Unhappy Holidays
I could celebrate winter solstice. I do enjoy that it means that the days are getting longer again. Yet, i also know that it marks the beginning of winter for the rain (or snow) falls heaviest in January through March – here in the Northern hemisphere. I really celebrate the appearance of berries at the farmers’ market. That marks the end of winter. And i don’t like winter. It’s dark and cold. Yeah, yeah, time to cuddle up in front of the fire. I’d rather be outside in the warm spring sun!
This post sounds like a big complaint. In a way it is. I am just tired of holding it all in, of pretending that i like this season because everybody else claims they do (and many don’t really). I wonder what would happen if those of us who aren’t enjoying winter speak up and say so. I wonder what would happen if those of us who don’t celebrate holidays around this time would stop pretending. And i wonder what might emerge instead. Maybe there is a way of being during this season that honors all of this – after all no matter how much i don’t like the shorter days and the rain, they won’t go away! They might be easier to bear if i can say “i don’t like them and i still do something to enjoy life.” Let’s see what the something will be that emerges out of this authenticity.
YAY!! I myself am a complete Scrooge about the holidays. This year I did decorate my piano (not going to kill a tree for this sh&t) but at my behest my family went out for a great Chinese meal instead of doing the whole turkey-mashed-potatos-coma thing.
CC
I completely understand you on this one. I live in an area that is quickly being taken over by Christian fundamentalists. I am an atheist and find this time of year very stressful because I am too afraid to admit that I don’t believe. So I end up becoming what I detest in others – a hypocrite. I feel such a sense of relief now that the “holiday” has passed. I do not like the cold either but I am looking forward to the quiet calm of winter.
I like your suggestion that we stop pretending. But the retail businesses of this world would never let that happen.