{"id":657,"date":"2014-01-02T20:23:33","date_gmt":"2014-01-03T01:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/betzking.com\/blog\/?p=657"},"modified":"2024-11-29T17:07:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T22:07:29","slug":"let-us-give-thanks-for-living-through-another-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betzking.com\/blog\/let-us-give-thanks-for-living-through-another-december\/","title":{"rendered":"Let us give thanks for living through another December."},"content":{"rendered":"

The changing of the calendar year doesn\u2019t inspire me to celebrate.<\/p>\n

My \u201cnew year\u201d comes at the end of Autumn, as the trees \u2013 at the height of their high def beauty \u2013 drop their leaves and turn inward, surrendering to growing darkness with a faith and grace I rarely muster. I reflected on my year back in October; I liked what I had reaped and sown and am proceeding ahead with a commitment to a compassionate optimism.\u00a0 In my inner spiritual calendar, it\u2019s almost Imbolc (Candlemas), the \u201cspring\u2019s spring\u201d, and Jan 1 is just an ordinary day.<\/p>\n

Yet the lovely afternoon snowfall carries well wishes and personal reflections across the Land of Screens \u2013 many, lovely, all different kinds, and I search myself for an honest sentiment to share with my loved ones.<\/p>\n

All I can come up with, if I\u2019m being honest, is gratitude for the passing of the madness (AKA December).\"26\"<\/p>\n

My experiential way of being in December is one of enormous discomfort.\u00a0 Everything I hold sacred is mocked, and everything I mock is held sacred. \u00a0(I know, spiritual people are not supposed to have mocking inner voices with political and religious opinions, but I haven\u2019t found a way to silence mine yet.\u00a0 It\u2019s on my to do list).<\/p>\n

Mass consumerism, mass consumption, the dominance of one (rather small minded and misinterpreted, but full of potential if there were more people like my sister in law around) religion over all others, the end of the college semester with grades and grade appeals, my clients as they prepare for time-travel back into their childhood roles, (regardless of their current age), my family system and all that it activates (regardless of MY current age) and\u2026 wait, there\u2019s more!<\/p>\n

Shopping for gifts, attending parties, throwing parties, boarding puppies, eating crap, inconsistent sleep and nothing resembling a routine \u2013 \u00a0making December the most uncomfortable month of the year.\u00a0 And for most if it, the soundtrack is one of Christian Christmas carols I don\u2019t agree with but can\u2019t stop singing along with.\u00a0 Can you say Christmas Cognitive Dissonance?<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m really glad it\u2019s over.<\/p>\n

Of more interest to me today is the ritual of the Knights of the Round Table, I mean, college football playoff.\u00a0 It seems so ancient, the rooting for one\u2019s warriors, the pride of belonging somewhere\u2026 The Spartans at the Rose Bowl is a gazillion times better to celebrate than anything December has going, and I\u2019m a Wolverine saying this.\u00a0 December is worse than being a Wolverine rooting for Sparty.<\/p>\n

Yup\u2026 this is me – glad it\u2019s over.<\/p>\n

I have an older blog piece called \u201cHappy Whew Year\u201d <\/a>that expresses many of the same ideas, and that\u2019s the only sentiment I can come up with to share:\u00a0 Whew, it\u2019s over.\u00a0 Now let\u2019s get down to the business of living consciously and compassionately.\u00a0 The world needs our help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The changing of the calendar year doesn\u2019t inspire me to celebrate. My \u201cnew year\u201d comes at the end of Autumn, as the trees \u2013 at the height of their high def beauty \u2013 drop their leaves and turn inward, surrendering … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13,53,78,79],"class_list":["post-657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-compassion","tag-imbolc","tag-spartans","tag-wolverines"],"yoast_head":"\nLet us give thanks for living through another December. - Betz-Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/betzking.com\/blog\/let-us-give-thanks-for-living-through-another-december\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let us give thanks for living through another December. - Betz-Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The changing of the calendar year doesn\u2019t inspire me to celebrate. 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