Ah, the Holidays again. What is it about this time of year that we all love? Is it the music? Maybe it’s the presents? Could it be the decorating the tree, the house, all of the beautiful trimmings?
It can’t be just the snow, because my wife and I live in Las Vegas and there is no snow, but we still love this time of year.
Whatever it is, the holiday season tends to bring out the best in all of us. Okay, okay, yes, sometimes it can also bring out the worst in us too, like overanxious shoppers storming the stores at 4 am the day after Thanksgiving and pushing their way in to be the first at the sales! Okay, that’s not exactly the holiday spirit I’m talking about here. But that’s another post altogether.
I am talking about that little spring that we have in our step this time of year, that feeling of being a little lighter for some reason, a tad more giving. Even at this current state of our economy, being in a place we never have before, even now it is still palpable. So what, really is it?
It has to be more than simple, silly excitement over the possibility of getting a present. Certainly it goes beyond the mere materiality of a shopping mall. Who was is that said, "Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means just a little bit more". (Okay, okay, that’s from "The Grinch", but still….)
You see, what I think is that we really want to feel good all of the time, but we are actually afraid to feel like that day in and day out. I mean, we really don’t know what that outcome would be. We don’t have any clinical research, or data for this kind of hypothesis. How do we know we wouldn’t spontaneously combust after a few months of non-stop bliss?
What if we were happy all the time, would our systems overload? Would we be able to still call and yell at the cable guy when our cable goes out? Could we effectively do our jobs, and all of the tough love we give our loved ones when they need it? I mean, come on, really is happiness all its cracked up to be?
How can be sure that this happiness thing will really pay off in the end?
So, the Holidays are our testing grounds. We don’t need a reason to be happy; after all "It’s the Holidays!" It’s the season of giving, the season for smiling, acting nicer, acting like, hmmm…. well, like the people we always wanted to be.
But how can we do this all year and still have a regular life? It’s a strange kind of mindset that runs us humans here, but seriously, think about it. Ask yourself that question: What if I was actually this nice to everyone all year long. What if we acted as if Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Festivus (if you like Seinfeld), or whatever you would like to celebrate was every day?
I, for one, would be for it. Let’s try it out. Let’s do the research. We’ll come back next year with the results.
Happy Holidays everyone,
Jamie Hosmer
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