A Christmas Essay

 

Peaceful or perfect or perhaps even pleasant. None of this will be experienced this Christmas by many. None of this will be experienced this December. None of this will be experienced this year or even, for some, next year and beyond.

Sinister shadows of sorrow are cast all over the world. More than 110 armed conflicts are currently ‘on-the-go’ on our little blue planet and that will be all that can be seen for some. No peace.

The blind indifference to the news is mind blowing. Even I am guilty now of switching channels to not face the reality of life on earth.

War and famine have been around since the dawn of time. The big difference is we didn’t have to know about it throughout five plus thousand years of recorded history. Now the horrors of armed conflict are broadcast, live at times, in our homes. It’s even in our pockets. It can all be seen.

What won’t be seen is the courage that will be on display all over the world in the coming weeks as many see their holiday celebrations marred by misery and mayhem. There’re over ten different celebrations taking place and not one of them is to celebrate war, famine, death, destruction or desire. Not one.

Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jews celebrate Hanukkah in remembrance of God’s provision. Then there’s Kwanzaa. Buddhism is also celebrated through him attaining enlightenment. It’s a long list.

The power of prayer is strong, as some believe. I can only imagine that power unleashed. What if, at high-noon GMT, on the eve of the Gregorian calendar flipping the page of history to 2024, everyone took a moment, all at the same time, and spent one whole minute focussing on one word: peace. That will be at 07:00AM where I live in Canada. I’m in.  Are you?

23 June 2023 ~ SIXTY-FIVE; TODAY

If you are younger than that, you might put me into a category of ‘really old’.  Not!

If you’re older than that, you may think it’s no big deal.  Well, driving your car around is no big deal either; but that day when you passed your driving test… milestone!  Celebration.  Recognition.  Jubilation.  After that you just get on with it. 

That is what sixty-five means to me today.  A bit of a celebration and then onwards and upwards.

Dad died in his fifties and his dad in his sixties.  I am hoping to attain a seventyish number on my stone, preferably high seventies!

Much like yourselves I have held several different titles in my life.  Some are professional, some are family titles, some titles aren’t repeatable!  My most coveted title is grandad (English spelling) to Jack; this young man has changed my outlook on life in a most dramatic manner.  

Here’s the facts about sixty-five.  By the time you get here you should have achieved certain things with all your journeys round the sun.  Your career is sorted, hopefully you have a home sorted.  In fact, most things should be sorted to a certain extent.  Why?  Because you can’t just get through each year of your life, you need to get something from each year of your life; that’s called achievement.

What comes next at sixty-five for me?  More of the same.  I’m still doing what I love.  The small group of professionals that I work with at Flightline Training Services is incredibly rewarding and I love being able to train Aircraft Maintenance Engineers all over the world using greenscreen technology from my home studio/office/man-cave.  I have occasional travel instead of constant travel.

My new goal in life is to earn the love and respect of my beautiful grandson, Jack.  I am even back into diaper changing.  I want to show Jack how to skip stones.  I want to show him the North Star and how to use the night skies to find his way.  I want him to learn to play my own grandad’s ukelele and his own grandad’s guitar.  I want to watch this nine-months old beautiful boy grow into a man of character.  I want to be able to stand tall, by his side when he is all grown up and strong.  I want him to want to change my diaper if that day ever comes.  No hurry, too much fun to be had first, and achievements.

Truly humbled by all the birthday wishes, and it’s true that I do enjoy a bit of recognition now and then; but don’t we all on occasion?  Let there be many more, for all of us.  Cheers to that!