As we prepare to welcome in the new year, I’m sure many of you are thinking “good riddance to 2016.” For many Albertans, suffering through job cutbacks and losses, this has been a tough year and I’m sure they are glad to see 2016 in the rear view mirror. I personally also count many friends and family members among the “walking wounded.” However, not all is bleak, for in the long term, a tough year can actually bring a lot of benefits, as long as we accept the right state of mind. For example:
Surviving a tough year teaches us something about ourselves – and our ability to overcome hard times. Yes, I know you are hurting and maybe a little bit scared, I know it’s been tough, but you made it through. You are a survivor. Congratulations, and take pride in your victory.
Doing with less can often teach us that “more is not necessarily better.” Children can be just as happy with one to two toys as with 10 to 15 toys. If they live in a family who loves them, the number of toys is meaningless. Tough times can bring us together, if we let the process work. Let it work.
If we have learned how to support our family, and how to gain support from our family, then a tough year has taught you one of the most important philosophies you will ever learn. Friends come and go but family is forever. Cherish yours.
Since you may have the time, spend some of it with the less fortunate. Yes, there are many less fortunate than you. It is often said that true happiness can only be found by helping others, so here’s your chance to find out if this is true (P.S.: it is).
If we have learned to be happy with less, to be thankful for what we have, and to say a short thank you to the person whose birthday we celebrate at this time of year, we’ve gained the greatest gifts one can ever receive, the gift of appreciation, the gift of humility, and the gift of God’s grace.
Finally, tough years like 2016 often teach people that the most important thing they have is their health, and how to protect it. With health, everything is possible. Without health, everything seems impossible. I pray you are healthy, or, if not, that you dedicate yourself to becoming healthier. Your family wants you around and will be pleased to cheer you on in your healthy journey.
To close, my wish for you is that you learn to “keep Christmas well” and “well” has nothing to do with excess gifts, or food, or celebrating. I can think of no better words, or a closing that could be more appropriate than the last three sentences from the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. The first sentence begins with the narrator talking about Ebenezer Scrooge, the mean old miser who had been visited by three Ghosts on Christmas Eve, and transformed into a brand new man:
“…and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”
Brian McLeod is a St. Albert resident.
