Enjoying the Normal

So this week is the beginning of festive season in America.  The fourth Thursday of the month of November is designated Thanksgiving Day.  The next day after it is called "Black Friday."  That is followed by Cyber Monday.  Then, the countdown to Christmas and Chanukah.  Finally, festive season comes to a close with New Year's Day.

I write about enjoying the normal for a reason.  My best friend is of a different religion, and from another part of the world.  I go to school with people from other parts of the globe, who come from different cultures too.  During this few weeks of celebratory life, people do the normal without knowing.

All year long we are supposed to love one another.  For the Christian, the saying in the Bible is that the world will know us by our love for one another.  How can one love God whom he/she has not seen but not love his brother/sister whom he/she has seen.  I find that to be a wonderful statement for relations in our times.  We really all bleed red, and have feelings, emotions, likes, dislikes, morals, values and so forth.  At the end of it all, we are normal in our dysfunctionality.  Dysfunctional in this case means we are different yet so much alike.

That brings me to the festive season.  In lock and step, people will celebrate together, and portray the feelings or sentiments of good will during this period of the year.  

The question is:  Do we need to wait all year to do what should be normal?  I don't think so.  Never forsake the gathering of yourselves.  Encourage one another as the day approaches.  I don't know much about anything, but I would bet the early Christians were quite thankful considering martyrdom was still in fashion.  

The point of the matter is that we should be doing the festive mood all year round.  I was talking to my friend and we agree that people are the most precious gifts that we ever receive on earth.  We should value and treasure those gifts, but we all fall short in that.  We can change that and make this year the year, from today forward, where we learn to enjoy the normal.  Let's commit to being kind, courteous, polite, and respectful all day everyday.  What if we could really treasure the people around us.  When we work look at people like, "you're totally awesome."

I learned this secret at a meeting.  When people talk to me, I listen and turn my body to them, making a concerted effort to see them as very interesting.  I want to make loving and listening and relating to people my normal.  I don't need a reason or season to do it.  I want to enjoy the normal that is life in that way.

Whoever is important to you, make them important everyday.  Give gifts whenever.  Encourage just because.  Pat them on the back for no reason.  Walk up and say I love you out of the blue.  Enjoy your normal and see if normal is the new you.

Enjoy the festive season everyone!