed. And then, do me a favor.
Keep your eyes open to the people in your circle. Not in a creepy way, of course. But just be aware that everyone isn’t always what they seem to be. Maybe they’re alone. Maybe they’re in a financial bind. Maybe their life is just a mess, and they hide it well.
Reach out to those people. Let them know they’re not alone. Be a friend. You may not be able to solve whatever is going on in their life, but you can let them know that they’re not alone in this world. And who knows? Maybe you CAN solve their problem, and didn’t even know it!
Just remember this: you were blessed for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, that reason was to share it with someone else who isn’t so blessed.
Well, I’m done preaching for now. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.
As for me, I’m gonna go back to my frappe, and keep checkin’ out the cute female species behind the counter at Starbucks!
I wonder if she likes Nickelback……….
The Naked Aardvark 