I know that I, like many of us 20 somethings, have a tendency to respond to everything with sarcasm, it's a Gen-X thing.  Somewhere along the line we confused sarcasm with intelligence.  We have placed more value on the ability to destroy rather than to build.
Indeed dystopic novels and dark films are all we seem to consume anymore.  Why do we treat optimism like ignorance?  Why is it so wrong to be happy?

I have decided this holiday season not to succumb to our generation's infatuation with misery, but rather I have chosen to be positive.  I have chosen to cut people some slack, and not place so much importance on every word that comes out of everyone's mouths.  I have decided that there is plenty enough to be outraged about in this world, and what someone I hardly know says about me, or what people I hardly know are doing isn't one of them.  I have decided that just because something is dark or sad doesn't mean it has any more intellectual or aesthetic value than something positive or cheerful.  I have decided to actually mean it when I say I am open minded, and not berate others over things being done differently than I would have done them.  In short,  I have chosen to be happy.

Season's Greetings

New Pix

Holiday Cheer

A Walk in the Garden

I know it's hard to be happy this time of year.  Even with all the Casio Christmas Classics being played in elevators around the globe, and advertisements showing that elated son / daughter / spouse/ boss unwrapping that Pokemon game / leather bag / diamond ring / box of altoids in the TV version of your life (the one where you're always fit and young), somehow we still feel overwhelmed with stress rather than with joy.

Here's the secret, don't buy into the 'Hallmark Holiday Scheme'.  I'm not saying don't buy gifts (especially if I'm on your list).  Just forget about the four dollar card, don't worry about finding the 'perfect present' (you won't find it), and cut yourself, and more importantly others, some slack.  You don't have to be Ward Cleaver with the perfect holiday home.  Ask yourself what you actually enjoy about the season . . . friends, family, time off work?  Try not to live up to the modern spin on holidays.  Why is it that malls, perhaps the angriest place on earth this time of year, are our holiday distribution centers.  This year why not make your home the center of you experience, or even the Church (try it you might like it).

This year hang ornaments together, and not the night before.  Brainstorm about what to give grandma.  Spend time with your family and friends actually bonding.  Yeah, I know everyone gets bitten by the Jerk bug when families get together, but it's only because we expect too much.  We try to cram an entire year's worth of communication into 3 hours.  Just chill.  When Uncle Herb starts getting weird about how he's going to get rich off coffee beans he planted in his back yard, just grin and excuse yourself to get more eggnog.

It doesn't matter what you do for a living, or what you have, if you don't have love you're empty.  Let's do ourselves and our neighbors a favor this year and give love.  Don't wory about the guy who pushed his way to the front of the line at Eddie Bauer, his loss for stressing himself out over  a turtle neck.  Give love and understanding a chance, you may like the fit.